Lesson Plans: | Lesson 1 | Lesson2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5  | Lesson 6 | Symbolism and Irony in Streetcar | Lesson 7| Lesson 8 | Lesson 9| Lesson 10 | Lesson 11| Lesson 12 | Criticism on Streetcar  | Power Point Presentation Guidelines | Pre-Theater Questions | Post-Theater Answers | Theater Review | Tennessee Williams's Related Web Sites |

Regents Tasks Based on A Streetcar Named Desire [Task I | Task 1 Sample Essay | Task II /Sample Task II Essay | Task III / Sample Task III Essay |Task IV / Sample Task IV Essay ]

Lesson 1

Aim: What could be the play The Streetcar Named Desire about based on Tennessee Williams background and the character description of the major roles in the play?

Do now:

Journal #1

What's your favorite play? Who wrote it? Why do you like it so much? What is it about?

Procedures:

Step 1: Click the link and find out "who is Tennessee Williams"?

Step 2: Read Tennessee Williams' brief biography.

Step 3: Read about the setting and characters.

Step 4: Write a narrative describing your version of The Streetcar Named Desire( any logical prediction is accetable based on the description about the characters and Williams' background.

Homework Assignment: #9

Finish writing the narrative.

Lesson 2(Act I, Scene 1)

Aim: What best characterizes Blanche, Stella, and Stanley individually? Why is Blanche at Stella's home?

Do now: Journal #2

What does the title "A Streetcar Named Desire" mean to you? What possible themes are implied in the play?

Procedures:

Step 1: Read Act I, Scene 1 in the class

Step 2: Draw the setting of the play based on the stage direction in the very beginning of the play. The setting could be viewed from any angle you wish to, and could be drawn from any person's perspective, such as a stage director, an audience, an actor, or the lighting person from above the stage. But first read the stage direction and make --

• A list of objects plus the directional words used in the narrative.
• A list of words describing colors
• A list of words describing the time
• A list of words describing the mood

Step 3: Answer the following questions after finish reading:

• Through the dialogue between Blanche and Stella, what kind of relationship is there between the two sisters?
• What character sketch can we draw of Stella and Blanche as portrayed so vividly in their dialogue?
• What hidden conflicts can we detect through the 1^st scene?
• Why does Blanche lie about many things to Stella?
• Why does Blanche say she wants to stay with Stella?
• What kind of relationship is there between Stella and Stanley?
• How does Blanche feel about the loss of Belle Reve? How did she lose Belle Reve?

Step 4: Understand the poetic reference:

After asking Stella "What on earth are you doing in a place like this?" Blanche claims that "Only Mr. Edgar Allan Poe - could do it justice! Out there, I suppose, is the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir." This reference comes from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem entitled Ulalume-a piece that highlights Poe’s macabre style of writing.

 Homework Assignment #2

Choose only one of the writing activities to do for your homework:

1. On page 20 in Signet Edition of A Streetcar Name Desire, there is a detailed stage direction describing the kind of person Stanley is. Rewrite the narrative by versifying it. In other words, write a poem based on the description of him. Also draw a sketch of Stanley. Post your poem next to the sketch. Remember you do not have to be a poet or an artist to do this assignment. Any drawing including clipped pictures from any magazine is acceptable. You may use the original words from the stage direction in the poem.
2. From Stanley's point of view, write a monologue describing his first impression of Blanche after their first meeting.
3. Write a monologue for Stella when she was in the bathroom weeping. What could she say as her reaction to Blanche's arrival, the news she broke to he, the way she commented on her apartment, the way she was living, and her husband Stanley.

Lesson 3(Act I, Scene 2)

Aim: What conflicts between Stanley and Blanche have emerged in Act I, Scene 2?

Do now: Journal #3

Describe your picture of a lady and gentleman (in the aspects of the look, background, education, conduct, ways of solving problems and treating other people, language used, etc.)

Procedures:

1. Read Act I, Scene 2.

2. Answer the following questions:

• In the beginning of scene 2, what words in the stage direction and the words Stanley used when talking to Blanche tell the audience that he dislikes Blanche?

• How do his language and behavior present Stanley as a vulgar person?

• Why doesn't Stanley listen to Stella and go out to the porch while Blanche is getting dressed to go out with Stella?

• What's Blanche's impression of Stanley?

• On page 43, what more does Blanche's monologue reveal about the loss of Belle Reve?

• Why does Stanley tell Blanche that Stella is pregnant when Stella told him not to at this moment?

• Based on your description of a lady and gentlemen, is Blanche a lady and Stanley a gentleman? Explain your answer.

3. Homework Assignment:

Write a scene where Stanley and his poker friends are playing poker. Stanley retells his story of his encounter with Blanche that early evening. Let him comment on Blanche (her look as well as her personality), the loss of Bella Reve, his doubts, his consideration of having all the papers reexamined by an expert in real estate etc.)

Aim: Why does Blanche show interests in Mitch? Why can't Blanche understand the relationship between Stella and Stanley?

Do now: Journal #4

What's your opinion on the relationship between love or friendship and violence?

Procedures:

Step 1: Read Act I, Scene 3

After reading, do the following activities:

1. Draw a sketch of the setting of scene 3 based on the description in the stage directions

    

2. On page 51, when Stanley shouted to order Blanche to turn off the radio, stop reading for a second. Predict what could happen next. What could be Stella and Blanche's reaction?

    

3. How would you describe Mitch's personality?

    

4. Understand the reference:

   Mitch owns a silver cigarette case given to him by a former lover. The inscription reads: "And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death." This quote, as Blanche recalls, comes from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43. . What significance do you think it has?

5. Why does Blanche lie about the reason of her saying with Stella?
6. What kind of teacher might be Blanche like? If she were teacher, do you think you would like her? Explain.
7. Who is the real blame for the brawl?
8. What different side of Stanley's personality have we seen in this scene?
9. On page 59, after the brawl, Stanley breaks into sobs. According to the stage direction on this page, what could the music of "Paper Doll" and "Blue Piano" sound like?
10. Comment on Stella's going back to Stanley after the violence.
11. What does it mean when Blanche at the end of scene 3 said:"There is so much-so much confusion the world…"? Why does she feel this way?

Homework Assignment:

Write a Blanche's soliloquy using the line by Blanche "There is so much-so much confusion in the world…" as the first sentence.

Aim: What does Stanley represent in Blanche's eyes? Can Blanche and Stanley be considered absolute opposites?

