Blog Post 3- Topic 4

“A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams is a play that showcases the main character, Blanche DuBois’, descent into insanity. The play was well received and was successful enough to be adapted into a movie. Although much of the success comes from the well-written storyline, another important contribution can come from being originally written using the literary genre of drama. The play was well-suited for drama because the physical environment was a key element in the story, and Blanche’s moments of mental instability are more enhanced when performed rather than if it was written as a novel or short story.

            The visual aspect of the physical environment is important because it allows the viewers to fully see the distinction between Blanche and everything else. Beginning from Scene 1 and up until the end of the play, Blanche is continually out of place no matter where she is in the story. In Scene 1, the neighborhood of Elysian Fields is described a poor neighborhood that is weathered, rickety and in decay. This a huge contrast to Blanche’s initial description. In her first appearance, she was dressed elegantly, and all in white. Although a reader can imagine this on their own, they would not be able to see the extremity of the contrast between Blanche and her surroundings. As a drama, this contrast is in constant effect, and emphasizes Blanche’s status as a social outcast, and lack of belonging.

            Another reason the visual representation of the environment is enhanced with the genre of drama is because there are certain important scenes that would not work unless it was a play. An example of such a scene is during Stanley and Blanche’s final confrontation. At one point in this scene, a cue in the stage directions calls for the a wall in the room to become transparent and view of the street is seen. In the street, there is a short scene with a prostitute, and a drunkard. None of these characters speak or are even directly acknowledged by either Stanley or Blanche as they have their confrontation. Such a scene would be extremely hard to portray in a literature since it might impair the dramatic momentum that Stanley and Blanche are having. The author might have not included it, but given the time that the scene played in the story, this short scene is seen as important since it is a foreshadowing of Stanley raping Blanche.

            Blanche’s mental instability also benefits from being portrayed in a drama because it can use elements other than words or visuals to convey it. An example of this is with the repeated use of the polka song when Blanch is having moments of mental instability. A person just reading the play may not understand how repetitive the song is because they may casually read through it. However, people in an audience have the experience of listening to the continued use of the song, and even when it begins to distort towards the end. The drama allows the audience to take part in Blanche’s descent into madness. 

Blog Post 3: Topic 4

By Patty Swing

Stories stimulate the imagination. They use details and dialogues and a myriad of other literary techniques just to evoke a certain mood and get the reader to feel the full impact of the plot’s purpose. As the creator, it is the writer’s responsibility to choose the best format that will achieve their goal. For “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Tennessee Williams decided drama was best suited for Blanche, Stanley, and Stella’s story, and I agree.

            Some stories are better spoken than written. These stories rely on the emphasis in the orator’s voice and the emotion placed into the words. Some stories are better written than spoken. They rely on the reader’s imagination to bring the words to life. Then there are some stories that are better to be shown than spoken or written. These stories rely on blatant visuals and the way actors literally put life into fictional characters. They rely on what is in between the lines, the little actions that might not seem important or read into if they were in a novel format or told out loud. They also put the story within a time frame that is easier to keep track of because it is the same for everyone watching the drama. In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Williams relies on the chemistry and actions of the actors to convey his message to his audience. The sexual tension between Blanche and Stanley is a good example of this. Merely reading the script does not convey the subtle attraction as actually seeing it. I think it is also why we were shown the scene in the movie after reading the play. We, as the audience, are given more subtext through the visual and it also goes back to foreshadowing, but in a more subtle manner. Having the visuals also continues to remind the audience of the apparent differences between the characters. The sophisticated way Blanche dresses in comparison to the carelessness in Stanley’s attire communicates the class distinctions. The exaggerated and slightly dramatic manner in which Blanche moves throughout the play in contrast with the slumped and sort of arrogant fashion play a part in hinting to the reader what is about to conspire.

