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A Streetcar Named Desire Summary

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8. Why is Mr. Norton’s enthusiasm for his daughter so strange to the narrator? Mr. Norton speaks about his daughter like she is something that he admires so deeply that he can 't seem to get enough of her which comes off as strange to the narrator because this is a The narrator is surprised by Mr. Norton 's enthusiasm for his daughter because he doesn 't see how she stands out. He 's surprised because in society she would be viewed "as ordinary as an expensive piece of machine-tooled jewelry and just as lifeless." That description of her goes against the way Mr. Norton describes her, which is as a "perfect creation" and "a delicate flower that bloomed in the liquid light of the moon." Those descriptions of her make it seem that her beauty is …show more content…

Norton has experienced before and this was hinted at by his previous comment. 10.What makes the sleeping farmer “the kind of man [that the narrator fears]”? The sleeping farmer is something that the narrator fears because they could "wake up." Somebody who is a sleeping farmer is someone who doesn 't seem racist from the exterior but once they come across the narrator or any black man, their inner racism is exposed which is why they are "sleeping.". They are dangerous because they may come across as someone the narrator could trust and confide in, when in fact they a deeply racist and against him. 11. What is the tone that Trueblood uses to tell the story of his incest? As Mr. Trueblood tells his story, his tone is reflective but also quizzical. He tells his story of incest as if he were reading it from a pre-printed novel; it 's very rehearsed since he 's told it an abundance of times. However, he seems like he gets amusement by telling it and knows that whoever he tells it to will become captivated. He always uses the story to try to portray his innocence and connect with the people he tells. He reflects on his wrongdoings but in a way that is lighthearted and makes someone so shocked they almost can 't help but feel a little bad

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381 Words | 2 Pages

Williams is known for his powerfully written psychological dramas. Through the language used in this play one can easily recognize the conflict between the sensitive, neurotic Blanche Dubois and the crude, animalistic Stanley Kowaliski. By analyzing the dialogue of this text, the reader can easily understand the way in which the lines are meant to be projected and one can clearly see their emotions and feelings at any specific time of the events (Kolin 52). Concerning language, there are two levels of language are used in A Streetcar Named Desire, the words spoken by the characters in the play and the text of the stage directions. The dialogue is used to enable the reader to create an image of the characters, to decide if it’s

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290 Words | 2 Pages

For example, he describes her as having "hair like the sunlight," which suggests that she is an almost otherworldly beauty. Similarly, he describes her eyes as being "like stars," which creates an image of her as being something transcendent.

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Many people rely on tools to help them with basic things in life. For example, painters use paint brushes and carpenters use hammers and drills. For some of the same reasons, authors use literary devices to establish and support the theme of a story. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, internal conflict and irony helps establish the theme that pride is a wonderful yet deadly thing to possess. Internal conflict within the main character helps start the theme of pride in the “Scarlet Ibis.”

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959 Words | 4 Pages

The play A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most notable plays of the late 1940s to early 1950s and is still prevalent in the theater community today. It originally opened on Broadway in a 1947 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, today more commonly known as the Barrymore Theatre, preforming for a little over a thousand patrons. The original Stanley was played by Marlon Brando, who would reprise this role in the movie adaptation. At the Barrymore Theatre, the set was quite complex with a full stairway and banister, a pallor with a 4-chair dinning set and all the dressings of a then modern, but lower-class apartment.

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1453 Words | 6 Pages

The repetition of disbelief in lineage distances Norton from his paternal ties with her. Thus, it is clear that he does not view her as simply his daughter, but that he harbors sexual and romantic feelings for her. For this reason, Trueblood’s story of his sexual encounter with his own daughter consumes Norton (48), serving as a reverse-Oedipal situation in which a black man sleeps with his daughter instead of Oedipus sleeping with his mother. Norton secretly wanted to do the same with his own daughter, but, either because she dies too soon or because he believes he is too civilized, he is unable to do so. As a result, he uses Trueblood’s story as an opportunity to experience a depraved sexual fantasy without the social repercussions.

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1054 Words | 5 Pages

In Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois measures her family’s successes and failures against a standard that she believes reflects the social values of the Old South as practiced at Belle Reve, her lost plantation. She uses her reminiscences and behaviors to construct herself -- to other characters and to the audience -- as a Southern Belle: a representative of a group of highborn women from the antebellum South. As the play unfolds, however, it becomes clear not only that Blanche cannot live up to the Southern Belles code, but also that her ideas of the Old South are as illusory as the other self-deceptions to which she is subject. Confronted by the harsh reality of post-war America, Blanche finds comfort in escapism, traditionalism and illusions represented by the facades behind which she hides her true self.