Do Now: Journal #5

Read Blanche's speech on page 72 :"He acts like an animal, has an animal's habits…", make a dialogue journal entry as the example. Pick out at least three quotes that interest you for any reason and comment on them.

Step 1: Read Act I, Scene 4

Step 2: Discuss the following questions:

1. How does Stella appear to you in the very beginning of Scen4 based on the stage directions?
2. Is Stella's excuse acceptable to you?
3. Why can't Stella and Blanche understand each other when it comes to Stella and Stanley's relationship?
4. What are the major differences between Stella and Blanche?
5. How is the streetcar a symbol of "brutal desire"?
6. At the end of scene 4, as Stella is embracing Stanley, he " grins through the curtain at Blanche" over her head. What is embodied in this gesture?
7. Answer the "aim" question.

If Blanche did not lose Belle Reve, how would Stanley treat her? And how would Blanche treat Stanley? Suppose Blanche still has the plantation, and she invited Stanley and Stella to Belle Reve, what would they say to each other" What kind of gestures would they present? Write a scene of Stanley, Stella, and Blanche at Belle Reve.

Lesson 6 (Act I, Scene 5) 

Homework Assignment:
Write a diary entry pretending you are Blanche. In the diary, explain why "you" didn't want to let the newspaper  boy go; whom he reminded you of; and why you kissed him .

A number of commentators have pointed out the irony of Blanche' s spending several months on a street in New Orleans named Elysian Fields--in Greek mythology the dwelling place of virtuous people after death--and the further irony of her having previously lived in Laurel, Mississippi (laurel wreaths, of course, were used by the ancient Greeks to crown the victors in athletic contests, military battles, and artistic competitions). These ironies are compounded in the play by the namesof the people who surround Blanche, with the important exception of Stanley: Mitch (derived from Michael, meaning "someone like God" in Hebrew), Stella (from the Latin for "star"), Eunice (from the Greek for "good victory"), and Steve (from the Greek for "crown" ). Critics regard these various names as ironic because in fact Blanche DuBois--"white woods"--finds herself, not in heaven, but in what amounts to bell ("Redhot!" the tamale Vendor cries out at the end of scene 2 [44]) in a conflict with stone-age Stanley the blacksmith (whose first name derives from the Old English "stone-lea" or stone meadow, while his last, Kowalski, is Polish for "smith"); and, these critics argue, this conflict will obviously not send her to an eternal life of bliss in any Elysian Fields, but rather to the misery of a living death without chance of redemption in the madhouse. 

Lesson 7 Scene 6

Aim: How did Blanche feel about the death of her young husband?

Do Now: What "forbidden" subjects did Tennessee Williams bring up in this play? How did he deal with their subjects? What are his attitudes to wards the issues as implied in the play?

Procedures:

Discuss the following questions:

How different is Blanche from Mitch by looking into the details of their conversation? If they get married, will they be happy? Explain.

How did Blanche's young husband die? Why did Blanche love him so much?

Some people feel it quite confusing the relationship between Blanche and Mitch? Why so? Is Blanche in love with Mitch? Does Mitch love Blanche?

Assignment:

From the dead boy's point of view, retell the story Blanche told Mitch. Try to provide some explanations why he killed himself and how he felt towards Blanche.

Lesson 8 ( Scene 7) 

Aim: What is going to happen between Blanche and Mitch?
Do Now: Journal Writing
On page 99, Blanche sang blithely while Stanley was telling Stella what he had found out about Blanche's past,"Say, it's only a paper moon, Sailing over a cardboard sea- But it wouldn't be make-believe If you believed in me". What is your understanding of this song? How does the song shed light on the fact Blanche has been lying about her past to Stella, Stanley and Mitch?

Procedures:
Discuss the following questions after reading scene 7
1. In the beginning of this scene, why does Tennessee Williams let Blanche's singing of the ballad happen contrapuntally with Stanley's speech? What's the dramatic effect of this method?
2. What kind of world is Blanche trying to create around herself? Has she succeeded? Why not? What is the main obstacle?
3. Do you think the story Stanley told Stella about Blanche is entirely true? Defend your answer.
4. Why is the refrain"But it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me" so revealing  ?
5. What is so ironic about Blanche 's speech "Oh, I feel so good after my long, hot bath, I feel so good and cool and -rested?"
6. What is the effect of this dramatic irony used in this scene?
7. When Stella said sadly and doubtfully to Blanche:"Do you, Blanche? " in response to Blanche's happy mood, what is being foreshadowed?
8. What does "paper moon" symbolize? What does "cardboard sea" symbolize?

Homework
Describe what Blanche thinks her future will be at this poinrt of the play ( write a monologue from Blanche's point of view or diary entry).
 

Lesson 9 ( Scene 8) 

Procedures:
Discuss the following questions after reading scene 8
1. What  seems to be the reason that Stanley is not amused by Blanche's story? Why is Blanche the only one laughing?
2. How has Blanche awoken some "old" senses in Stella?
3. What does this speech( page 108-109 "Stella it's got be all right after she goes... God, honey, it's gonna be sweet when we can make noise in the night the way that we used to and get the colored lights going with nobody's sister behind the curtains to hear us!" reveal about Stanley's personality?
4. When Stanley gave Blanche the  ticket   to  Laurel  as her birthday gift, what could be   Blanche's reactions ? If you were Blanche, how would you feel about it? Again, how does this incidence prove Stanley is more like an animal rather than a human being? What is lacking in him?
5. What makes a human being a human?
6. Why does Blanche always hear the Varsouviana music? Is the music physically audible? When does the music appear in Blanche's mind?
7. On page 111, Stella said to Stanley:" You didn't know Blanche as a girl. Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her, and forced her to change." What kind of people does Stanley represent? How true is this statement? Defend your answer.

Homework Assignment:
Find an article or a story that seems to describe the same theme-"rawness of the world", "loss of gentility", "insensitivity" and "brutality"; Or make a collage presenting one of the themes.

Do now: Journal Writing
In what circumstances do people lie? If a person lies for a good intention, should his action be justified? Give an example from your life experience where some one had to lie for a good reason.

