Streetcar+-+Scene+7

Style: When Stanley reveals the truth about Blanche to Stella. Stanley portrays the literal facts of Blanches past (lived in hotel flamingo and had many sexual relations)

Expressionism: “The distance piano goes into a hectic breakdown” at the end of the scene is an expressionistic device to externalize the dramatic tension in this scene. Foreshadows what will happen when Blanche finally finds out her lies are revealed

Symbolism: The old 1940s ballad paper moon: When Blanche is singing in the bathtub, the lyrics reflect Blanche character. "Say its only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea-but it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me!" Paper à fragile and artificial. Refers to the lies that Blanche tells à romantic, unreal à another version of truth à Oblivious to reality

Canary bird: is associated to sex (Stanley continuously uses this imagery to refer to Blanche) “You know she’s been feeding us a pack of lies here” à acting à Idea of an entertainer and a prostitute contrast to the reality

“But sister Blanche is no lily” à the idea that Blanche often associated herself to pureness and virginity and white à is not true

Candles: "I'll stop at twenty five"--> stella Blanche is associated to the idea of youth--> in which Blanche always wanted to go back to the past in order to correct the things she did --> Particularly with Allen Grey Stella understands her attraction to youth Candles are also associated to soft light, which Blanche is associated to--> soft reality

Concept: Stanley gives factual truth à brutal reality On the other hand à Williams expresses another type of truth à the factual truth that Stanley gives is not a fair way sum up Blanche… Allen Grey: When Stella describes Blanche’s past, she is able to sympathize with it. On the other hand, Stanley doesn’t seem to be able to understand her past. à ”My sister lived at Belle Reve” à past à unable to move into a different lifestyle à only able to live in the soft and illusionary world à beautiful dream unable to be lasting à SOFT & HARD (CONCEPTS)

Symbolism Light à train light à Factual truth à brutal harsh reality Electric light à associated to Stanley Blanche is associated to soft and candle light à soft and gentle Emotional truth- expressionist truth (expressionistic devices allows a closer approach to the truth) The style enforces the theme

(Oedipus Rex--> In order to see the truth, one needs to get beyond the literal. The symbolism of blinding the eyes to see the truth can be compared to Streetcar, in which WIlliams believed that to understand emotional truth, one needs to get beyond the literal facts.) UNVEILING THE TRUTH

The two different lifestyles that Williams is portraying through the southern gentlemen as opposed to the urban working lower class men (Stanley) Completely unaware of what’s happening Working class à killing the middle class (The context of the book) à Tragic inevitability à ” Her future is mapped our for her” à Stanley believed that the only future that Blanche holds is one where she becomes a prostitute since she no longer has any respectability à ”In the first place, Blanche wouldn’t go on a bus” à Streetcar has a set destination while a bus is free to go anywhere à Driven by desire, Blanche is destined to one place à determined future à Tragedy in that the character is unable to change her fate à Mitch who she thought would give her chance to redeem her respectability also abandons her Fatalism & Tragic drama Dramatic literary level- nothing the character can do to change herself--> compare to Oedipus Rex: The gods determine a person's fate à dramatic irony à doesn’t realize her fate in this scene à Desire and death are tied together à foreshadowing the metaphoric death of Blanche’s future…

Foreshadowing: "as Stanley crosses past her, a frightened look appears on her face." --> Rape?

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