"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is a really good short story that deals with preconceived notions and how they are often times very inaccurate. There are three characters in this story: a wife, her husband, and a blind man named Robert. Before the wife had met her current husband she had worked part time for Robert, mainly readying to him and doing some organization. Eventually she quit that job and moved away and married her husband. Ten years have gone by since she quit and during that time Robert and the wife sent each other tapes to keep each other up to date on the life of the other one. Robert's wife has recently passed away and he is coming to stay with the husband and wife.
Before Robert arrives the wife starts to tell her husband about Robert. The husband grabs an alcoholic drink and listens. After she has explained her relationship with Robert, her husband tells her what he knows and thinks about blind people. He says "my idea of blindness came from the movies...the blind moved slowly and never laughed." The reader can already tell that the husband is a shallow man who doesn't seem to know much about the world. He also seems kind of scared of them. He says "a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to."
Eventually Robert arrives. He is able to carry his own bag and even make it up the stairs with little help which surprises the husband. The three characters have a few more drinks while talking about different things. The conversation is focused between the wife and Robert. This seems to aggravate the husband.
After talking for a while they sit down and have dinner. Robert is able to cut his own food and feed himself. Once again they partake in more drinking. After stuffing themselves they retire to the living room once again. It is not long before the wife goes upstairs to change and make up Robert's bed. While she is gone Robert and the husband make small talk, but that eventually stops. The husband does not really know how to act without his wife there. She is the connection between Robert and the husband. The husband resorts to something is very familiar with, marijuana. The reader is told that he smokes every night. He offers some to Robert who politely agrees and takes a few hits. The wife comes in while this is going on a smokes a little too.
This is the big turning point in the story. Up to this point the husband has been jealous, shallow, mean, and sometimes rude. It's almost as if the alcohol and marijuana allow the husband to put down walls inside himself that contain what he knows. He is able to listen to and understand Robert better throughout the rest of the story.
While watching TV a show about cathedrals comes on and they begin to watch and listen. Robert asks the husband if he believes in anything and he says he does not. Just a little while later Robert wants the husband to describe the cathedral to him. The husband has a very hard time performing this task. He is only able to describe the outside of the building. It's as if he can not see the inside and doesn't know what exists there. This is also the exact way the husband lives his life. He is just concerned with what he can see. He takes no time to discover new things or look further than the surface. One example is his wife's poetry. She writes a few poems per years about big events in her life, but the husband can not understand them.
The cathedral reference is important because it is associated with "faith". Robert teaches the husband to have faith in the world. Not necessarily spiritual faith, but faith in people, his wife, relationships, etc. The husband started out the story as a man who just cared about what he could see. He had a miserable life. He didn't like his job and all he seemed to live for was coming home to smoke marijuana. Robert's visit has show the husband that there is more to life. He needs to explore deeper than the surface and he will be amazed at what he finds.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Like many of T.S. Eliot's other works, this poem is pretty difficult to comprehend. There are deep meanings within the poem that are not easily understood from just one reading. It takes multiple readings to really understand what he is saying.
The poem comes from the mind of Prufrock as if he is talking to someone else. The audience is not sure who he is talking to though. The first stanza talks about a bad part of town with "half-deserted streets", "one-night cheap hotels", and restaurants with "sawdust". All of these clue the audience into the fact that Prufrock probably doesn't come from the nicest part of town. He isn't high class.
As the poem continues the audience learns that he is going to some sort of dinner party or social function. He describes the women who will be there by saying "In the room the woman come and go talking of Michelangelo." He repeats this several times so it must be important. He is saying that the women at the function are pretty high class.
A few stanza's down Prufrock says "There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you will meet." Prufrock means that he will need to put on an alter ego or put up a front in order to attend the party. His current attitude and actions will not be sufficient at the party. They will know that he is not "one of them".
We learn that Prufrock is conscious of his appearance as the poem continues. He says "With a bald spot in the middle of my hair" and "They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin." This shows some of Prufrock's imperfections and also shows how he is worried about how he looks. He knows that if they study him too long they will figure out that he isn't what he seems. "For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."
Prufrock has a hard time coming to terms with himself. On top of not liking his appearance he the kind of person who keeps to himself, not that that's bad. He says "I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of the silent sea." This gives the picture of some little sea creature who lives far away at the bottom of the sea alone. Maybe Prufrock is depressed as well. He says "I am not Price Hamlet, nor was meant to be." I take this to mean that he isn't really concerned about being the one in charge. He is fine to be in the background. This goes right along with wanting to be on the bottom of the ocean.