Procedures:
Read scene 9 and discuss the following questions:
1. How did Blanche receive Mitch's delayed "visit"? Did she blame him or she was so happy to see him?
2. When does the polka tune Varsouviana start playing and then stop in Blanche's head?
3.What other reasons are there to explain the fact that  Blanche only goes out with Mitch at night?
4.Interpret Blanche's speech:" I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth. I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be dammed for it!-Don't turn the light on."
5. When Mitch asked Blanched if she had stayed in a hotel called Flamingo, Blanche answered," Flamingo? No! Tarantula was the name of it! I stayed at a hotel called the Tarantula Arms!" Why did she call the hotel "Tarantula"?Where does Tarantula come from and what may it represent?
6. What did Blanche say about her own fallen behavior after Allen's death?
7. Why did Blanche defend herself by saying that she did not lie in her heart?
8.What is symbolism?We have read the part where Blanche is compared to a moth. What does moth symbolize in the western art?Read the link to report  to the class.
9. When one chooses to cross the boundary between visual symbolism (pictures), and textual symbolism, there are a few factors that should be noted. Rewad the reference and explain .
10. How do we read symbolic writing? Are there any image that stands for certain concept? Read the article on symbolism and elicit  examples of certain imagery expressing certain well-known ideas.
8. What does the blind Mexican woman in a dark shawl symbolize? The gaudy tin flowers?
9. When the Mexican woman said to Blanche "Flores para los muertos", Blanche murmured as if to herself:" Crumble and fade and-regrets-recriminations.... And other things such as bloodstained pillow-slips- Her linen needs changing!" What do you think Blanche saw or was thinking of at this moment?
10. What does Blanche mean when she said:" Death-I used to sit hear and she used to sit over there and death was as close as you are..."?
11. What is your understanding of "The opposite is desire", the line spoken by Blanche?( page 120)?
12. At the end of the scene, Mitch tried to rape Blanche. How does this action from Mitch strike Blanche mentally and emotionally?

Homework Assignment:
From the nine scenes we have read so far, we probably have got a picture what Stanley's world like and what Blanche's world like-the opposite as you would say. Make a collage of Stanley's world by using direct quotes from the play that reflect his world as well as any images that represent it. Make a collage of Blanche's world also using quotes from the play that reflect it and other visual art to present her world.

Lesson 11 Scene 10

Aim: How does Blanche try to keep her decency to the last moment before people like Stanley?

Do now: Journal Writing
According to Blanche, what is a cultivated woman like?  How does this image of a cultivated woman reflect the kind of role a Blanche wants to play in a man's life?

Procedures:
 Read scene 10 and discuss the following questions:
1. After Mitch left, what has Blanche been doing?
2. Why does Blanche tell Stanley she has to leave because she has received an invitation from an old admirer of hers?
3. Why does she make up a story about Mitch coming back to her with a bunch of roses? Why does Stanley know right away it is a lie?
4.How does the story Blanche made up reflect her belief in life as indicated in her song:"But it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me"?
5. Why is the night described in scene 10 as "filled with inhuman voices like cries in a jungle"?
6. What does Stanley do to Blanche at the end of scene 10? What consequence will it lead to? What kind of person once again does this incident prove him to be? How does his image fit the atmosphere and mood created in this scene(like a jungle full of inhuman voice)?

Homework Assignment:
How many references as you can find   from the scene to illustrate the theme "the loss of gentility" and "rawnes of the world".
 

Lesson 12, Scene 11 

Aim: How was Blanche driven out of Stanley's house?
Do now: If you were Stella, whose story would you believe? Your husband or your sister? Why?
Procedures:
Read scene 11 and discuss the following questions:

1. What happened to Blanche? Why wouldn't she eat anything?
2. Do you think Stella knew what happened? Who do you think told her the story? Explain.
3. Why do you think Stella believed Stanley rather that her sister?
3. What's so symbolic about Blanche's taking long bath in this scene?
4. When Blanche comes out the bath, she has a " tragic radiance in her red satin robe". How does this image strike you? What could  this image symbolize?
5. Why does Blanche say " Those cathedral bells -they' are the only clean thing in the Quarter"?
6. How does Blanche imagine she would die? What does this tell you about her idealism?
7. Why does Blanche struggle with the Matron?
8. Why is  Blanche willing to be led out of the house by the Doctor?
9. How do you feel about the ending of the play?
 10. How does each character react to Blanche's leaving?
11. List 5 things you feel you can relate to in this play. Explain why.
12. Read some excerpts of criticism on this play. List 2 ideas that you agree and 2 ideas you disagree. Explain.
Homework:
Be prepared to write a critical essay on A Streetcar Named Desire. Choose one element that interested you in the play for any reason. You may write about the literary elements in the play, such as symbolism and irony; or you may write about a character; or a particular theme such as the loss of gentility, the rawnes of the world. What are some of the dominating imagery in the play and the sound( i.e. jungle, inhuman voices, tarantula, polka music etc.).

...denied the values by which most people lived" in the "horrible beauty of his dreadful speeches."

Already loaded with controversial topics, including homosexuality, schizophrenia and taboo sex, the play focuses on the complicated relationship between hard-drinking sexual dynamo Stanley Kowalski, his pregnant wife, Stella, and her fading-beauty-of-a-sister Blanche Dubois, who has come to the couple's New Orleans home searching for refuge. A Southern belle, Blanche has a sordid history that Stanley uses to deflate his friend Mitch's interest in her. By the end of the play, Stanley violates Blanche, who is eventually packed off to a sanitorium.
``The object isn't necessarily to make `Streetcar' contemporary but to make sure that it reaches a contemporary audience,'' said Yale- trained director Leah Gardiner. ``There's a nakedness about the world that Williams was attempting to portray: a rawness, sexuality, homosexuality, lost gentility, class divide - these issues were discussed but not, say, every night at the dinner table.''

Stanley is the outsider in the piece,'' said Remington, the theater's founding artistic director, who announced this week that he's leaving the company. ``Blanche's monologue that he's a brute, an animal who disgusts her, conjures up the same stereotypes ascribed to black men.''

Blanche, said that her character' s neediness and alcoholism are entwined: ``She's not a sex maniac, but she's drunk with longing and desire because she's been exposed to so much loss in her life. The power of desire is stronger than reason - that's why one is drawn to what's taboo.''

Noting that ``Streetcar'' is often scored with a jazz soundtrack of sensual horn-playing, she said that ``Williams wrote in a strong, poetic sensibility - with sexuality, rhythm, music, humor.''

Streetcar'' presents another opportunity to trip up racial and other stereotypes.

