A Streetcar Named Desire A* essay plan: past vs present

‭ xplore‬‭the‬‭ways‬‭Williams‬‭presents‬‭the‬‭tension‬‭between‬‭the‬‭past‬‭and‬‭the‬
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‭present‬‭in‬‭‘A‬‭Streetcar‬‭Named‬‭Desire’‬

‭ illiams‬‭presents‬‭the‬‭tension‬‭between‬‭the‬‭past‬‭and‬‭the‬‭present‬‭in‬‭Streetcar‬‭as‬‭an‬‭allegory‬‭of‬
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‭rapid‬‭social‬‭change‬‭of‬‭the‬‭time:‬‭despite‬‭attempts‬‭to‬‭resist‬‭the‬‭new,‬‭multicultural‬‭world‬‭that‬‭was‬
‭descending‬‭upon‬‭mid-20th‬‭Century‬‭America,‬‭change‬‭is‬‭an‬‭inevitable,‬‭powerful‬‭force.‬‭We‬‭must‬
‭accept‬‭it,‬‭adapt‬‭to‬‭it,‬‭or‬‭face‬‭being‬‭washed‬‭away‬‭with‬‭it,‬‭forgotten‬‭relics‬‭of‬‭a‬‭bygone‬‭era.‬

‭ ARA‬‭1:‬‭Blanche‬‭-‬‭internal‬‭tension‬‭between‬‭wanting‬‭to‬‭hold‬‭onto‬‭the‬‭past,‬‭but‬‭also‬‭wanting‬‭to‬
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‭bury‬‭it‬‭and‬‭embrace‬‭the‬‭present‬‭-‬‭employs‬‭a‬‭selective‬‭attitude‬‭to‬‭the‬‭past‬‭and‬‭the‬‭present‬
‭○‬ ‭Wants‬‭to‬‭hold‬‭on‬‭to‬‭genteel,‬‭old‬‭Southern‬‭values‬
‭■‬ ‭Appearance‬‭being‬‭incongruous‬‭to‬‭the‬‭setting‬
‭■‬ ‭Believes‬‭she‬‭must‬‭perform‬‭for‬‭men‬‭-‬‭waiting‬‭on‬‭a‬‭call‬‭from‬‭“Shep‬
‭Huntleigh”‬‭-‬‭representative‬‭of‬‭everything‬‭Blanche‬‭wants‬‭in‬‭a‬‭man‬‭-‬
‭interesting‬‭that‬‭he‬‭never‬‭materialises‬‭→symbolic‬‭of‬‭loss‬‭of‬‭this‬‭type‬‭of‬
‭relationship‬
‭■‬ ‭But‬‭this‬‭is‬‭a‬‭veneer‬‭-‬‭seen‬‭from‬‭the‬‭very‬‭beginning‬‭when‬‭we‬‭learn‬‭of‬
‭Blanche’s‬‭alcoholism,‬‭a‬‭decidedly‬‭unfeminine‬‭habit‬
‭○‬ ‭Wants‬‭to‬‭forget‬‭her‬‭unsavoury‬‭past‬
‭■‬ ‭Allan‬‭-‬‭haunts‬‭her‬‭-‬‭upsets‬‭her‬
‭●‬ ‭Homosexuality‬‭-‬‭taboo‬‭-‬‭this‬‭changing‬‭nature‬‭of‬‭society‬‭that‬
‭Blanche‬‭so‬‭vehemently‬‭rejects,‬‭may‬‭be‬‭coming‬‭back‬‭-‬‭“you‬‭disgust‬
‭me”‬
‭■‬ ‭Belle‬‭Reve‬‭-‬‭not‬‭wanting‬‭to‬‭disclose‬‭what‬‭happens‬‭–‬‭but‬‭Stanley,‬‭as‬‭a‬
‭representation‬‭of‬‭the‬‭present,‬‭insists‬‭on‬‭her‬‭materialising‬‭the‬‭elusive‬
‭“papers”‬‭that‬‭reveal‬‭what‬‭happened‬‭to‬‭Belle‬‭Reve‬
‭○‬ ‭But‬‭ultimately,‬‭We‬‭cannot‬‭hide‬‭our‬‭past‬‭-‬‭e.g.‬‭exposure‬‭of‬‭Blanche’s‬‭promiscuity/‬
‭affair‬‭with‬‭student‬‭to‬‭Mitch.‬‭This‬‭raises‬‭interesting‬‭questions‬‭in‬‭the‬‭context‬‭of‬
‭post-emancipation‬‭America‬
‭■‬ ‭“Lie‬‭number‬‭One”,‬‭“Lie‬‭number‬‭Two”‬‭,‬‭“But‬‭even‬‭the‬‭management‬‭of‬‭The‬
‭Flamingo‬‭was‬‭impressed‬‭by‬‭Dame‬‭Blanche”‬‭/‬‭“a‬‭seventeen‬‭year‬‭old‬‭boy‬‭–‬
‭she’d‬‭gotten‬‭mixed‬‭up‬‭with”‬

‭PARA‬‭2:‬‭Blanche‬‭vs‬‭Stanley‬‭and‬‭Stella‬‭-‬‭external‬‭representation‬‭of‬‭the‬‭past‬‭vs‬‭the‬‭present‬
‭○‬ ‭Blanche‬‭disproves‬‭of:‬
‭■‬ ‭Desire‬‭-‬‭fueled‬‭relationship‬‭of‬‭her‬‭sister‬‭-‬‭despite‬‭taking‬‭the‬‭“streetcar‬
‭named‬‭desire”‬‭here‬‭too‬‭-‬‭she‬‭(at‬‭least‬‭outwardly)‬‭wishes‬‭to‬‭be‬‭rescued‬‭by‬
‭a‬‭genteel‬‭husband‬‭-‬‭“you’re‬‭married‬‭to‬‭a‬‭madman”‬ ‭,‬‭“a‬‭man‬‭like‬‭that‬‭is‬
‭someone‬‭to‬‭go‬‭out‬‭with‬‭–‬‭but‬‭live‬‭with!‬‭Have‬‭a‬‭child‬‭by!”‬
‭●‬ ‭We‬‭have‬‭somewhat‬‭sympathy‬‭for‬‭Blanche‬‭here‬
‭■‬ ‭Stella‬‭dating‬‭outside‬‭of‬‭her‬‭social‬‭group‬‭-‬‭“Pollak”,‬‭animalistic‬‭imagery‬‭“I‬
‭take‬‭it‬‭for‬‭granted‬‭that‬‭you‬‭still‬‭have‬‭sufficient‬‭memory‬‭of‬‭Belle‬‭Reve‬‭to‬