During the rest of the poem he contemplates going and talking to a girl at the function that he likes. He decides not to however. He doesn't want to have to put on a disguise just to talk to her. He wants someone to love him for who he really is. He seems to be scared of rejection.
The poem comes from the mind of Prufrock as if he is talking to someone else. The audience is not sure who he is talking to though. The first stanza talks about a bad part of town with "half-deserted streets", "one-night cheap hotels", and restaurants with "sawdust". All of these clue the audience into the fact that Prufrock probably doesn't come from the nicest part of town. He isn't high class.
As the poem continues the audience learns that he is going to some sort of dinner party or social function. He describes the women who will be there by saying "In the room the woman come and go talking of Michelangelo." He repeats this several times so it must be important. He is saying that the women at the function are pretty high class.
A few stanza's down Prufrock says "There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you will meet." Prufrock means that he will need to put on an alter ego or put up a front in order to attend the party. His current attitude and actions will not be sufficient at the party. They will know that he is not "one of them".
We learn that Prufrock is conscious of his appearance as the poem continues. He says "With a bald spot in the middle of my hair" and "They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin." This shows some of Prufrock's imperfections and also shows how he is worried about how he looks. He knows that if they study him too long they will figure out that he isn't what he seems. "For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."
Prufrock has a hard time coming to terms with himself. On top of not liking his appearance he the kind of person who keeps to himself, not that that's bad. He says "I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of the silent sea." This gives the picture of some little sea creature who lives far away at the bottom of the sea alone. Maybe Prufrock is depressed as well. He says "I am not Price Hamlet, nor was meant to be." I take this to mean that he isn't really concerned about being the one in charge. He is fine to be in the background. This goes right along with wanting to be on the bottom of the ocean.
During the rest of the poem he contemplates going and talking to a girl at the function that he likes. He decides not to however. He doesn't want to have to put on a disguise just to talk to her. He wants someone to love him for who he really is. He seems to be scared of rejection.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
This story by Joyce Carol Oates is one of the creepiest stories I have ever read. The general idea of this short story is that the main character Connie is contemplating making the jump from pure to impure. By pure I mean being a virgin and unpure would be losing her virginity.
Connie is described as a 15 year old female. She is very pretty and knows it. "She knew she was pretty and that was everything." Like most girls her age she likes to hang out with her friends and mingle with the opposite sex. Up until this point Connie has been a good girl and has not went "all the way." Connie has two sides to her, her "home" side and her "away" side. She acts different at home than she does with her friends. She tries to act more respectable at home around her mother because she is constantly on Connie about something. Away from her house Connie kind of let's loose, but not in necessarily a bad way.
The basic story line is that she tells her parents that she is going to the movies with a friend. Instead of attending the movie they go across the street to a restaurant where all the older kids hang out. She meets a guy and they leave to go somewhere else. While crossing the street she sees another guy in a gold car who signals to her. She pays him no attention, but looks back a few seconds later and he is still staring at her and says "Gonna get you, baby." Then there is a jump in the story. Connie has decided not to go to a bar-b-que with her family and instead decides to stay home, wash her hair, and get some sun. Then the story really unfolds. The first time I read the story I thought that it was real and it was super creepy to the point it was almost unbelievable. Then I went back through the story and found an important part I skipped over. The important sentences I forgot are "The asbestos "ranch house" that was now three years old startled her---it looked small. She shook her head as if to get awake." These sentences explain to the audience that what is coming next is a dream. Once I figured that out I could understand the rest of the story a little better.
The rest of the story deals with the guy in the gold car coming to Connie's house. He tries to persuade her into taking a "ride" with him. He basically just wants to have sex with her. They have an extremely long dialogue. The whole time Connie stands behind a screen door. Eventually Connie notices the guy seems to to wearing a wig, has make up on, and has stuffed his boots to make him look taller. She also sees that he is much older than her, possibly 30, despite the fact that he tells her that he is only 18.
