Why does Williams slowly reveal more details about Blanche? What do you think was happening at the Hotel Flamingo? What is the audience beginning to discover about her? How do we feel about her now? Explain how our emotions towards her change from Scenes 1-5. What is Williams saying about the position of women in this society? Are they as powerful as men or not?
Creative response: write Stanley or Stella's diary based on what has happened so far in the play.
Or write the messenger boy's diary on what happens to him with Blanche or the conversation he has with his friends about what happened, written in the form of a script.
What do you think of this representation of the play in the short clip here? Is it as you imagine?
Stanley begins to research about Blanche’s past because in the previous scene he heard her discredit him and he realises that she is trying to divide himself and Stella. He also wants to get a better idea of what Blanche is like, as he does not fully trust her yet.
ReplyDeleteWilliams presents Stanley as a cunning man who is not prepared to stop when he is determined to do something. He is invading Blanche’s privacy by finding out details of Blanche’s life as he needs to know what he is going up against.
Stanley asks Blanche ‘what sign were you born under?’ Stanley feels he needs to know every detail of Blanche’s life in order to build a picture of her life. Also as he answered this question he feels that she should answer his question – if she knows something about him, he needs to know it about her. The emphasis on ‘you’ shows that he is determined to find out about her. He then asks her ‘do you know somebody named Shaw?’ Even though he knows the answer, he still asks the statement as a question, making Blanche believe she is still one step ahead of him. It also shows he has been researching her past. Stanley then asks Blanche ‘that stuff you use is expensive?’ As she has maintained she is not well off, it proves that Stanley has been studying her past and knows she has had a better life than she is letting on.
Williams slowly reveals more details about Blanche to add to the suspense and leave the reader questioning what will happen next. It also adds to the intrigue of the play and allows him to build towards the conclusion.
Blanche was probably residing in the Hotel Flamingo and could have been in a relationship with Shaw. However she may have visited friends there as well and may not have lived there.
The audience is beginning to discover that she has hidden some details of her past, which is quite shady. As she kisses the young man, it shows that she may be slightly insane. She could also be perceived as a liar.
In the beginning we see her as a caring person who is there to help and support her sister, despite being disappointed with her surroundings. We saw her challenge Stanley’s authority and trying to persuade Stella that they can make a better life for themselves. However in scene 5 we see her as slightly insane and is quick to dismiss Stanley’s probing questions, showing she could be hiding something.
Williams is saying that women are below men in society. He shows this as Stanley is probing Blanche about her past, rather than the other way round. Nobody questions him because everybody trusts him. He does not accept what Blanche says and will not believe her, showing what society was like. He tries to show they are not as powerful as men, as they constantly have to defend themselves.
Dear diary
All was going well until Blanche, Stella’s sister, turned up on my doorstep. Stella and I were getting along just fine and now Blanche has drove a wedge in between us. Since she came here I have been an emotional wreck. I even hit Stella due to my frustration boiling over. I’ve tried to question Blanche about her past but she either deflects my questions or changes the topic. There is something more to her than meets the eye, I cannot trust her. I met a man called Shaw who believes he met her in Laurel. I will ask him more about her as she did not seem too thrilled that I mentioned his name. I also overheard her thoughts on me. She is trying to turn Stella against me and I cannot allow that to happen as she is all that I have. I can’t believe I hit her, I couldn’t contain my anger and I deeply regret it, however I think I have made it right and am now back in control of the situation. If I can just expose Blanche’s hopefully she will leave and Stella and I will be able to continue our lives on as normal.
Stanley
I think this representation shows the play to be quite dramatic and Stanley to be a very aggressive and intimidating person. I imagined it to be similar to this, but did not think Stanley was as aggressive and that Blanche would be so easily intimidated and disrespected.