            To be more straightforward, having “A Streetcar Named Desire” as a drama makes Stanley raping Blanche more impactful. The playwright does not blatantly state that Blanche was raped and the audience has to look more into what is happened to know what occurred. However, as a drama, there is barely a question to what had transpired. The audience sees the predatory air that Stanley carries throughout the play. They see the wariness that Blanche starts to develop around Stanley and her urge to not be left alone with him. They get a better sense that the characters would inevitably act on that attraction, they just do not know how. But then they also see the hostility that gradually brews between the two and the way they try to tug Stella onto their side. They slander each other’s image; Blanche tells Stella of what she thinks of Stanley and Stanley breaches Blanche’s privacy when he divulges her affairs at the Flamingo to Mitch. That inevitability in the beginning seems unlikely now, and then Stella’s giving birth which leads to Stanley and Blanche being left alone in their house. Then Stanley attacks.

            The build-up of the story through the sexual tension and hostility that the actors show make Blanche’s rape and insanity more of a shocker. Watching “A Streetcar Named Desire” instead of reading it resonates the idea that there is more to what is being said, because in this story, actions speak much louder than words.

Word Count: 610 

Blog Post #3 Topic #1 Amy Joo

ESTRAGON:

Charming spot. (He turns, advances to front, halts facing auditorium.) Inspiring prospects. (He turns to Vladimir.) Let's go.

VLADIMIR:

We can't.

ESTRAGON:

Why not?

VLADIMIR:

We're waiting for Godot.

ESTRAGON:

(despairingly). Ah! (Pause.) You're sure it was here?

VLADIMIR:

What?

ESTRAGON:

That we were to wait.

VLADIMIR:

He said by the tree. (They look at the tree.) Do you see any others?

ESTRAGON:

What is it?

VLADIMIR:

I don't know. A willow.

ESTRAGON:

Where are the leaves?

VLADIMIR:

  It must be dead.

ESTRAGON:

No more weeping.

VLADIMIR:

Or perhaps it's not the season.

ESTRAGON:

Looks to me more like a bush.

VLADIMIR:

A shrub.

ESTRAGON:

A bush.

VLADIMIR:

A—. What are you insinuating? That we've come to the wrong place?

ESTRAGON:

He should be here.

“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett is an Absurdist play, which is presented by Vladimir and Estragon who try to find a purpose in life. Although the dialogues above are short, they clearly represent the whole play, describing the setting, the role of the time, the relationship between the characters, and the metaphor for life.

Solely through the several dialogues of the two characters, one can assume where the play is held at and how the time plays a role here. The two characters are waiting for Godot by the tree. They are not sure at which specific tree they are supposed to be waiting and eventually think that they are at a wrong place. This is because when Estragon asks, “Where are the leaves [of the willow]?” (Beckett), Vladimir simply assumes that it must be dead. They cannot assure themselves that the leaves are gone because it is not the season; rather, they try to conclude that it is instead either a bush or a shrub. Their confusion with the willow season shows that they are not familiar with the time change. They do not seem to know in what period of the year they are living and thus do not know what a willow is supposed to look like now. In this play, the time is not important as it is cyclical. The characters do the same thing every day; they only wait for Godot. Reading through the tree conservation of Estragon and Vladimir, one can understand that the play is held among trees and that they do not have a clear sense of the time.

The dialogues between Estragon and Vladimir depict that they do not get along quite well but still need each other to achieve the goal of meeting Godot. The two characters are very forgetful; they forget for what purpose they are here. And they get mad at each other when one of them doubts him. However, Beckett still conveys the importance of companionship through their relationship. Vladimir, for example, reminds Estragon that they are waiting for Godot when Estragon tries to leave, and Estragon comforts Vladimir by saying that Godot should be coming when Vladimir doubts about the waiting spot. The whole play teaches the audience the values of having a companion; sometimes a companion can trigger more conflicts but often time encourages one another. And by reading through only the several dialogues between the two characters, one can see their lasting relationship and their need for it.

