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Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
shh, no-one say what that's from.
Today was interesting. I spent the majority of it doing Biol and Lit stuff. Biol = cool. Lit = cool.
But the goddamn essay took forever. This translates into my mind as
Essay take long time = not good
Because I have to write 3 essays in 3 hours soon, and if I can't write one in 5 hours, well...
But no matter. We'll burn that bridge when we find we need to cross it.
I went to my mum's primary school reunion with her (obviously) this arvo, it was kinda cool. No-one said I looked like my mum, which was odd, because it was something I really expected to happen alot.But it was interesting.
Oh, and here's my essay. Mainly because I'm fairly sure I'll forget it, and this way, I won't die a horrible firey death.
Discuss the Representation of Gender in A Streetcar Named Desire and One Other Play Studied in Class This Year
Meghan Brown
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is not a story written only for entertainment. It also brings to light several aspects of society in order to challenge them. In his respect the intention behind the play is similar to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which challenges intolerance, among other things. Streetcar also challenges intolerance, but one of its major focuses is on the two genders and how they are expected to behave.
In the world of A Streetcar Named Desire, women are very much marginalised. They are seen as creatures of the home – and the property of their husbands. They are also expected be physically beautiful. These views are very clearly and strongly challenged throughout the play. The insanity of Blanche could be considered to be a method of further challenging this value – she is husbandless (and thus, insecure), aging, and thus feels further insecurity at her waning beauty. However, Blanche herself isn’t challenged, she is very much portrayed as the victim –a victim of society. On that note, neither of the two major female characters (Stella and Blanche) are challenged nor endorsed. Some of their values are challenged, and some endorsed, but the characters as wholes aren’t, they simply exist. The values of Blanche in particular are put under scrutiny – her “Belle Reive” attitudes and mannerisms, and her false nature. We are led to see, also, that those attitudes and values are what destroy her, along with desire. Blanche, most likely the main character in the show, has been shattered by society. It all began when her first love, Allen, turned out to be homosexual. This would have been a horrible blow to blanche, who loved him completely. What’s more, this was completely socially unacceptable at the time, which probably led her to say “Yes, yes, you disgust me!” On the dance floor, which may or may not have resulted in Allen’s suicide. Regardless to the true cause, Blanche would have blamed herself for this tragic event.
In The Crucible, the role of the woman is very similar to that of women in A Streetcar Named Desire, that is, they stay at home to do household chores and look after the children. However, there is not really a sense of oppression here. This could be because the only home really examined closely in The Crucible is the house of John and Elizabeth Proctor, which is a fairly harmonious home. The only oppression is that of slaves, whom weren’t only women, although the only slave in the play is, in fact, a woman.
In this patriarchal society of the earlier half of the 1900’s, men hold their supremacy with an iron resolve, people like Stanley Kowalski in particular. In this world, men are the providers and protectors, and the most physically strong man is the most dominant in his group of friends. This unquestioned supremacy is challenged in A Streetcar Named Desire, as is the pressure on men to be overly like Stanley Kowalski – the personality of Mitch is endorsed, although when he gives up on Blanche after learning she was a prostitute, he is no longer shown in that favourable light. Stanley is described at length by Blanche as a primitive ape-man, a creature with only the slightest idea of emotions – “… grunt and kiss you, that is, if kisses have been discovered yet!” And although her description of him was meant largely to express her contempt with him and her unhappiness that her little sister had the misfortune to marry such an uncultured beast, it is, basically, true. Stanley (and the other men, but Stanley in particular) acts on impulse rather than emotion, and when he does show emotion, it’s usually anger. The only time he shows that he truly does love Stella is in the end of scene four, after he hits Stella. Once he realises what he’s done, he becomes quite a pathetic and wretched creature, and he begs for Stella to come back. This begging, being submissive, is probably the strongest way Stanley shows his love for Stella throughout the whole play. Prior to this is the Poker Night scene, which gives the reader or audience a lot of insight into the psyche of the males in the play. The poker night is a time of male bonding, and strictly so – “Poker should not be played in a house with women,” Mitch says sorrowfully after the incident with the radio. A major reason that this happened at all, was that Stanley felt that his empowerment was being challenged, because Stella and Blanche came home before the poker night was over, and not only that, Blanche started drawing attention to herself again.