``The themes in the play are consistent in our mission already: a black actor in the role of Stanley and the raw emotional life, the struggles that happen among the characters of the play, bumps that up a little,'' she said. ``We wanted to push and provoke - to show the swirl of taboos here - in a
 

...oversexed school teacher flees reality in New Orleans." But "A Streetcar Named Desire" was about much more than that... 

Schvey believes that this process of transcendence or purification, or what I am calling resurrection, is augmented by Blanche's changing in the final scene (significantly, after a bath) from a red satin robe (133)--in which she flirted with Stanley during scene 2 (37) and with Mitch during scene 3 (53)--into a blue outfit. "It's Della Robbia blue," declares Blanche, "the blue of the robe in the old Madonna pictures" (135), and thus a blue that associates her with both the Virgin Mary in Renaissance art and the Kowalskis' baby boy, whom Eunice brings onstage "wrapped in a pale blue blanket" (142) and who had been "sleeping like a little angel" (132). (Even the sky cooperates: it is more or less the same color that Williams described at the start of the play as "a peculiarly tender blue, almost a turquoise" 113, 131].) Blanche's anticipated transcendence or resurrection is further augmented by the cathedral bells that chime for the only time in Streetcar during scene 11 (136) and lend increased support to the idea that this scene occurs on Ali Souls' Day; by her fantasy that eating an unwashed or impure grape, let us say one that has not been transubstantiated into the wine/blood of Christ, has nonetheless transported her soul to heaven and her body into a deep blue ocean (136); and by the Doctor' s raising Blanche up from the floor of the Kowalski apartment, to winch she dropped after the Matron had pinioned her arms crucifixion- style (141), together with Blanche's spiritedly leading the way out of the hell of her sister's home (without looking back), followed by the Doctor and Matron instead of being escorted by them (142).
 
 

Blanche is being sent to a purgatory of sorts, a psychiatric hospital, a kind of halfway house between the heaven of lucidity and the bell of insanity, the renewed life of the mind and the final death of the spirit. And it is while Blanche is in "purgatory" that she will be cleansed of her sins, particularly the sin--which she herself admits and laments (95-96)--of denying her homosexual husband, Allan Grey, the compassion dim would have saved him from suicide. Perhaps this cleansing will come through the intercession of the Virgin Mary herself whose own sorrow and suffering made her compassionate. Blanche's religious origins are Protestant, not Roman Catholic--she tells Mitch that her first American ancestors were French Huguenots (55)--and many Protestant denominations object to the veneration of Mary, but that would not prevent so independent or willful a spirit as Blanche DuBois from either appealing to Mary for help or receiving the Blessed Virgin' s ministrations. Indeed, Blanche has long since strayed from her religious origins, and her errant ways together with her lapse into madness put her in special need of God's grace--a grace, the Catholic Church teaches, for which Mary is the chief mediatrix.
 
 

A number of commentators have pointed out the irony of Blanche' s spending several months on a street in New Orleans named Elysian Fields--in Greek mythology the dwelling place of virtuous people after death--and the further irony of her having previously lived in Laurel, Mississippi (laurel wreaths, of course, were used by the ancient Greeks to crown the victors in athletic contests, military battles, and artistic competitions). These ironies are compounded in the play by the namesof the people who surround Blanche, with the important exception of Stanley: Mitch (derived from Michael, meaning "someone like God" in Hebrew), Stella (from the Latin for "star"), Eunice (from the Greek for "good victory"), and Steve (from the Greek for "crown" ). Critics regard these various names as ironic because in fact Blanche DuBois--"white woods"--finds herself, not in heaven, but in what amounts to bell ("Redhot!" the tamale Vendor cries out at the end of scene 2 [44]) in a conflict with stone-age Stanley the blacksmith (whose first name derives from the Old English "stone-lea" or stone meadow, while his last, Kowalski, is Polish for "smith"); and, these critics argue, this conflict will obviously not send her to an eternal life of bliss in any Elysian Fields, but rather to the misery of a living death without chance of redemption in the madhouse.
 
 

It seems possible, however, that these celestial or winning names are not ironic, but instead suggest what they appear to suggest: that Blanche, brutally defeated in her crucible with Stanley in New Orleans, will ultimately triumph on Judgment Day in the kingdom of God if not on treatment day in the realm of secular ministry--modern (psychiatric) medicine. Blanche's own name, which appears to be ironic in that it suggests a virginity which she no longer possesses in deed, attests to her virginity of spirit--her "beauty of the mind and ... tenderness of the heart" (126), as she puts it. Thus her name links her not only to the purity of the Virgin Mary, but also to the reclaimed innocence of Mary Magdalene, who was cured of her sexual waywardness by Jesus Oust as Blanche was suddenly cured of hers when she remarked to Mitch, "Sometimes--there's God--so quickly!" [96]) and later saw Christ after he had risen from the dead.
 
 

Scene 11 of Streetcar can be regarded, then, as a scene of celebration as well as mourning, of eternal life as well as transitory death-- like the Mexican Day of the Dead itself. Hence William not only introduces the Kowalskis' newborn child into the action precisely at the moment of Blanche's "passing," a child of whom Blanche said in scene 8, " I hope that his eyes are going to be like candies, like two blue candies lighted in a white cake!" (109). William also creates a combination festive--macabre atmosphere: Stanley, Steve, and the Mexican, Pablo, play cards, eat, and drink, while Mitch sulks, slumps, and sobs at the same table over the loss of Blanche (the same Mitch who contributed to the festive-macabre atmosphere of scene 9 by demanding sex from a drunken, distraught Blanche DuBois); and Williams weaves into the action the music of the "Varsouviana," the polka tune to which Blanche and Allan were dancing the night he committed suicide (137, 139), the simultaneously melancholic and inspiriting sounds of the "Blue Piano," (142), and the harsh cries as well as lurid shadows of the jungle (139, 141). Moreover, Williams concludes the final scene of Streetcar on a sexual note: after Blanche has departed, Stanley "voluptuously" kneels beside the weeping Stella and places his hand inside her blouse, as Steve opens a new round of cards with the words "This game is seven-card stud" (142). Clearly, life goes on for the Kowalskis and their friends ("Life has got to go on." Eunice admonishes Stella [1331), but life goes on for Blanche too--in "purgatory" and beyond.
 
