Scene 3
The poker players—Stanley, Steve, Mitch, and Pablo—wear colored shirts: solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, and a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the ________________ ________________.
A. bright pigments
B. primary colors
C. roaring thunder
D. pounding drums
B. primary colors
What is Stella's state the morning after the poker game?
She is described with the setting as "serene"
How does Blanche behave toward the young newspaper boy, and what does this reveal about her character?
Blanche behaves flirtatiously and seductively toward the young newspaper boy, calling him “young man! young, young, young man!” and even kissing him before quickly sending him away. This moment reveals Blanche’s deep loneliness and longing for affection, but also her inappropriate attraction to youth and innocence. Her actions suggest a woman who is both aware of her moral weakness and trapped by it.
What does Blanche say she and Mitch should pretend as they sit together in the dark at the start of Scene 6?
Blanche tells Mitch they should pretend that they are “sitting in a little artists’ café on the Left Bank in Paris.”
Why does Blanche ask Mitch to put a paper lantern over the lightbulb? What does this reveal about her personality?
Blanche wants to soften the harsh light because she fears being seen too clearly, both physically and emotionally. This reveals her desire to hide reality beneath illusion, showing her dependence on fantasy and appearances to protect her fragile self-image.
What does Blanche say to Stella that Stella is clueless of?
Blanche is upset by Stanley's violent behavior and begs Stella to leave him.
Who is Shaw, and why does his mention make Blanche nervous in Scene 5?
Shaw is one of Stanley’s friends who says he met a woman named Blanche in Laurel, where she used to live. His mention makes Blanche nervous because it threatens to expose her past scandals and reputation, which she is desperately trying to hide from Stanley and Mitch.
When Blanche looks for the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, and says, “All in a bunch going home from their little bridge party,” what does this reveal about her feelings and intentions at the end of Scene 6?
Blanche subtly casts herself as one of the sisters and Mitch as Orion, implying that she is open to pursuit and affection.
What does the radio represent for both Stanley and Blanche?
In contrast, for Stanley, the radio is an intrusion on his space and his male-dominated world. His violent act of throwing the radio out the window symbolizes his assertion of dominance and control. The radio is listed among his possessions, like his car, that represents his "emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer". This action, along with the symbolism of the radio as a possession, portrays Stanley as the epitome of the male archetype who seeks to dominate others.
Blanche calls Stanley this name, a word that means he is not aristocratic or refined, and Stanley overhears her.
He is "common"
When Blanche anxiously asks Stella, “Has he [Stanley] asked you for any details about me?” and “What did you tell him?”, what does this reveal about Blanche’s psychological state and her relationship with truth?
Blanche’s anxious questioning reveals her paranoia, insecurity, and fear of exposure. She is desperate to control how others perceive her. She is afraid the truth of her history in Laurelwill destroy the elegant persona she constructs.
What does Blanche reveal about her husband, Allan Grey?
Blanche reveals that she was once married to a young man named Allan Grey, whom she later discovered was gay. When she confronted him, Allan ran out and shot himself, leaving her traumatized and guilt-ridden.
[The low-tone clarinet moans. The door upstairs opens again. Stella slips down the rickety stairs in her robe. Her eyes are glistening with tears and her hair loose about her throat and shoulders. They stare at each other. Then they come together with low, animal moans. He falls to his knees on the steps and presses his face to her belly, curving a little with maternity. Her eyes go blind with tenderness as she catches his head and raises him level with her. He snatches the screen door open and lifts her off her feet and bears her into the dark flat.]
How does Williams use animalistic imagery and stage directions in this passage to reveal the nature of Stanley and Stella’s relationship?
In this passage, Williams uses animalistic imagery (“low, animal moans”) and physical, almost primal movements to portray Stanley and Stella’s relationship as one dominated by instinctual desire rather than emotional or moral understanding. The description of Stanley “falling to his knees” and pressing his face to Stella’s “belly, curving a little with maternity” blurs the line between violence, worship, and sexual reconciliation.
What does Shep Huntleigh symbolize?
Blanche presents Shep Huntleigh to Stella as a wealthy oil magnate with a "Cadillac convertible" and oil wells "all over Texas". She believes he will provide a financial rescue, a life of luxury, and a way for her to escape her current socio-economic status.
