Tennessee Williams: Watch the following video to gain some insight in to the world of Tennessee Williams. He had a tragic and trying life, and much of his struggles found their way into his plays. To know the writer is to know the play!
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Modernism - How do you see these ideas working in our text?
Another major idea that came out of the modernist era was the sense that writers wanted to rid their work of the "prettiness and sentimentality" of previous literature. The hero often becomes the anti-hero and often becomes literally or metaphorically damaged.
"The elements of modernism evident in the works are; loss of traditional value, damaged hero, machine society vs. individual, disassociation of sensibilities, fragmentation, we have a past, but can’t use it, and finally, we create the world in the act of perceiving it." SOURCE
Another major idea that came out of the modernist era was the sense that writers wanted to rid their work of the "prettiness and sentimentality" of previous literature. The hero often becomes the anti-hero and often becomes literally or metaphorically damaged.
"The elements of modernism evident in the works are; loss of traditional value, damaged hero, machine society vs. individual, disassociation of sensibilities, fragmentation, we have a past, but can’t use it, and finally, we create the world in the act of perceiving it." SOURCE
Cultural Context: late 1940s American South
The Rich South
PLANTATION life created a society with clear class divisions. A lucky few were at the top, with land holdings as far as the eyes could see. Most Southerners did not experience this degree of wealth. The contrast between rich and poor was greater in the South than in the other English colonies, because of the labor system necessary for its survival.
The TIDEWATER ARISTOCRATS were the fortunate few who lived in stately plantation manors with hundreds of servants and slaves at their beck and call. Most plantation owners took an active part in the operations of the business.
Click HERE for source
PLANTATION life created a society with clear class divisions. A lucky few were at the top, with land holdings as far as the eyes could see. Most Southerners did not experience this degree of wealth. The contrast between rich and poor was greater in the South than in the other English colonies, because of the labor system necessary for its survival.
The TIDEWATER ARISTOCRATS were the fortunate few who lived in stately plantation manors with hundreds of servants and slaves at their beck and call. Most plantation owners took an active part in the operations of the business.
Click HERE for source
Immigration
Click on the following links for some additional contextual information on immigration around the time of our play. How is the American Dream connected to immigration? When would Stanley Kowalski's parents have immigrated to the USA? |
Scene one
Activity one:
How does Tennessee Williams use scene one to juxtapose the high society and the low society in 1940s New Orleans?
Use the stage directions on page 5 as a start, but then move to the rest of the scene. Find evidence of the two worlds colliding. Make a chart to record your ideas.
[She continues to laugh. Blanche comes around the corner, carrying a valise. She looks at a slip of paper, then at the building, then again at the slip and again at the building. Her expression is one of shocked disbelief. Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district. She is about five years older than Stella. Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth.]
Activity two:
How does Tennessee Williams use scene one to juxtapose the high society and the low society in 1940s New Orleans?
Use the stage directions on page 5 as a start, but then move to the rest of the scene. Find evidence of the two worlds colliding. Make a chart to record your ideas.
[She continues to laugh. Blanche comes around the corner, carrying a valise. She looks at a slip of paper, then at the building, then again at the slip and again at the building. Her expression is one of shocked disbelief. Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district. She is about five years older than Stella. Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth.]
Activity two:
Stanley Kowalski
- What are your impressions of Stanley?
- How has Williams used imagery to characterise Stanley in the stage directions on pages 24-25?
- How would an actor walk into the room with the directions given on p. 24-25? How would an audience view this character?
Activity three:
Motif: any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.
Instructions: In scene one, identify when each of the following motifs are mentioned. Circle where it is mentioned and determine what is happening at the moment it is happening. For example: p.28 [the music of the polka rises up] - Stanley has just asked about Blanche's husband
Motif: any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.
Instructions: In scene one, identify when each of the following motifs are mentioned. Circle where it is mentioned and determine what is happening at the moment it is happening. For example: p.28 [the music of the polka rises up] - Stanley has just asked about Blanche's husband
- Bathing
- Light
- Music - "the blue piano"
Scene two
- Why is Blanche bathing at the start of scene two?
