A streetcar named Desire

Created by: aizenosa
Created on: 29-04-19 18:51

Desire thesis

Driving force of the play that we start and end with, Streetcar is a voyage led by desire into New Orleans

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1. Blanche uses sexual desire to escape a reality framed by death [the reality]

Have you ever ridden that streetcar named desire/ It brought me here. 'The grim reaper made it his home', 'Death sat as close as you and I' 'Streetcar named desire -Cemeteries - Elysian Fields'

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How she uses sexual desire

'Men don't admit your existence unless they're making love to you'/ 'temporary magic in order to pay for one night's shelter'/ 'leaky roof to leaky roof'/ I want to deceive him enough to make him want me'/ '

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Ultimately she fails as she is fading

'I like an artist who paints in strong, bold primary colors''/ 'Coarse and direct as the primary colors vs. 'white'

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2. Stanley and Stella's unifying force is their sexual desire for one another, which destroys Blanche.

'There are things that happen between a man and woman in the dark, that makes everything else seem kind of - unimportant;' I pulled you off them columns- oh how you loved it - having them colored lights going' 'hurls a packet of meat at her'

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Critic quote, Stella and Stan

'Life with Stanley sex with Stanley is at her highest value' J.M MGlinn 'Stanley has trained his wife to catch his meat, in every sense' Ruby Cohn

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Desire bookends relationship + Blanche comment

'hurls a packet of meat at her', 'his fingers find the opening of her blouse' 'that is brutal desire - the name of that rattletrap streetcar'

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3. Stanley’s desire is violently driven and selfish, destroying relationships and other characters.

 ‘bathroom is thrown open and Stanley comes out in brilliant silk pyjamas’, ‘maybe you wouldn’t be bad to interfere with’ ‘gaudy seed bearer’, who ‘sizes up women in a glance, crude images coming to mind, determining the way he interacts with them’,

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Stanley other non-sexual desire

Control over Stella and his territory ' I'm the king around here' 'he grins through the curtains at Blanche' 'not in my territory'

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4. Whilst Stanley is praised for his desires, Blanche finds herself in ruins because of them and Allan pays the ultimate penalty of death.

'degenerate', 'Sister Blanche is no lily', 'Virgo the Virgin' 'you're not clean enough to bring home' Stella will live a life with a ******, and continual argument foreshadowed by Eunice and Steve

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Context in Stanley being praised

Williams was homosexual, double standards in society

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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Have you ever ridden that streetcar named desire/ It brought me here. 'The grim reaper made it his home', 'Death sat as close as you and I' 'Streetcar named desire -Cemeteries - Elysian Fields'

Back

1. Blanche uses sexual desire to escape a reality framed by death [the reality]

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

'I like an artist who paints in strong, bold primary colors''/ 'Coarse and direct as the primary colors vs. 'white'

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

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A streetcar named Desire