Men in The Crucible, like the men in A Streetcar Named Desire, are dominant over women. But there are no Stanley Kowalski’s in this play – the men are equally thoughtful as the women, and characters like John Proctor gain respect through their personality and work-ethic as opposed to brute strength. Proctor and Stanley share very few common traits, in actuality. This could be due to the fact that Proctor is the ‘hero’ of The Crucible whereas A Streetcar Named Desire doesn’t really have a ‘hero’ as such.
Both of these plays are Patriarchal, though in A Streetcar Named Desire this is more noticeable because that Patriarchal society is one of the focus points. In both plays, women are expected to be creatures of the home, but in The Crucible, due to it being set in 1692, this is normalised, and the women aren’t downtrodden as much as leading different lives to the men. By the early to mid 1900s, the time setting of A Streetcar Named Desire, women are still very much housewives, but it is not normalised in this play. There is a sense of oppression in this environment, where there is none in The Crucible. One of the things that must be taken into consideration is the cultural identity of A Streetcar Named Desire’s author, Tennessee Williams. Being a homosexual and intellectual in a time when homosexual people were called “degenerates" would have been undoubtedly very hard. But it has also given him an interesting insight into the mannerisms of the men and women of that era, as he would possibly have related to both of them more than other people.
In all, the play A Streetcar Named Desire challenges the set gender roles of the time, that is, the woman as the housewife and the man as the provider. It doesn’t necessarily challenge the role of the male as protector, just the dependence on the woman’s part to rely on her husband to fulfil this role. As for the “Mitch” qualities, that is, being more gentlemanly and sensitive, these are supported by Williams. The dependence of the woman on the man is definitely challenged, and challenged clearly by way of Blanche, and her slow mental decay over the period of the play. A Streetcar Named Desire presents the reader or viewer with many new ideas to ponder, and perhaps through that ponderance leads them to a better way of life.
nothing else of note happened today, really. Not that I recall.
But of course, now that I've said that, there will be something glaringly obviously important...
Today was interesting. I spent the majority of it doing Biol and Lit stuff. Biol = cool. Lit = cool.
But the goddamn essay took forever. This translates into my mind as
Essay take long time = not good
Because I have to write 3 essays in 3 hours soon, and if I can't write one in 5 hours, well...
But no matter. We'll burn that bridge when we find we need to cross it.
I went to my mum's primary school reunion with her (obviously) this arvo, it was kinda cool. No-one said I looked like my mum, which was odd, because it was something I really expected to happen alot.But it was interesting.
Oh, and here's my essay. Mainly because I'm fairly sure I'll forget it, and this way, I won't die a horrible firey death.
Discuss the Representation of Gender in A Streetcar Named Desire and One Other Play Studied in Class This Year
Meghan Brown
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is not a story written only for entertainment. It also brings to light several aspects of society in order to challenge them. In his respect the intention behind the play is similar to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which challenges intolerance, among other things. Streetcar also challenges intolerance, but one of its major focuses is on the two genders and how they are expected to behave.
In the world of A Streetcar Named Desire, women are very much marginalised. They are seen as creatures of the home – and the property of their husbands. They are also expected be physically beautiful. These views are very clearly and strongly challenged throughout the play. The insanity of Blanche could be considered to be a method of further challenging this value – she is husbandless (and thus, insecure), aging, and thus feels further insecurity at her waning beauty. However, Blanche herself isn’t challenged, she is very much portrayed as the victim –a victim of society. On that note, neither of the two major female characters (Stella and Blanche) are challenged nor endorsed. Some of their values are challenged, and some endorsed, but the characters as wholes aren’t, they simply exist. The values of Blanche in particular are put under scrutiny – her “Belle Reive” attitudes and mannerisms, and her false nature. We are led to see, also, that those attitudes and values are what destroy her, along with desire. Blanche, most likely the main character in the show, has been shattered by society. It all began when her first love, Allen, turned out to be homosexual. This would have been a horrible blow to blanche, who loved him completely. What’s more, this was completely socially unacceptable at the time, which probably led her to say “Yes, yes, you disgust me!” On the dance floor, which may or may not have resulted in Allen’s suicide. Regardless to the true cause, Blanche would have blamed herself for this tragic event.