Beckett’s lesson on metaphor for life can be understood through the conversations as well. One can see that Estragon and Vladimir do not know what time period they are in because they get confused with the tree season too. They are so overwhelmed with the repetitive and mundane period of waiting for Godot that they think of life as a cycle of same actions and eventually forget that the nature appears differently based on the time. The two characters’ lives represent those of people in this today’s society as well. We go to work or school every day, and our main goal is to earn success. Therefore, in a negative perspective, our life is only stagnant and boring as that of the two characters in the play, and there is no meaning in our life. The close reading of the part of the story deliberately illustrates our negative part of the life and shows similarities to life right now.

The brief part of the play clearly delivers the setting, the role of the time, the relationship with Estragon and Vladimir, and finally the metaphor for life. And thus this well represents the whole play “Waiting for Godot” in less than 20 lines.

Word Count: 617

Blog Post #3 Topic 1

VLADIMIR:

A dog came in–

Having begun too high he stops, clears his throat, resumes:

A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb–

He stops, broods, resumes:

Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb
And wrote upon the tombstone
For the eyes of dogs to come:
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb–

He stops, broods, resumes:

Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb–

He stops, broods. Softly.

And dug the dog a tomb . . .

            Through a close reading of these lines from the start of act two in Waiting for Godot, we can determine Samuel Beckett’s purpose for the second act of the play. Here we see Vladimir sing a song that repeats itself indefinitely should he choose to keep at it. He does this in the exact same place and the exact same time from where act one takes place. Combining these points, we get a foreshadowing that the same thing will repeat in act two as in the previous act. This proves true when Vladimir and Estragon meet the same set of people in the same order and then proceed to continue waiting for Godot. Just like in the tombstone’s writing that recounts the exact same tale in a never ending loop, the duo will repeat the exact same act of waiting for Godot endlessly.

            The word choice used in Vladimir’s song is also important to note. The two types of characters are the dog and the cook. From a relationship dynamic of domestication, the human cook would have the more dominance in comparison to the dog. The power difference is further accentuated by the fact that the dog comes to steal only a crust of bread, not even a whole piece or loaf of bread. This is reminiscent of the scene of Pozzo and Estragon with the piece of chicken. Whereas Pozzo enjoyed the meat of the chicken, Estragon was content to have just the bones. The cook, like Pozzo, enjoys more affluence than the dog, like Estragon. There is also a connection to the cook’s ladle in relation to Pozzo, and that is his slave Lucky. A ladle is a tool used by its owner, the cook. As a slave, Lucky is also a tool to be used by his owner, Pozzo. And just like how the ladle is used to hit the dog, Lucky was used indirectly to hit Estragon, when Estragon was tricked by Pozzo into getting to close to Lucky. The tomb that is mentioned also has significance. A tomb is a final resting place; a resting place is where movement ceases; if you have ceased movement, you could also say that you are waiting. Like that, the tomb can be given another meaning to further emphasize the wait. The sentence structures are also short and choppy. This relates to much of the dialogue that takes place between the characters, much of which are quite repetitive.

            Likewise to Vladimir’s song, the wait for Godot is endless. Had the story gone on to a third act, it would very much likely be a repetition of the past two. The pauses in between the verses sung as well as the repetition of the lines when he resumes are much like the change between scenes where Vladimir and Estragon do nothing and then resume their repetitive banter. Much like the song, the story of the play goes on until it is cut off by the curtain.

Word count : 500

Blog Post 3: Topic 3

 A key aspect of the theme for “A Streetcar Named Desire,” by Tennessee Williams, is the concept of insanity and which character fits this persona the best based on the events of the play. To many, Blanche is the helpless character driven to madness, for obvious reasons, but others may argue that Stanley may be the one that is truly crazy, while Blanche is just coping with the life that she was given. Although the concept of insanity seems relatively easy to understand and justify, there are many definitions of what insanity could possibly mean. In the court of law, the definition of insanity is to have an, “Unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand that prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a relationship, status or transaction that releases one from criminal or civil responsibility” (Merriam-Webster). Another common thought culturally, is that insanity is something completely unreasonable due to their disordered state of mind (Merriam-Webster). Based off these two definitions of insanity, Blanche is only marginally insane in the aspect of the law, but is fully insane based on the cultural definition.