 

NOTES
 
 

(1.) Williams himself was to be preoccupied with his own death for much of his life. Moreover, he had begun writing Streetcar in Chapala, Mexico (near Guadalajara), convinced that he was dying, that this would be his last play, and that therefore he should put his all into it. (Williams thought that the agonizing abdominal pains he had been experiencing were the result of lethal stomach cancer, but in fact they were caused by a ruptured appendix.) See Tischler 133.
 
 

(2.) See Kolin 81-87, for a detailed discussion of the striking parallels between Blanche DuBois and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Kolin builds on the work of Henry I. Schvey, who was the first critic to link Blanche to Mary in Streetcar. Here I am linking Blanche to the Virgin through the Mexican Woman Vendor, who, I have argued elsewhere, is a kind of fateful double for Williams's tragic heroine. 

Look at Part 1 and follow along while I read the Overview and The Situation.

For this part of the test, you will listen to a brief biography about Tennessee Williams's life and how it affected him in his play-writing career. Answer some multiple-choice question, and write a response based on the situation described below. You will hear the description twice. You may take notes anytime you wish during the readings.

Your English class is learning about authors whose career is strongly influenced by his/her life experience. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay about author Tennessee Williams and the way in which his career as a playwright was greatly influenced by his life. In preparation for writing your essay, listen to a brief biography about Tennessee Williams's life and how it affected him in his play-writing career. Then use relevant information from the speech to write your essay.

Now I will read the passage aloud to you for the first time.

Now read the passage aloud with appropriate expression, but without added comment.

Regents Exam Question for Task I

Passage

Student Copy

Overview: For this part of the test, you will listen to a a brief biography about Tennessee Williams's life and how it affected him in his play-writing career . Answer some multiple-choice question, and write a response based on to situation described below. You will hear the speech twice. You may take notes any time you wish during the reading.

The situation: Your English class is learning about authors whose career are strongly influenced by his/her life experience. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay about author Tennessee Williams and the way in which his career as a playwright was greatly influenced by his life. In preparation for writing your essay, listen to a brief biography about Tennessee Williams's life and how it affected him in his play-writing career. Then use relevant information from the speech to write your essay.

Your task: write an essay for your English class showing how Tennessee Williams's life affected him greatly in his play-writing career.

• Tell your audience what they need to know to help them understand how Tennessee Williams's life affected him greatly in his play-writing career.
• Use specific, accurate, and relevant information from the listening passage to support your discussion
• Use a tone and level of language appropriate for an essay for English class
• Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent manner
• Be sure to indicate any words taken directly from the speech by using quotation marks or referring to the speaker
• Follow the conventions of standard written English

Directions: Use your notes to answer the following question about the passage read to you. The question may help you thing about ideas and information you might use in your writing. You may return to this question anytime you wish.

(Introduction)  Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in 1911. As a  successful playwright, his career was greatly influenced by events in his life.  He was noted for bringing the reader "a slice of his own life and the feel of southern culture", as his primary sources of inspiration were "the writers he grew up with, his family, and the South."  The connection between his life and his work can be seen in several of his plays.

(Example 1)  One strong influence that is evident in Tennessee Williams' plays is his family life, which was "full of tension and despair".  His father, a businessman who owned a show warehouse, was known for his gambling and drinking habits.  He was often engaged with violent arguments with his wife that frightened Tennessee's sister, Rose.  Williams cared for Rose most of her adult life, after his mother, Edwina, allowed her to undergo a frontal lobotomy.  This event greatly disturbed him.  Many people believe that Williams' first commercial success, The Glass Menagerie, was based on his own family relationships.  This play tells the story of Tom, his disabled sister, Laura, and their controlling mother, Amanda, who tries to make a match between Laura and a Gentleman caller.  The characters seem to resemble the people in Williams' immediate family.

(Example 2)  Tennessee Williams was also inspired to write by the writers he grew up with.  During college, he saw a production of Ibsen's Ghosts, which inspired him to become a playwright.  After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1938, he moved to New Orleans to launch his career as a writer.  Here he found himself affected by the works of such writers as Arthur Rimbaud, Hart Crane, and D.H. Lawrence.  He wrote the play I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix, which dramatized the events surrounding Lawrence's death.  He considered it a tribute to a writer he greatly respected and admired.

(Example 3)  Lastly, Southern culture inspired Tennessee Williams to write one of his most famous plays, A Streetcar Named Desire, as he based his major characters on people he knew or encountered.  The character of Stanley Kowalski was based on a good friend of his whom he worked with at the International Shoe Company in the 1930's.  He was also inspired by the image of a young woman who had just been stood up by the man she was planning to marry.  The sight of her sitting alone in the moonlight led Tennessee Williams to create the infamous character of Blanche Dubois.  Together Blance Dubois and Stanley Kowalski became "household names nearly overnight", as Williams won several awards for this wonderful production.

(Conclusion)  In conclusion, it can be seen from these examples that Tennessee Williams' career as a writer was greatly affected by the events in his life.  As Elias Kazan profoundly remarked:  "Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life."
 

Direction: Read the text and study the graphs on the following pages, answer the multiple-choice question, and write a response based on the situation described below. You may use the margins to take notes as you read. You may use scrape paper to plan your response.

The Situation: In your Economics class, you have been studying the the trend of labor market of the last few decades, and  the cause of the wage gap between college-educated and high school-educated workers. You found this topic quite significant for high school students, and decided to write a commentary or an editorial for the school newspaper discussing the reasons why high school students should continue their education and  gain more knowlege about mordern technology in order to make a better living in their future.

Your Task: Write an editorial for the school newspaper. Using relevant information form the text and graphs, discuss the reasons why high school students should continue their education and  gain more knowlege about mordern technology in order to make a better living in their future.

Guidelines:
Tell your audience they should continue their education and  gain more knowlege about mordern technology in order to make a better living in their future.
•Discuss the reasons why education pays.
•Use specific, accurate, and relevant information from the text and graph to develop your discussion
•Use a tone and level of language appropriate for an article for a high school newspaper.
•Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent manner
•Be sure to indicate any words taken directly from the article by using quotation marks or referring to the author
•Follow the conventions of standard written English
Note: Most students responses to this task failed to include more than a passing reference to the graphs, a situation that scorers attributed to the original wording of the task. Instead of limiting scores to Level 3 or below, scorers were directed to score responses for their treatment of the text. New tasks will follow the revised format used here, and students will be expected to integrate information from both sources in their response.
Before you start writing the essay, read the rubrics for Task II that your essay's grade is based on.

