● AO1: - confrontation between Blanche and Stanley
○ The Rape scene in scene 10
○ “Jungle noises” “blue piano” “inert figure” “falls to her knees”
○ This is the metaphorical death of Blanche and the Old South as she gives in to
Stanley and his hegemonic masculine ideals.
○ Zoomorphic imagery and plastic theatre emphasise how he is animalistic and
primal. This legitimises Blanche’s argument of him being “ape-like” from
before
○ Her submission to him in the end shows the eventual downfall and the
inevitability of her tragedy. She was never going to win
○ The blue piano plays and it symbolises her epistemological break
○ She loses her mind and doesn’t try to save herself in the end as she lies dead
● Blanche’s constant avoidance of confrontation
○ “Paper lantern” “can’t stand a naked bulb”
○ Motif of light and bathing show how she is trying to hide her past
○ The light represents reality and the truth of her past
○ It also shows her age
○ She hasn’t moved on from what happened when she was young which shows
how she is still young in her head and isn’t ready to move on
○ When Mitch “rips” the lantern and says she’s “not clean enough” he proves
her worst fears to be correct
○ She has reason to do what she does
○ She obsessively bathes as a way to wash off the dirt of her past
○ Bathing a metaphor for baptism as she’s trying to come back anew
○ Her language is much more flowery and detailed than Stanley who speaks
in monosyllables a lot of the time
○ Shows how she’s trying to obfuscate the truth
○ Symbolism and metaphor of her being a ‘moth’. She’s drawn to light but
that’s inevitably her downfall. A sense of tragic irony
● Lack of confrontation in final scene on Blanche’s behalf
○ Blanche is trying to fight the Matron but gets no help and gives in in
the end
○ Stella just cries holding the baby
○ Baby represents the new generation and the death of the old
○ Williams’ sister Rose was sent to a mental asylum
○ Even Mitch doesn't help
○ Blanche’s last line “I have always depended on the kindness of
strangers” appeals for pathos as she didn’t receive any sympathy from
her family. It is a tragic idiolect
○ The Rape scene in scene 10
○ “Jungle noises” “blue piano” “inert figure” “falls to her knees”
○ This is the metaphorical death of Blanche and the Old South as she gives in to
Stanley and his hegemonic masculine ideals.
○ Zoomorphic imagery and plastic theatre emphasise how he is animalistic and
primal. This legitimises Blanche’s argument of him being “ape-like” from
before
○ Her submission to him in the end shows the eventual downfall and the
inevitability of her tragedy. She was never going to win
○ The blue piano plays and it symbolises her epistemological break
○ She loses her mind and doesn’t try to save herself in the end as she lies dead
● Blanche’s constant avoidance of confrontation
○ “Paper lantern” “can’t stand a naked bulb”
○ Motif of light and bathing show how she is trying to hide her past
○ The light represents reality and the truth of her past
○ It also shows her age
○ She hasn’t moved on from what happened when she was young which shows
how she is still young in her head and isn’t ready to move on
○ When Mitch “rips” the lantern and says she’s “not clean enough” he proves
her worst fears to be correct
○ She has reason to do what she does
○ She obsessively bathes as a way to wash off the dirt of her past
○ Bathing a metaphor for baptism as she’s trying to come back anew
○ Her language is much more flowery and detailed than Stanley who speaks
in monosyllables a lot of the time
○ Shows how she’s trying to obfuscate the truth
○ Symbolism and metaphor of her being a ‘moth’. She’s drawn to light but
that’s inevitably her downfall. A sense of tragic irony
● Lack of confrontation in final scene on Blanche’s behalf
○ Blanche is trying to fight the Matron but gets no help and gives in in
the end
○ Stella just cries holding the baby
○ Baby represents the new generation and the death of the old
○ Williams’ sister Rose was sent to a mental asylum
○ Even Mitch doesn't help
○ Blanche’s last line “I have always depended on the kindness of
strangers” appeals for pathos as she didn’t receive any sympathy from
her family. It is a tragic idiolect
