Mini-essay Streetcar Scene Five

Essay question: How is Blanche's character represented in relation to the themes of the play?
Use examples from Scene 5 to support your arguments.
Step 1: collect examples
Step 2: make a plan for your essay
Step 3: write it! Min. 200 words; this is part of portfolio 3.

Pay attention: IB essays are all about analysis, not about opinion. Your answer to the essay question must be supported by arguments/examples.

Streetcar Scene Four

Analyse your assigned fragment from Scene Four. Pay attention to stylistic devices, imagery, style of dialogue, references to themes. Select one quote from your fragment that you think is most significant.

Fragment from the moment when Stella wakes up until the top of page 42

In this fragment Stella and Blanche are discussing the fact that Stanley hit Stella. Stella is smoothing things over for Stanley and says good things about him: ‘He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.’ She gives us the impression that she does not mind the fact that Stanley hit her. She even mentions the night of her wedding when Stanley smashed light-bulbs with Stella’s slipperàlight bulb symbolic+light and dark. She even laughs about itàmental instability

Page 43-44

Blanche is dependent: P.43 ''meet someone with a million dollars''

P.44 ''I can't dial,''

Blanche also is nervous and uneasy: P.43 ''shakily'', ''twists'', ''shakes''

P.44 ''bites'', ''smashes''

Blanche doesn't realize that Stella doesn't want to leave: P.44 'Blanche: ''Darling Shep. Siter and I in desperate situation. Stella: I beg your Pardon! Blanche: Sister and I in desperate situation''

Stella doesn't take Blanche seriously shown by her reaction:

P.43 ''well, well''

''my, my''

P.44 ''with a laugh: Don't be so ridiculous, darling!''

"It brought me here. - Where i'm not wanted and where i'm ashamed to be..."
It explains that "Desire" brought Blanche to stella, litteraly in the "Streetcar named Desire" and by what we later on will encounter her trouble back in laurel. Her huntingground in Laurel was not sufficient enough to keep up her appearance, the major asked her to leave. but she didn't want to quit her game. So she moved to Stella to keep up her appearance and keep playing her game.

It also shows the controversy, Blanche is trying to save Stella, But actually she's the one that has to be saved...

Blanche’s Monologue, p. 47

-          Exclamation marks at the end of virtually every sentence, indicating that Blanche is shouting, or at least speaking very loud.

-          Cursive words to show that Blanche puts emphasis on these words.

-          Dashes indicate pauses.

-          Blanche gives a metaphorical description of Stanley, in which she compares him with animals, apes and cavemen.

-          She is also drooping with sarcasm, e.g. “Stanley Kowalski – survivor of the Stone Age!” and “That is, if kisses have been discovered yet!”

-          She puts Stanley in contrast with the progress that has been made since the Stone Age, that is, art, poetry and music.

The most important sentence of this fragment is (also indicated by the “. . .” for a dramatic pause and that the entire sentence is emphasized (cursive)):

“. . . Don’t – don’t hang back with the brutes!”

 

American Skin - language and racism

Read the following articles, and in combination with the handout (ACLU-poster) given to you in class, use them as the basis of

a magazine article or an editorial

in which you discuss the theme of the articles as well as the characteristics of the different types of text that are used to express the theme.

First write a basic lay-out for your text before you start writing it: finish this before Wednesday 9 May, when it will be discussed in class!

Your final text should be at least 300 words long and is part of Portfolio 3.

White Until Proven Black: Imagining Race in Hunger Games (The New Yorker, 30 March 2012)
'Why wasn't The Hunger Games cast as I imagined in my racist reading?' (The Guardian, 28 March 2012)
Comment: Emmett Till in Sanford (The New Yorker, 23 March 2012)
Bruce and Trayvon: American Skin (The New Yorker, 29 March 2012)

Writing a Type of Text

For Wednesday 4 April:

write a 150-word text about a topic we have discussed in class (literature or language) paying specific attention to the characteristics of your chosen text type.