Another reason the audience can tell that the story is not reality is because the house only has a screen door. Almost every house has at least a wooden door for protection in today's world. Despite the fact that it is just a screen door, Connie seems to take refuge behind it. It's as if she thinks it will hold this man back, that he won't be able to break it down. It could also signify the line between being a virgin and not. This is true because when she is inside the house she is in her parents world. A world where Connie acts more reserved and she wouldn't think about having sex. Once she leaves the house through the screen door at the end of the story she has made the decision to have sex. After she has stepped outside the house she sees "land behind him and on all sides of him, so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it." I take this to mean that Connie's world changes after she has sex. She sees everything in a different light. It is an important action in her life just like it is for everyone else in the world. People always seem to act at least a little differently after they have sex the first time.
Arnold could represent a bad date or maybe a date that she might go on in the future if she keeps up her behavior of sneaking off to be with guys. She might eventually be forced to make the same decision. This dream could also all be made up from things Connie has previously thought about. She could be acting out this scenario in her dream using people and ideas she had already thought about before.
There are a couple of more reasons that point to the story being a dream. The first is because Connie doesn't recognize her own her. Another reason is that Arnold seems to know way too much about Connie. Even for a stalker the amount of information he knows is a little hard to believe. He knows what her family is wearing and even what they are doing at that moment in time at the bar-b-que. It is also strange that when he makes an "x" in the air it stays in the air "almost visible."
Connie is described as a 15 year old female. She is very pretty and knows it. "She knew she was pretty and that was everything." Like most girls her age she likes to hang out with her friends and mingle with the opposite sex. Up until this point Connie has been a good girl and has not went "all the way." Connie has two sides to her, her "home" side and her "away" side. She acts different at home than she does with her friends. She tries to act more respectable at home around her mother because she is constantly on Connie about something. Away from her house Connie kind of let's loose, but not in necessarily a bad way.
The basic story line is that she tells her parents that she is going to the movies with a friend. Instead of attending the movie they go across the street to a restaurant where all the older kids hang out. She meets a guy and they leave to go somewhere else. While crossing the street she sees another guy in a gold car who signals to her. She pays him no attention, but looks back a few seconds later and he is still staring at her and says "Gonna get you, baby." Then there is a jump in the story. Connie has decided not to go to a bar-b-que with her family and instead decides to stay home, wash her hair, and get some sun. Then the story really unfolds. The first time I read the story I thought that it was real and it was super creepy to the point it was almost unbelievable. Then I went back through the story and found an important part I skipped over. The important sentences I forgot are "The asbestos "ranch house" that was now three years old startled her---it looked small. She shook her head as if to get awake." These sentences explain to the audience that what is coming next is a dream. Once I figured that out I could understand the rest of the story a little better.
The rest of the story deals with the guy in the gold car coming to Connie's house. He tries to persuade her into taking a "ride" with him. He basically just wants to have sex with her. They have an extremely long dialogue. The whole time Connie stands behind a screen door. Eventually Connie notices the guy seems to to wearing a wig, has make up on, and has stuffed his boots to make him look taller. She also sees that he is much older than her, possibly 30, despite the fact that he tells her that he is only 18.
Another reason the audience can tell that the story is not reality is because the house only has a screen door. Almost every house has at least a wooden door for protection in today's world. Despite the fact that it is just a screen door, Connie seems to take refuge behind it. It's as if she thinks it will hold this man back, that he won't be able to break it down. It could also signify the line between being a virgin and not. This is true because when she is inside the house she is in her parents world. A world where Connie acts more reserved and she wouldn't think about having sex. Once she leaves the house through the screen door at the end of the story she has made the decision to have sex. After she has stepped outside the house she sees "land behind him and on all sides of him, so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it." I take this to mean that Connie's world changes after she has sex. She sees everything in a different light. It is an important action in her life just like it is for everyone else in the world. People always seem to act at least a little differently after they have sex the first time.
Arnold could represent a bad date or maybe a date that she might go on in the future if she keeps up her behavior of sneaking off to be with guys. She might eventually be forced to make the same decision. This dream could also all be made up from things Connie has previously thought about. She could be acting out this scenario in her dream using people and ideas she had already thought about before.
There are a couple of more reasons that point to the story being a dream. The first is because Connie doesn't recognize her own her. Another reason is that Arnold seems to know way too much about Connie. Even for a stalker the amount of information he knows is a little hard to believe. He knows what her family is wearing and even what they are doing at that moment in time at the bar-b-que. It is also strange that when he makes an "x" in the air it stays in the air "almost visible."