            Blanche is only considered slightly insane in the eyes of the court, because she is fully aware of the bad decisions she has made and of the relationships that she has created. Before it was revealed to the audience that Blanche was very promiscuous in her last residence and that she had an unnatural attraction towards young boys, Blanche knew that she did these things, but continued to lie and keep up this perfect facade of herself regardless of the truth. Although Blanche did this multiple times, she particularly lied to Stanley when she said, “‘I’m afraid he does have me mixed up with this ‘other party.’ The hotel Flamingo is not the sort of establishment I would dare be seen!” (Williams, 77). Blanche was lying about her affiliation with the men at hotel Flamingo, where she had all of her licentious activities. Her need to be the type of woman that society wants her to be, drives her to lie in every aspect of her life. This is also true with the relationships that she builds. Instead of starting an honest relationship with Mitch, who was everything she wanted in a man, her need to cover up her imperfections got the best of her and destroyed the only chance she had at returning to a normal life. Mitch was so fond of Blanche that he said, “I like you to be exactly the way that you are, because in all my--experience—I have never known anyone like you” (Williams, 87). Blanche fully understood that she was lying to Mitch, and to every other man that she has ever encountered, but she still willingly put herself in that relationship regardless of her starting it the wrong way through lies and deceit. Another relationship that she had full knowledge of, was the relationship between her and Stanley. When Stanley and Blanche first met, it was very clear to Blanche that there was a flirtatious atmosphere between the two and she even admitted to Stella that, “Yes, I was flirting with your husband!” (Williams, 44).  From this statement, it is clear that Blanche is not too impaired to see Stanley’s objective all throughout the play and the connection between them. Blanche is so aware of how dangerous Stanley is that she knew Stanley’s intentions by reading into his actions and tried to fight him off instead of allowing him to willingly take her. Although Blanche is not seen as insane based on the court’s definition, culturally she is obviously the sort.

            From a cultural aspect, Blanche is nothing else but crazy due to her impaired state of mind and her inability to distinguish the real world from the fake. From the beginning of the story, Blanche’s flaws have been introduced and they all seem to stem from deaths in her past. Because of this, Blanche seems to have something similar to post traumatic stress disorder, which inhibits her ability to function and dissociate what is true from the lies that she has made up in her head. Blanche seems to have PTSD from her husband’s death, which is seen through the Polka music that is continuously playing in her head, and because of this she has adapted horrible coping mechanisms to deal with the stress. To cope with her husband’s death, she started drinking, had numerous sexual interactions with different men, and the most harmful one of all is the fantasy world she created in her mind. When Blanche is in any extreme discomfort or stress, she lies about events in her life to make herself feel better. An example of this is when her secrets came out and she was being evicted from Stella’s home. To deal with the events of losing Mitch and her persona, she comes up with the fantasy that, “Mr. Shep Huntleigh…. [is] inviting me on a cruise of the Caribbean” (Williams, 124). Because Blanche is dependent on men to keep her life sane, the loss of Mitch, and the need to escape, causes her to rethink about her imaginary boyfriend Shep Huntleigh. Making up this lie in her head is the only way that Blanche knows how to deal with her current living standards because it gives her hope for a future that will never occur. Her made up world is also the root to all the precautions she takes to stay “young” and beautiful. This is true because Blanche believes that she needs to keep the same physical appearance as when she was a young girl in order to be desirable. To keep up with this fantasy she turns off lights to mask her age and kept her teenage mentality when it came to men. Because Blanche is not able to distinguish what is make-believe and the real world around her, it leads her to live a life that is a complete lie. In the end, Blanche’s distortion of reality is the only thing that saves her, but continues to prove her insanity to the audience and characters around her.