STELLA:
Why are you sensitive about your age?
BLANCHE:
Because of hard knocks my vanity's been given. What I mean is--he thinks I'm sort of--prim and proper, you know!
[She laughs out sharply] I want to deceive him enough to make him--want me...
How does Blanche’s sensitivity about her age and her desire to “deceive” Mitch illustrate the social pressures placed on women in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Blanche’s anxiety about aging reflects how society equates a woman’s value with her youth, beauty, and appeal. She feels forced to perform purity and being feminine to attract love.
How does this revelation of Allan Gray change Mitch’s perception of Blanche?
Her honesty moves him, and he responds with genuine compassion. For the first time, Mitch sees a vulnerable woman.
“You need somebody. And I need somebody, too. Could it be—you and me, Blanche?”
There is a picture of Van Gogh's of a billiard-parlor at night. The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance, the raw colors of childhood's spectrum. Over the yellow linoleum of the kitchen table hangs an electric bulb with a vivid green glass shade. The poker players--Stanley, Steve, Mitch and Pablo--wear colored shirts, solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colors. There are vivid slices of watermelon on the table, whiskey bottles and glasses. The bedroom is relatively dim with only the light that spills between the portieres and through the wide window on the street. For a moment, there is absorbed silence as a hand is dealt.
Interpret "raw colors of childhood’s spectrum”
The phrase “raw colors” conveys vividness, saturation, and a lack of refinement — colors that haven’t been muted or softened. This mirrors the unfiltered masculinity of the poker players and the rough, emotional energy in Stanley’s household. Everything is primal and unrestrained, much like their behavior.
"Maybe we are a long way from being made in God's image, but Stella--my sister--there has been some progress since then! Such things as art--as poetry and music--such kinds of new light have come into the world since then!"
Interpret this part of Blanche's monologue. What does she mean here? Give me deeper meaning.
She is pleading with Stella to recognize the inherent superiority of this civilized world and to reject Stanley's vulgarity.
Stanley embodies the "New South"—a world that lacks traditional refinement.
Blanche, as a "Southern Belle," represents the aristocratic values. She believes in the importance culture which Stanley does not possess.
[He stares at her a moment. She opens the door for him and blows a kiss at him as he goes down the steps with a dazed look. She stands there a little dreamily after he has disappeared. Then Mitch appears around the corner with a bunch of roses.]
BLANCHE [gaily]:
Look who's coming! My Rosenkavalier! Bow to me first... now present them! Ahhh--Merciiii!
[She looks at him over them, coquettishly pressing them to her lips. He beams at her self- consciously.]
In what ways does Blanche’s flirtation with Mitch in this scene contrast with her encounter with the young boy?
With the young boy, Blanche’s behavior is impulsive and inappropriate.
With Mitch, however, her flirtation is playful, theatrical, and calculated. She performs and wears a mask of a role of a refined woman and uses charm to win his attraction.
We danced the Varsouviana! Suddenly in the middle of the dance the boy I had married broke away from me and ran out of the casino. A few moments later--a shot!
[The polka stops abruptly.]
[Blanche rises stiffly. Then, the polka resumes in a major key.]
I ran out--all did!--all ran and gathered about the terrible thing at the edge of the lake! I couldn't get near for the crowding. Then somebody caught my arm. "Don't go any closer! Come back!
You don't want to see!" See? See what! Then I heard voices say--Allan! Allan! The Grey boy! He'd stuck the revolver into his mouth, and fired--so that the back of his head had been--blown away!
[She sways and covers her face.]
It was because--on the dance-floor--unable to stop myself--I'd suddenly said--"I saw! I know! You disgust me..." And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that's stronger than this--kitchen-- candle...
How does Blanche’s retelling of Allan Grey’s death , especially her words, “You disgust me…”, reveal her emotional state and the way she experiences despair?
Blanche’s account of Allan’s suicide reveals that she lives in a state of guilt and grief. This confession exposes Blanche’s self-blame. Blanche is overwhelmed with guilt because she realizes that her inability to accept him led to his death.