Monday, February 28, 2011
Anne Sexton's Snow White and Cinderella
Anne Sexton's renditions of the classics "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Cinderella" follow the story line of the original Grimm Brother's stories, but contain a little more reality. Instead of being true fairy tales, they tend to be more believable tales about more normal girls(if that's possible).
In "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" she starts out by comparing the virgin Snow White to a doll. She describes her with the following features: "legs made of Limoges", "lips like Vin Du Rhone", and "china-blue doll eyes". Then she explains how she only keeps her eyes "open" to the good in the world and "shuts" them to the bad or unmoral. She does not use open and close literally, instead she means that Snow White is aware of only the good, pure things in life. For an example of the "bad" Sexton says "the thrust of the unicorn". This is definitely a sexual reference. It is most obvious because of word choice of thrust.
After that introduction Sexton describes Snow White's stepmom and explains how she is basically obsessed with her mirror. She is so entranced with the mirror because she is extremely concerned with looks and beauty. When the mirror tells her one day that Snow White is prettier, she orders Snow White to die.
Snow White luckily escapes and wonders off into the woods. When it finally comes time for the seven dwarfs to meet Snow White they do so in a way that seems creepy and weird. Sexton paints the picture of Snow White sleeping on the ground and the dwarfs circling her several times. The dwarfs refer to her as "it" like she is an object instead of a person to them.
After Snow White wakes up the dwarfs allow her to stay with them. They give her one rule and one rule only, do not open the door while they are at work. They know that her stepmother is out to get her. The first time Snow White foolishly opens the door her stepmother is disguised so that Snow White does not notice her. She ends up selling her some lacing for her corset and laces it so tight that she dies. When the dwarfs come home they undo the lacing and she comes back to life. The same series of events happens another day when her stepmother sells her a comb. Both of these scenarios show that like her stepmother Snow White is also concerned with her looks.
The last time her stepmother comes in contact with Snow White she sells her a poison apple. Snow White eats it and falls into a deep sleep. She stays like this for a very long time. The dwarfs put her in a glass case and place her on a mountain. One day a prince comes by and can not leave her side. He is amazed by her beauty. He ends up taking her back to his castle, but on the way he drops her and the apple is dislodged and she comes to life. Then they live happily ever after.
A few things are strange about these events. The first is that the dwarfs put her in a glass case. The only reason someone would do this was so that they would stare at the person and kind of worship them. It seems like the dwarfs and the prince for that matter are only fascinated by Snow White's appearance. There is no talk of any of her other qualities. Also at the end of the poem Sexton states that Snow White "sometimes referring to her mirror". This explains that in the end Snow White isn't much different that her stepmother.
The Cinderella poem is similar in that the prince once again seems to only be concerned with her looks and basically forces himself on her. About half way through the poem Sexton is talking about how Cinderella has been going to the prince's castle for a few days and has spent lots of time with him, but has always returned home at night. The prince seems to want more out of the relationship so one night he breaks into Cinderella's house with an axe, but she is no where to be found. The next night he puts wax on the steps which makes one of Cinderella's shoes fall off. The prince takes the shoe and goes around the town looking for the owner. He eventually finds Cinderella and they live happily ever after.
I thought it was strange that the prince would break down the door to her house. Most females would have nothing to do with a man who would do something like that. It is also strange that he puts the wax down to "trap" her. It's as if he doesn't really care if she wants him or not, he is going to get her one way or another. I thought it was also weird that he has to rely on a shoe to find Cinderella. As the story explains both of her step sisters fit into the shoe(after some foot surgery) so it would be possible for multiple women to fit into the same shoe. It is only when a bird tells the prince to look at their bleeding feet that he notices that they are the wrong women. This shows the prince is superficial and is really only worried about looks.
In "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" she starts out by comparing the virgin Snow White to a doll. She describes her with the following features: "legs made of Limoges", "lips like Vin Du Rhone", and "china-blue doll eyes". Then she explains how she only keeps her eyes "open" to the good in the world and "shuts" them to the bad or unmoral. She does not use open and close literally, instead she means that Snow White is aware of only the good, pure things in life. For an example of the "bad" Sexton says "the thrust of the unicorn". This is definitely a sexual reference. It is most obvious because of word choice of thrust.
After that introduction Sexton describes Snow White's stepmom and explains how she is basically obsessed with her mirror. She is so entranced with the mirror because she is extremely concerned with looks and beauty. When the mirror tells her one day that Snow White is prettier, she orders Snow White to die.