- What is the importance of the Napoleonic code for Stanley? What point is Williams trying to make about social classes? p.32
- To what extent does page 39 foreshadow later events?
- Reality versus illusion: Identify moments where Blanche and/or Stanley appear to be living in reality or an illusion.
Scene three
- Describe the setting of this scene
- Pages 62-64: Describe the conflict between men and women.
- What does this moment reveal about Stanley's character?
sc3_-_stellaaaa.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Guiding Questions:
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scene 4
- Make a list of all of the concrete nouns used to describe Stanley. Based on the list, what are Blanche's views of Stanley, and men in general?
- What type of imagery has been used in this scene and why?
- What do you notice about the punctuation in Blanche's speech? The sentence structure?
- Discuss the impact of sound in this scene. For what purpose has this motif been used in this scene?
- How has Williams used Stanley's physical presence in this scene? Discuss its purpose and how it relates to Blanche's speech.
- Identify the foreshadowing in this passage.
sc4_-_animals.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Scene 6
Scene 7
- What lies has Blanche been telling and why does she tell them? List them.
- What purpose does the music and bath serve in this scene?
Scene 8
STANLEY: When we first met, me and you, you thought I was common. How right you was, baby. I was common as dirt. You showed me the snapshot of the place with the columns. I pulled you down off them columns and how you loved it, having them colored lights going! And wasn't we happy together, wasn't it all okay till she showed here?
[Stella makes a slight movement. Her look goes suddenly inward as if some interior voice had called her name. She begins a slow, shuffling progress from the bedroom to the kitchen, leaning and resting on the back of the chair and then on the edge of a table with a blind look and listening expression. Stanley, finishing with his shirt, is unaware of her reaction] (p. 137).
Part 1: Using the passage above, answer the following questions in your books.
Part 2: Write a 1-paragraph analysis of this passage and post it on the blog post.
[Stella makes a slight movement. Her look goes suddenly inward as if some interior voice had called her name. She begins a slow, shuffling progress from the bedroom to the kitchen, leaning and resting on the back of the chair and then on the edge of a table with a blind look and listening expression. Stanley, finishing with his shirt, is unaware of her reaction] (p. 137).
Part 1: Using the passage above, answer the following questions in your books.
Part 2: Write a 1-paragraph analysis of this passage and post it on the blog post.
- What is Stanley's attitude? Identify an adjective and explain why.
- What connections can you make to the social historical context of the time period?
- What could the "colored lights" symbolize?
- Why might Williams have written Stella to react in this way? What impression does the audience get of Stella?
Scene 9
Essential Question: How and why does Tennessee Williams use elements of psychological realism in scene 9?
- A focus on the interior - aka the inside of a character's mind
- Often, writers or playwrights use flashbacks to focus on the character's memory and mind
- Emphasizes the perception of individual characters, portraying reality as it exists in the mind
- Characteristic: heavy imagery infused with sound and sight
Activity: As a group, focus on one aspect of scene 9. Draw an image in the center of your paper. Using quotations and your own analysis and interpretation, jot down ideas around the image to explore its purpose. Why is the significance? What is the connection to psychological realism? Why has Williams employed these devices?
Areas of focus:
Areas of focus:
- the sound and music (motif)
- the light for Blanche (motif)
- the light for Mitch (motif)
- the Mexican woman - what is her significance?
Scene 10 - the rape scene
bottom of page 158-162
- What is the significance of Blanche's clothing in the opening stage directions?
- How would you characterize Stanley in this scene? Explain using evidence from the text.
- How would you characterize Blanche throughout this scene? How would you describe her mental state?
- What is the significance of sound in this passage? (the jungle noises, "the blue piano", the locomotive, "the hot trumpet and drums").
- Identify the atmosphere in the passage.
- What does the bottle on page 162 represent?
- Why does the rape happen off stage?
- What could Williams be saying about gender relations in this play?
- How do we feel about Blanche? Has Williams created a character with whom you can sympathize? Why or why not?