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1366 Words | 6 Pages

In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams the character Blanche Dubois shows the characteristics of a tragic hero. In the play, Blanche is tested by suffering, forcing her to face the consequences of her actions. Blanche has many tragic flaws that can be shown through symbolism and themes throughout the play. Aristotle states that the protagonist must be of noble character - defined not by birth but rather moral choice. Aristotle also felt the best type of a tragic hero will fall somewhere between the two extremes - “... a person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor one who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation.”

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733 Words | 3 Pages

A Daily Joy to Be A Streetcar Named Desire Our identities can be limited by our past experiences. A Streetcar Named Desire is a southern gothic play by Tennessee Williams and “A Daily Joy to Be Alive” by Jimmy Santiago Baca has a dark but hopeful mood. A Streetcar Named Desire follows Blanche Dubois as she attempts to reinvent a new identity for herself when moves in with her sister and her husband, but she ends up making trouble for everyone down in New Orleans.

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The Role of Fantasy and Purpose in Individuals “I don’t want realism, I want magic”- Blanche DuBois (Williams 145). In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams presents readers with the acute presence of fantasy in individuals’ lives. Every character fabricates fantasies in his life to gloss over his struggles and forget each other 's flaws. A Streetcar Named Desire evaluates individual’s use of fantasy as a crutch to avoid the hard truths and give purpose to an empty life. Blanche DuBois, the protagonist of the story, uses fantasy to cope with her world crumbling around her.

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473 Words | 2 Pages

Appearance vs Reality Some of the major themes of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are appearance vs reality. Huck fakes his own death. The king goes to a church revival and acts like a pirate from the Indian Ocean and he has changed. Both of the examples should be explored more.

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183 Words | 1 Pages

This is why I think the work is a tragedy, a serious drama in which the problems and flaws of the central characters lead to an unhappy or harmful ending. In a classic tragedy, the story is told in a straightforward, chronological fashion, as the rising action builds toward a crisis and then the climax. The falling action is often brief, resulting in a swift solution. . A Streetcar Named Desire fits the standard parameters of a dramatic tragedy. The Kowalski apartment, where all the onstage action occurs, provides the unity of place.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

A Streetcar named Desire written by American playwright Tennessee Williams is a Marxist play that depicts the socio economic status of the characters and people living during that time. The play was written in 1947, two years after the second world war. The historical time leading up to the Second World War known as the Interwar period from 1918-1939 was an era classified with economical difficulties for a majority of American citizens. After the new economic system based upon capital emerged succeeding the Industrial Revolution, the United States saw a massive prosperity in the early twentieth century only to be demolished by the stock market crash of 1929 also known as Black Tuesday (source). These unsuccessful stock markets were one of the signs that showed that the new system, which depended on an extensive labor force and an open and unregulated market, was not as reliable as previously thought, this period was known as the Depression.

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838 Words | 4 Pages

Tennessee Williams story, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was a mix of the past and present that clashed together by two characters who believed in different lifestyles. In the story, Williams uses the domestic setting along with the characters personal traits as a base for the elements for social change. There are many references in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” that represent the use of past and present being used together. The past and present were entwined by the characters personal characteristics, the setting of the story, and Blanche’s personal relationships with men throughout the story. To begin, the personal characteristics of Blanche and Stanley were used to represent how society was changing into a new world.

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1547 Words | 7 Pages

Tennessee Williams wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Williams, 1947) It is based in New Orleans a new cosmopolitan city which is poor but has raffish charm. The past is representing old south in America 1900’s and present is representing new America post world war 2 in 1940’s. Past and present are intertwined throughout the play in the characters Stanley, Blanche, Stella and mitch. Gender roles show that males are the dominant and rule the house which Stanley is prime example as he brings home food and we learn of one time when he got cross and he smashed the light bulbs.

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847 Words | 4 Pages

“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a very elegant film in which the Southern gothic culture is demonstrated profoundly. Tennessee Williams uses the characters in the play to bring about a sense of how corrupt society truly was in the 1940’s in the South. The 1940’s was marked by an immense amount of violence, alcoholism, and poverty. Women at the time were treated as objects rather than people. Throughout the play Tennessee Williams relates the aspects of Southern society to the characters in the play.

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