Source:"Strong Growth Will Shrink the Wage Gap "by Christopher Farrell BusinessWeek March 15, 1999
              The Labor Market Chart
Text:  Strong Growth Will Shrink the Wage Gap

Is rising inequality the inevitable consequence of economic growth? Over the past two decades, it sure has seemed that way. The very forces propelling growth in the U.S.--the ever-increasing prominence of the microprocessor, heightened international competition, and widening deregulation of the economy--have also boosted demand for highly skilled, educated workers at the expense of those with fewer skills. The result: a dramatic widening of the wage gap. For example, in 1980, the median male college graduate earned about a third more than the median high school graduate; by 1993, that gap had widened to more than 70%.

In today's economy, employers continue to place a premium on education and skills. But this trend toward higher inequality may have just about run its course--and could even be about to reverse--for three reasons. First, continued low unemployment rates mean that companies will have no recourse but to hire and train less skilled workers. Second, the supply of skilled workers is swelling, which will hold down wage growth at the top. And last, information technologies are more user-friendly than before, making them more accessible to the less-educated worker. ''I might be congenitally optimistic, but we may be at a turn,'' says economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington (D.C.)-based think tank that regularly publishes statistics tracking the wage gap.

The most important factor helping to reverse the pattern of rising inequality is the unemployment rate, now at a three-decade low of 4.3%. ''Help wanted'' signs are everywhere, as retail stores, warehouses, and all manner of other businesses are desperate for workers. The search for workers has meant that companies have been willing to pay higher wages, even at the bottom of the income spectrum. The result: Low-income workers have been gaining ground. In 1993, hourly wages of a median worker--one right in the middle of the income distribution--were 2.03 times the earnings of workers in the lowest tenth percentile. In 1997, the wage ratio had dropped to 1.93 times, the lowest figure in 16 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Low unemployment looks like it is going to turn out to be a long-term phenomenon. The U.S. labor force is projected to grow at less than a 1% annual rate over the next two decades, down sharply from the 2.3% pace of the 1970s and 1980s (chart). ''The economy is facing perennially tight labor markets during the next quarter-century, and that will help alleviate a further widening in income inequalities,'' says Mark Zandi, economist at Regional Financial Associates Inc.

Of course, even as the position of low-income workers has improved, the top workers have been doing even better--in fact, spectacularly well. Over the past year, wages and salaries for managers, professionals, and other white-collar workers in the private sector have risen by 4.2%, compared with 3.2% for everyone else.

NEW COURSES. Yet this show of inequality may be only temporary. The gains at the top may be exaggerated by the strong performance of the stock market, which has dramatically pumped up bonuses on Wall Street. In the rest of the economy, those same stock market gains have provided a temporary windfall to employees--primarily white-collar workers who receive stock options.

But over the long term, the forces of supply and demand are likely to work in favor of closing the inequality gap. Already, the supply of skilled workers is expanding rapidly as more and more people absorb the New Economy's message: Education pays. The supply of youngsters attending college has swelled dramatically. In 1979, some 49% of high school graduates went on to college the following fall. In 1997, a record 67% went on to college. Thanks largely to this supply-side response, the wage gap between high school graduates and those with a four-year college degree has been stable since 1993, according to Kevin M. Murphy, economist at the University of Chicago (chart, page 58). Indeed, he says, it is only after adding in advanced degrees, such as MBAs and law degrees, that wage inequality creeps higher.

COMPUTER COMFORT. Even those with little education are adding to their knowledge. Community colleges have evolved into the bricks and mortar of a national training system. Employers are no longer concentrating their training dollars on a favored elite. Their stepped-up training efforts increasingly embrace all workers.

What's more, computer literacy has spread from the technological elite into the mainstream. Many people have grown accustomed to working with computers at home and in the workplace, and much common software has become easier to use. For the average person, for example, Windows 98 is less intimidating than MS-DOS.

Economists have continually underestimated the U.S. economy's ability to generate fast growth along with low inflation. The one dark spot has been inequality. But going forward, the New Economy will once again put income equality back at the center of the American economic experience.

By Christopher Farrell

Part B: The Chart

Task II Sample Essay

(Introduction) Over the past few decades, our economy has grown tremendously, providing many new job opportunities.  Increasingly, higher educational degrees and knowledge of new technologies have become necessary in order to attain these job positions and become successful in today's world.  Therefore, high school students should continue their education and gain more knowledge about modern technology in order to make a better living in the future.

(Example 1) To begin with, high school students should continue their education so that they may attain a higher salary.  In recent years there has been an increase in the wage gap between those with a college education and those without.   According to the article, the gap between the average salary of a college graduate and a high school graduate had risen from about a third more in 1980 to more than 70% in 1993.  This steady rise in the ratio of hourly wages is also shown in the second graph.  The ratio has risen from about 1.35 in 1975 to about 1.60 in 1997.  These statistics show that people have a better chance of achieving a much higher salary if they stay in school and achieve a college degree.

(Example 2) Another reason that high school students should strive to attain a college degree is that the job force is becoming increasingly competitive.  Having a higher degree will give students an edge over those who are less qualified.  As stated by the article," In 1997, a record 67% went on to college."  This shows a high increase from the 49% of high school graduates who attended college in 1979.  Since employers have many more qualified individuals to select from they will naturally choose those with higher degrees over those without.  According to the first graph, unemployment is at an all time low.  However, in order for one to be considered for a high-income, top position, one must have achieved a higher college degree.

(Example 3) Lastly, high school students should pursue their education in order to learn more about technology.  This component is extremely necessary in the ever-changing job world.  In fact, community colleges have taken a fundamental role in this effort to educate individuals.  According to the article, "their stepped up training efforts increasingly embrace all workers."  This means that all individuals are required to possess knowledge of the new technology that is becoming an essential part of our everyday lives.  Students should pursue a higher education in order to gain the skills that are needed to succeed in a technologically advanced society.

(Conclusion) In conclusion, high school students should further their education in order to attain success.  This will allow them to attain a higher salary, achieve higher job positions in a competitive market, and develop the technological skills that are needed in all fields.  Through furthering their education, students will be better prepared to achieve their goals and receive the rewards that the job world has to offer.
 

Direction: Read the passages on the following pages (a poem and an excerpt from a play) and answer the multiple-choice questions. Then write the essay described in "Your Task." You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrape to plan your response.