Snow White luckily escapes and wonders off into the woods. When it finally comes time for the seven dwarfs to meet Snow White they do so in a way that seems creepy and weird. Sexton paints the picture of Snow White sleeping on the ground and the dwarfs circling her several times. The dwarfs refer to her as "it" like she is an object instead of a person to them.
After Snow White wakes up the dwarfs allow her to stay with them. They give her one rule and one rule only, do not open the door while they are at work. They know that her stepmother is out to get her. The first time Snow White foolishly opens the door her stepmother is disguised so that Snow White does not notice her. She ends up selling her some lacing for her corset and laces it so tight that she dies. When the dwarfs come home they undo the lacing and she comes back to life. The same series of events happens another day when her stepmother sells her a comb. Both of these scenarios show that like her stepmother Snow White is also concerned with her looks.
The last time her stepmother comes in contact with Snow White she sells her a poison apple. Snow White eats it and falls into a deep sleep. She stays like this for a very long time. The dwarfs put her in a glass case and place her on a mountain. One day a prince comes by and can not leave her side. He is amazed by her beauty. He ends up taking her back to his castle, but on the way he drops her and the apple is dislodged and she comes to life. Then they live happily ever after.
A few things are strange about these events. The first is that the dwarfs put her in a glass case. The only reason someone would do this was so that they would stare at the person and kind of worship them. It seems like the dwarfs and the prince for that matter are only fascinated by Snow White's appearance. There is no talk of any of her other qualities. Also at the end of the poem Sexton states that Snow White "sometimes referring to her mirror". This explains that in the end Snow White isn't much different that her stepmother.
The Cinderella poem is similar in that the prince once again seems to only be concerned with her looks and basically forces himself on her. About half way through the poem Sexton is talking about how Cinderella has been going to the prince's castle for a few days and has spent lots of time with him, but has always returned home at night. The prince seems to want more out of the relationship so one night he breaks into Cinderella's house with an axe, but she is no where to be found. The next night he puts wax on the steps which makes one of Cinderella's shoes fall off. The prince takes the shoe and goes around the town looking for the owner. He eventually finds Cinderella and they live happily ever after.
I thought it was strange that the prince would break down the door to her house. Most females would have nothing to do with a man who would do something like that. It is also strange that he puts the wax down to "trap" her. It's as if he doesn't really care if she wants him or not, he is going to get her one way or another. I thought it was also weird that he has to rely on a shoe to find Cinderella. As the story explains both of her step sisters fit into the shoe(after some foot surgery) so it would be possible for multiple women to fit into the same shoe. It is only when a bird tells the prince to look at their bleeding feet that he notices that they are the wrong women. This shows the prince is superficial and is really only worried about looks.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Scenes 7-11 of A Streetcar Named Desire
The ending scenes of A Streetcar Named Desire provide a lot of insight into the life of Blanche which helps the audience understand why she acts the way she does.
The audience learns that Stanley has been investigating Blanche's past and has found out a lot of dirty details that she hasn't told anyone before. According to Stanley Blanche slept with many men in Laurel and she even went as far as to sleep with one of her 17 year old students. This act was what cost her her job, which is understandable. Once Stanley learns all of the details about her past he feels obligated to tell his friend Mitch and Stella. Stella reaction is disbelief. She can't believe that Blanche would engage in those kind of activities. Mitch is very upset when he learns about Blanche. He was thinking about possibly marrying her, but now that he knows the truth he says she is "too unclean." That doesn't stop him from trying to have sex with her though. It seems like he feels she owes him at least that.
Stanley's actions prove to hit Blanche very hard, but I believe that the actions she took earlier in her life led to her demise more. In my opinion marrying that boy at such a young age was her biggest mistake. Even though times were different back then, 16 is still such a young age to get married. People at that age don't even know who they are themselves, let along what they are looking for in a long term relationship. The boy killing himself proves to continually haunt Blanche. She has flashbacks of the nights events quite frequently. It's as if she can't move on from being 16. This might explain why she seems to have an affinity for young boys such as her ex-husband and the paper boy. She probably feels like that is the right kind of man for her and they also make her feel good about her herself. She is always worried about her age so if she is able to attract a young man it proves to herself that in a way she still has "it".