In The Crucible, the role of the woman is very similar to that of women in A Streetcar Named Desire, that is, they stay at home to do household chores and look after the children. However, there is not really a sense of oppression here. This could be because the only home really examined closely in The Crucible is the house of John and Elizabeth Proctor, which is a fairly harmonious home. The only oppression is that of slaves, whom weren’t only women, although the only slave in the play is, in fact, a woman.
In this patriarchal society of the earlier half of the 1900’s, men hold their supremacy with an iron resolve, people like Stanley Kowalski in particular. In this world, men are the providers and protectors, and the most physically strong man is the most dominant in his group of friends. This unquestioned supremacy is challenged in A Streetcar Named Desire, as is the pressure on men to be overly like Stanley Kowalski – the personality of Mitch is endorsed, although when he gives up on Blanche after learning she was a prostitute, he is no longer shown in that favourable light. Stanley is described at length by Blanche as a primitive ape-man, a creature with only the slightest idea of emotions – “… grunt and kiss you, that is, if kisses have been discovered yet!” And although her description of him was meant largely to express her contempt with him and her unhappiness that her little sister had the misfortune to marry such an uncultured beast, it is, basically, true. Stanley (and the other men, but Stanley in particular) acts on impulse rather than emotion, and when he does show emotion, it’s usually anger. The only time he shows that he truly does love Stella is in the end of scene four, after he hits Stella. Once he realises what he’s done, he becomes quite a pathetic and wretched creature, and he begs for Stella to come back. This begging, being submissive, is probably the strongest way Stanley shows his love for Stella throughout the whole play. Prior to this is the Poker Night scene, which gives the reader or audience a lot of insight into the psyche of the males in the play. The poker night is a time of male bonding, and strictly so – “Poker should not be played in a house with women,” Mitch says sorrowfully after the incident with the radio. A major reason that this happened at all, was that Stanley felt that his empowerment was being challenged, because Stella and Blanche came home before the poker night was over, and not only that, Blanche started drawing attention to herself again.
Men in The Crucible, like the men in A Streetcar Named Desire, are dominant over women. But there are no Stanley Kowalski’s in this play – the men are equally thoughtful as the women, and characters like John Proctor gain respect through their personality and work-ethic as opposed to brute strength. Proctor and Stanley share very few common traits, in actuality. This could be due to the fact that Proctor is the ‘hero’ of The Crucible whereas A Streetcar Named Desire doesn’t really have a ‘hero’ as such.
Both of these plays are Patriarchal, though in A Streetcar Named Desire this is more noticeable because that Patriarchal society is one of the focus points. In both plays, women are expected to be creatures of the home, but in The Crucible, due to it being set in 1692, this is normalised, and the women aren’t downtrodden as much as leading different lives to the men. By the early to mid 1900s, the time setting of A Streetcar Named Desire, women are still very much housewives, but it is not normalised in this play. There is a sense of oppression in this environment, where there is none in The Crucible. One of the things that must be taken into consideration is the cultural identity of A Streetcar Named Desire’s author, Tennessee Williams. Being a homosexual and intellectual in a time when homosexual people were called “degenerates" would have been undoubtedly very hard. But it has also given him an interesting insight into the mannerisms of the men and women of that era, as he would possibly have related to both of them more than other people.
In all, the play A Streetcar Named Desire challenges the set gender roles of the time, that is, the woman as the housewife and the man as the provider. It doesn’t necessarily challenge the role of the male as protector, just the dependence on the woman’s part to rely on her husband to fulfil this role. As for the “Mitch” qualities, that is, being more gentlemanly and sensitive, these are supported by Williams. The dependence of the woman on the man is definitely challenged, and challenged clearly by way of Blanche, and her slow mental decay over the period of the play. A Streetcar Named Desire presents the reader or viewer with many new ideas to ponder, and perhaps through that ponderance leads them to a better way of life.
nothing else of note happened today, really. Not that I recall.
But of course, now that I've said that, there will be something glaringly obviously important...
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You ddo realise I could just steal that, no one would ever know...
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Oh, yes, but you wouldn't have proof you wrote it (ie. drafts, plans) and I do, so nyeahnyeahneah poo
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