Materials:
Poem
 The Shield of Achilles
by W. H. Auden
 
  She looked over his shoulder
       For vines and olive trees,
     Marble well-governed cities
       And ships upon untamed seas,
     But there on the shining metal
       His hands had put instead
     An artificial wilderness
       And a sky like lead.

Directions to Students: Read the passages on the following pages (a poem and an excerpt from a story) and answer the multiple-choice questions. Then write the essay described in "Your Task." You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrape to plan your response.

Your Task:
After you have read the passages and answered the multiple-choice question, write a unified essay contrasting the attitude toward death held by the speaker of the poem and the character in the short story .  In your essay, use ideas from Both passages to establish a controlling idea about the conflicting attitude toward death, use evidence from both passages to develop your controlling idea, and show how each author used specific literary elements or techniques to convey ideas.

Guidelines:
•Use ideas from both passages to establish a controlling idea about the conflicting attitude toward death as revealed in the passages
•Use specific and relevant evidence from both passages to develop your controlling idea
•Show how each author uses specific literary elements (for example, theme, characterization, structure, point of view) or techniques (for example, symbolism, irony, figurative language) to portray the loss of gentility
•Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent manner
•Use language that communicates ideas effectively
•Follow the conventions of standard written English

Sample Task III- A Streetcar Named Desire

(Introduction)   The loss of gentility has been a common theme in works of literature throughout the twentieth century.  Many authors have depicted the world as a place of increasing brutality, insensitivity, and degradation, showing how people have lost their human refinement and manners.  Both passages clearly express the idea that the world is becoming more harsh and cruel, using several literary techniques to convey this message.

(Meaning of Poem) The first passage shows the loss of gentility through the eyes of a mother.  The poem strikes us over and over again with contrasting images of beauty and honor that the woman seeks, such as "vines and olive trees" and "marble well-governed cities", and the images of darkness and death that she finds in reality ("an artificial wilderness and a sky like lead"). The poem explores how the world has changed from its former state of gentleness and grace to a state of ugly destruction.

(Literary Elements) The poet uses several literary techniques to describe this change in the world from gentility to horror.  He uses repetition, beginning every three stanzas with the line "She looked over his shoulder..." in order to emphasize the contrast between what the woman expects to see- a civilized world- and what is actually revealed- a wasteland.  The imagery of the poem completes this contrast.  For instance, instead of discovering, "the altar", "athletes at their game" and "men and women in a dance", the woman finds "three pale figures led forth and bound" and "a weed-choked field", suggesting the loss of beauty and life.  The next stanza continues to describe a scene of brutality in which "girls are raped" and "two boys knife a third".  The poet also uses allusion as he refers to Achilles, Hephaestos, and Thetis, creating a sharp contrast between these honorable and heroic times of the past and the present atrocities that are apparent in this modern world.

(Meaning of Second Work) The second passage, a drama excerpt, also depicts the loss of gentility, particularly through the cruel and violent character of Stanley. However, one character, Blanche Dubois, is able to maintain her manners and refinement until the very end, even as she is carted off to a mental institution. Her statement, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" reveals that Blanche will only respond to those who treat her like a lady.  The author uses these characters to show that this world has become more rough and brutal, leaving those who are gentle and fragile with no real place to exist in it.

(Literary Elements) Several elements in the play's final scene illustrate the loss of gentility.  Tennessee Williams has characterized Stanley as a rough, thoughtless, brutal man.  Even as Stella seeks his comfort, Stanley "kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her blouse," showing that he is concentrating only on his own physical needs. His brutality is symbolized by the inhuman jungle voices that are heard throughout this scene, linking Stanley with the image of an animal.  There is evidence, however, that Blanche has not lost her gentility, even at the end.  It is the play's inherent irony that although Stanley believes he has conquered her completely, she walks out the door with head held high, responding only when the kind doctor refers to her as "Miss Dubois".  Though she has lost her mind, she has not lost her gentility.

(Conclusion) Both passages depict the world's degradation, revealing scenes and characters that have lost their gentility.  Both offer this depressing idea that the world of refinement and gracefulness has changed to one of brutality and lifelessness.  This scenario is a reality of our every day lives, as we struggle to adapt to its harsh consequences.
 

Texts

"Death, Be Not Proud,"
by John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

from " The Death of Ivan Illych,"
by Leo Tolstoy, trans. by Robin Lamb

    Ivan Illych recognized that his death was approaching, and he felt nothing but despair, day and night.
    In the deepest part of himself, in his heart's core, he knew that he was dying.  He refused, however, to give admittance to the thought.  He would not-could not, in fact-entertain such a simple but somehow absurd concept.  Death, that unwelcome guest, was simply unacceptable in the parlor of his consciousness.
    In his schooldays he had read in Kiesewetter's Outline of Logic this Straightforward argument:
 
    Caius is a man.
    All men are mortal.
    Therefore, Caius is mortal.

    The argument certainly made sense when applied to Caius, but Ivan Illych could not believe it true, as well, of himself. Caius was an abstraction, and people in the abstract were, of course, mortal.  Death came to them all, no doubt about it.  It was a matter of logic, as any schoolboy could tell you.  But Ivan Illych was not some logical abstraction.  He was flesh-and-blood.  He was unique, different.  He had been a child, delighting in his toys.  he had been called Vanya.  he had had a mamma and a papa and a nurse.  He had had joys and delights, griefs and sorrows.  It was no abstract Vanya who had played with a ball, kissed his mother, complained about the food at school.  It was no abstract young man who had fallen in love, who had risen to become a respectable man, a public prosecutor.  Abstract men like Caius could die, but surely not Ivan Illych, that universe of thoughts and emotions and experiences.  How could all those thoughts and emotions and experiences, all that he was, all that he had been or would be, simply disappear?  Impossible! It could not be the case.  The very thought filled Ivan Illych with horror and disgust.
    "Surely," he said to himself, "If I were going to die, I would have known about it.  I would have felt death creeping upon me like a highwayman or a thief in a dark alleyway.  I am told that I am going to die, but this cannot be so!  It makes no sense.  No sense at all."
    Ivan Illych tried not to think of it, but the effort, and his illness, tired him.  It was like trying not to think of a toothache when on has, in fact, a toothache.  As soon as he slammed the door in the face of the unwelcome guest, he heard again the ghastly knocking at the door of his consciousness, as if some terrible person, a bill collector-or worse, a murderer-were outside and demanding entrance.