The reason Stanley is important in Blanche's life is because he pushes her over the edge. He is constantly rude to her and belittles her all the time. He didn't have to dig into her personal life, but he did anyway. He didn't stop there though, he even told Blanche's boyfriend about her past. By exposing her past Stanley takes away a lot of her credibility. The meanest and most horrible thing Stanley does to Blanche is rape her. That was completely uncalled for. It is even worse that he did it while his wife was in labor. When Blanche tells Stella about it she doesn't believe her. She says that she can't continue to live with Stanley and believe Blanche. She must choose one or the other and she decides to stay with Stanley. Stanley has now taken away the most important person in Blanche's life.
The play ends with Blanche being taken to a mental institution. The audience never finds out how her life unfolds after that.
The audience learns that Stanley has been investigating Blanche's past and has found out a lot of dirty details that she hasn't told anyone before. According to Stanley Blanche slept with many men in Laurel and she even went as far as to sleep with one of her 17 year old students. This act was what cost her her job, which is understandable. Once Stanley learns all of the details about her past he feels obligated to tell his friend Mitch and Stella. Stella reaction is disbelief. She can't believe that Blanche would engage in those kind of activities. Mitch is very upset when he learns about Blanche. He was thinking about possibly marrying her, but now that he knows the truth he says she is "too unclean." That doesn't stop him from trying to have sex with her though. It seems like he feels she owes him at least that.
Stanley's actions prove to hit Blanche very hard, but I believe that the actions she took earlier in her life led to her demise more. In my opinion marrying that boy at such a young age was her biggest mistake. Even though times were different back then, 16 is still such a young age to get married. People at that age don't even know who they are themselves, let along what they are looking for in a long term relationship. The boy killing himself proves to continually haunt Blanche. She has flashbacks of the nights events quite frequently. It's as if she can't move on from being 16. This might explain why she seems to have an affinity for young boys such as her ex-husband and the paper boy. She probably feels like that is the right kind of man for her and they also make her feel good about her herself. She is always worried about her age so if she is able to attract a young man it proves to herself that in a way she still has "it".
The reason Stanley is important in Blanche's life is because he pushes her over the edge. He is constantly rude to her and belittles her all the time. He didn't have to dig into her personal life, but he did anyway. He didn't stop there though, he even told Blanche's boyfriend about her past. By exposing her past Stanley takes away a lot of her credibility. The meanest and most horrible thing Stanley does to Blanche is rape her. That was completely uncalled for. It is even worse that he did it while his wife was in labor. When Blanche tells Stella about it she doesn't believe her. She says that she can't continue to live with Stanley and believe Blanche. She must choose one or the other and she decides to stay with Stanley. Stanley has now taken away the most important person in Blanche's life.
The play ends with Blanche being taken to a mental institution. The audience never finds out how her life unfolds after that.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Scenes 4-6 of A Streetcar Named Desire
The most important events in these scenes are the long conversation between Stella and Blanche and Blanche going on a date with Mitch.
Scene four beings with Blanche checking on her sister after she was hit by Stanley the night before. She is shocked to see that she is at her house. Blanche figured she'd still be recovering at the neighbors. Stella and Blanche start talking about what happened and Blanche lets Stella know how she feels about the situation. Blanche explains how she thinks it was wrong and how the two of them were raised to not accept that treatment. Stella responds by saying it's fine. She says "he didn't know what he was doing...he was as good as a lamb when I came back and he's really very, very ashamed of himself" (p.63). I view this as as Stella making excuses for Stanley. Most women would not accept that kind of treatment, so it is strange that Stella seems to just shrug off what seems to be fairly normal abuse by Stanley.
The audience gets a better idea of what is holding Stella and Stanley together when Stella tells Blanche "there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark---that sort of make everything else seem---unimportant" (p.70). She is basically saying that the sex is so good it makes everything ok. It seems pretty shallow that that is the only thing holding their relationship together. However now that they are having a baby, which is the end result of their activities in bed, they have something else to hold them together.
At the end of their conversation, in scene four, Blanche really unleashes and lets Stella know how she really feels about Stanley. Neither one of them know, but Stanley is in the other room and overhears everything Blanche says. Blanches tells Stella that Stanley is not a human, that he never evolved like everyone else. She begs Stella to move on. She makes quite a few references to animals including "acts like an animal...eats like one, moves like one", "apes gather", "grunting like him", "gnawing and hulking", and "party of apes" (p.72). Her monologue is pretty harsh, but surprisingly Stanley does not confront her about it. He calmly walks in and acts like nothing has happened.
