Streetcar named desire themes

These themes include: 

Violence, Lies & honesty, loneliness & identity and sexuality 

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  • Created by: Chloe4091
  • Created on: 10-05-18 19:57
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  • Themes
    • Sexuality
      • Blanche's sexual weakness is exposed
        • she views young boys as a prize or a possession
        • 'it would be nice to keep you, but I've got to keep my hands off children'
        • she seduces him before planting a kiss on the lips
        • young man collecting The Evening Star
      • The **** was inevitable
        • 'geyser of foam'
        • bottle of beer is a sexual image
          • foreshadows Stanley's ****
        • Stanley uses his sexuality to destroy her
      • Stella and  Stanley's passion is evident
        • Stella walking slowly for sexual tension
          • Stella's 'eyes go blind for tenderness'
          • 'Low animal moans'
        • Stanley is screaming for Stella to return
          • 'STELLLAAA!!!!!'
      • Stanley is a sexual manipulator
        • 'sizes women up to at a glance, with sexual classification'
        • 'earliest manhood'
        • 'centre of his life'
        • Superior to women
        • 'pleasure with women'
    • Lies and honesty
      • Stanley mentions a man called Shaw and a place from Blanche's past
        • Blanche tells Stanley he hasn't met that man before
          • 'the flamingo'
        • He wants to test her honesty
        • Stanley knows the truth and so does Blanche
      • Blanche admits she fibs a lot
        • Reveals vague details about her sexual misdemeanours.
        • Stella and Stanley know about Blanche's sexual active history
        • 'it's my first time in my entire experience with men, and I've had a good deal of all sorts [...]'
      • Reality & truth are often presented as light
        • Deception is represented as darkness
          • 'kept in the dark'
            • means an element of truth has been withheld
      • Blanche admits she lies
        • she's a practised liar
          • boosts her self-confidence
        • white lies
        • the amount of lies she tells in the letter show
          • 'for being such a liar'
        • she unlovable her lies give her a mask of confidence
    • Loneliness and identity
      • Mitch intimidates that he is lonely, since all he has is a sick mother
        • Mitch confronts Blanche by telling her that he's alone
          • 'you need somebody. And i need somebody, too, could it be - you and me, Blanche?'
        • If his mother dies he will be left alone
        • 'worries because [Mitch] is not settled'
          • basic human need for companionship
      • She accuses Stella of abandoning her and leaving her
        • Blanche feels unwelcome in her sister's home
        • 'you're all I've got in the world, and you're not glad to see me!'
        • She feels neglected and unwanted by her sister
        • nowhere else to turn
      • Loss of Blanche's identity and world
        • the loss of her home
        • finds herself a barrage of noises
          • '[a cat screeches near the window]'
    • Violence
      • Stanley ****s Blanche
        • exposes Blanche's sordid past
        • cruellest act of violence in the play
          • only interested in his own pleasure and comfort
      • Stella is thrilled by Stanley's violence
        • 'smashed all the light-bulbs'
          • on their wedding night
          • passionate but violent act
      • Stanley yells at Stella
        • 'red-stained package'
        • 'heaves'
        • paints a picture of the physical exchange
      • Violence during scene 3
        • hits Stella
          • she knows what to expect
        • Stanley 'tosses' the radio out of the window
      • Blanche is verbally violent
        • 'able' 'fought' 'died'
        • violent to Stella
          • able to express violence through language

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