John McRae Notes
Scene One
- It was written less than a hundred years after the civil war
- The timing is through a 'long, hot summer'
- A lot of the scnes take place in the dark of the night
- The integration of New Orleans is more advanced at this time than any other place in the United States
- The soundtrack is the 'emotional undercurrent of music, voices, characters'
- It sets up atmosphere before the main characters are introduced
- Blanche's description is one that makes us think of a moth to a flame
- Blanche is trying to make herself at home in this society throughout the play even though she is a complete outsider
- 'We own this plae' but Blanche owns nothing anymore
- Blanche is from Mississippi which is seen as more old fashioned than New Orleans.
- Even though Blanche pretends not to drink, the audience knows that she is an alcoholic
- 'Funerals are pretty, compared to death'- funerals are made to try and make death seem more pretty
- Stanley Kowlaski is the new man in modern America and is the alpha male
- All of Stanley's possessions symbolise the new culture of America which is one of capitalism
- There is a pick up of speed in the second scene
- The paper work represents the dead hand of the past catching up with the future and the future is represnted by Stella's baby
- Blanche is childless in a 'end of the line' way
- Blanche is the product of her history
- She latches onto the doctor and the nurse because they represent another chance at the future
- 'I was flirting with your husband!'- it's the only thing she knows to do and she thinks that's what men want
- Steve's joke is about sex and it shows how it is a priority for them over food
- The first conversation between Mitch and Blanche is one about physical need
- 'Gallantry' - old fashioned, echoes the old-south
Catharsis
Tragedy- Int its pure form a character from high social position (king) falls due to their fatal flaw. The end result should be dead.
The release of these emotions is called catharsis.