One small event that adds to the theme of Blanche being very conscious of her age happens in chapter five. A young man comes to collect money for the paper and Blanche starts to talk to him. She makes advances at him and is pretty suggestive. She eventually kisses him once and tells him to leave. These actions by Blanche seems to prove to herself that she still has "it" and that maybe there is still someone out there that could love her.
The last event that is important in these scenes occurs in scene six. The whole scene is devoted to Blanche and Mitch. The two of them go on a date and seem to have a good time. As the night draws on they eventually make it back to Stella's house and they enter. They have the place to themselves and start to talk. Blanche plays hard to get even though she knows what Mitch really wants. After some awkward moments Blanche turns the conversation to herself and talks about a boy she used to love. She goes on and on until she finally starts to cry. Mitch comforts her and says "You need somebody. And I need somebody, too. Could it be---you and me Blanche?" (p.96) This is where the scene ends, but it leave the audience guessing. Perhaps Blanche and Mitch will continue their relationship.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Scenes 1-3 of A Streetcar Named Desire
The opening scenes of "A Streetcar Named Desire", like any opening scenes, serve to give the audience a general idea of at least a few of the characters and the location. In the first three scenes of this play the audience learns that the play is set in Louisiana and more specifically New Orleans. Six characters interact in the first three scenes, but only three of them really make an impact on what happens. They are Stanley and Stella Kowalski, and Blanche DuBois.
Stella and Blanche are sisters who used to have a close relationship, but after Stella moved to New Orleans they drifted apart. Blanche comes to visit Stella in the first scene. Blanche is shocked to find out where Stella lives. In the letters they have sent to each other Stella made the apartment seem elegant, but in Blanche's opinion it is anything but. Both sisters grew up on a nice plantation with probably a decent amount of money so it is shocking for Blanche to see how Stella really lives.
The second and third scenes quickly set up a contrast of personalities. On one side is Blanche and on the other is Stanley and Stella falls in the middle. Stanley is portrayed as a man's man, but not in any way a Southern gentleman, which is what Stella and Blanche grew up accustomed to. In the first scene Stanley yells out to Stella and then throws "meat" at her. Despite being a sexual reference it also foreshadows how he treats Stella.
Blanche shows up to New Orleans in a white fluffy dress with lots of pearls and other jewelry. The reference to white is important because it signifies her purity or in other words how innocent she is to the type of city she is visiting. Blanche is worried about the way Stanley treats Stella. She thinks Stella deserves better.
Blanche and Stanley don't really like each other. Blanche views Stanley as an abusive an abusive husband and Stanley thinks Blanch is annoying. Blanche is even referred to as a "moth."
Blanche's suspensions come true when Stanley hits Stella after having a little too much to drink. The bad part of the situation is that Stella isn't really upset. After crying for a few minutes she seems to shrug it off. It seems like she is used to being abused by Stanley, something Blanche does not understand.
Stella and Blanche are sisters who used to have a close relationship, but after Stella moved to New Orleans they drifted apart. Blanche comes to visit Stella in the first scene. Blanche is shocked to find out where Stella lives. In the letters they have sent to each other Stella made the apartment seem elegant, but in Blanche's opinion it is anything but. Both sisters grew up on a nice plantation with probably a decent amount of money so it is shocking for Blanche to see how Stella really lives.
The second and third scenes quickly set up a contrast of personalities. On one side is Blanche and on the other is Stanley and Stella falls in the middle. Stanley is portrayed as a man's man, but not in any way a Southern gentleman, which is what Stella and Blanche grew up accustomed to. In the first scene Stanley yells out to Stella and then throws "meat" at her. Despite being a sexual reference it also foreshadows how he treats Stella.
Blanche shows up to New Orleans in a white fluffy dress with lots of pearls and other jewelry. The reference to white is important because it signifies her purity or in other words how innocent she is to the type of city she is visiting. Blanche is worried about the way Stanley treats Stella. She thinks Stella deserves better.
Blanche and Stanley don't really like each other. Blanche views Stanley as an abusive an abusive husband and Stanley thinks Blanch is annoying. Blanche is even referred to as a "moth."
Blanche's suspensions come true when Stanley hits Stella after having a little too much to drink. The bad part of the situation is that Stella isn't really upset. After crying for a few minutes she seems to shrug it off. It seems like she is used to being abused by Stanley, something Blanche does not understand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)