Checklist for Task III
I. Introduction
__ A sentence or two expressing the controlling idea of the essay(Thesis statement)
__ The title of both works
__ The authors' names
__ Description of the different attitudes toward death (1 or 2 sentences)

II. Body
a.
__Topic sentence for the first example
___ The 1st difference between the two works
___ The discussion of the effect of the 1st literary element or technique

b.
___Topic sentence for the 2nd example
____ The 2nd difference between the two works
_____ The discussion of the effect of the 2nd literary element or technique

c.
__Topic sentence for the 3rd example
___ The 3rd difference between the two works
___ The discussion of the effect of the 3rd literary element or technique

III. Conclusion
___Restate your controlling ideas in different words.

IV. Development
___ One sentence of summary of each work
___ The discussion of the literary technique or element is closely related to the meaning of the text and the task
____ The effect of each literary technique and element
___ One quotation from each work in quotation marks" "

V. Organization
___ 4-5 paragraphs
___ Clear Introduction, Body, and the Conclusion
____ Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence.

VI. Mechanics
__ Capitalization
___ Punctuation
___ Spelling
___ Indentation
 
 

Critical Lens: "The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those who feel ."

Guidelines:
•Provide a valid interpretation of the critical lens that clearly establishes the criteria for analysis
•Indicate whether you agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it
•Choose two works you read that you believe best support your opinion
•Use the criteria suggested by the critical lens to analyze the works you have chosen
•For each work, do not summarize the plot but use specific references to appropriate literary elements (for example, theme, characterization, structure, language, point of view) to develop your analysis
•Organize your ideas in a unified and coherent manner
•Specify the titles and authors of the literature you choose
•Follow the conventions of standard written English
* Read the rubrics for Task IV on which your essay's grade is based . 

II. Body
1. ___ The discussion of the 1st work of literature
a. Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence.
b. Use one sentence to summarize the work (your wording should be supportive to the position you have chosen).
c. How does the 1st example of the literary element(i.e. symbolism) in the 1st work support your position?
d. How does the 2nd example of the literary element (i.e. irony)in the 1st work support your position?

2. ___ The discussion of the 2nd work of literature
a. Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence.
b. Use one sentence to summarize the book (your wording should be supportive to the position you have chosen).
c. How does the 1st example of the literary element(i.e. characterization) in the 2nd work support your position?
d. How does the 2nd example of the literary element (i.e. central conflict )in the 2nd work support your position?

III. Conclusion-restate your position in different words.

IV. Meaning
__ Did you interpret the statement?
__ Did you take a position?
__ One sentence summary only for each work?
__  Use two literary elements as examples from each work to support your position?

V. Development
__  4-paragraph essay?
__ The essay has a clear introduction, body and conclusion?
__ Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence.
__ Use two examples of the literary elements or techniques from each work in each body paragraph.
___ Is your discussion is always on the topic (your position)?

VI. Organization
__  topic sentence for each body paragraph
__ maintain a focus all the time
__ use of transitional words or phrases such as firstly, secondly, or thirdly, etc.

VII. Mechanics
__ Capitalization
__ Spelling
__ Punctuation
__  Indentation.
 
 

Sample Task IV- A Streetcar Named Desire

(Introduction) "The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those who feel."  This is true since those who are sensitive and emotional personally experience the pain of the world, while those who are cold and unfeeling are simply amused by the pain of others. This idea is revealed in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen.

(Meaning of First Work) In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams shows two characters who have very different experiences of the world.  For Stanley Kowalski, the world is a comedy. He constantly causes pain to others, especially Blanche, and then laughs at her pain.  For example, he hands Blanche a ticket to Laurel as a birthday present, kicking her out of the house.  To Stanley this very cruel and insensitive gesture is amusing, but to Blanche it is a hurtful token of rejection.  Blanche is a character who experiences the tragedy of the world, as events affect her deeply.  For instance, she can not understand how her sister, Stella, can put up with the abuse that Stanley inflicts upon her.  Blanche is very concerned about her sister and becomes extremely dismayed when Stanley hits her.  This shows the sensitivity of Blanche's character that leads to her tragedy.

(Literary Elements) Tennessee Williams uses several literary elements to reveal how characters respond differently to the world.  The characterization of Blanche and Stanley is essential, as Stanley is depicted as an insensitive, brutal creature who has no regard for others' emotions.  Therefore, he feels no regret as he destroys the relationship between Blanche and Mitch.  This is merely a game, a past time like bowling or poker. Blanche, on the other hand, is characterized as a fragile, delicate woman who is extremely sensitive and gentle.  She experiences several flashbacks throughout the play of her husband's suicide, revealing her guilt, an emotion that haunts her life.  Blanche's sensitivity eventually leads to her final tragedy, as one life event after another (the deaths of family members, the loss of Belle Reve, the rejection of Mitch, and the rape by Stanley) causes her to lose her sanity.

(Meaning of Second Work) The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen also shows two characters who perceive the world in different ways.  For Hilda, the world is a comedy that is to be played out according to her will.  She is a selfish and fanciful young girl who attempts to manipulate Solness into building her a castle.  Hilda scorns the old-fashioned concept of "duty" and thinks of life, instead, as a romantic adventure. Solness, on the other hand, is a very sensitive person who relies heavily on his emotions.  For instance, he is unable to overcome the fear that the upcoming generation will replace him.  It is this inherent sensitivity that will ultimately lead to Solness' tragedy.

(Literary Elements) Henrik Ibsen uses several literary elements to convey the idea that "life is a comedy for those that think, a tragedy for those who feel".  For instance, Solness is characterized as an emotional and sensitive man who possesses the feelings of fear and guilt.  Solness is so full of guilt because he believed that he willed the fire that killed his twin sons to occur.  This guilt prevents him from discussing the matter openly with his wife, leading to their ultimate misunderstanding and the demise of their marriage. Hilda's contrasting attitude toward life-- to live without a conscience-- allows her to gain control of Solness, playing on his weaknesses. The irony of this situation is that the "great master builder" is actually a sensitive man who experiences his demise at the hands of a young girl.  The tragedy that occurs in the final scene when Solness falls from the tower is seen as a comedy for Hilda, who continues to cheer for her own success.

(Conclusion) These two works, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Master Builder, illustrate how life can be looked upon differently by characters who possess a deep and sensitive heart and those who lack human feelings. As revealed in the two plays, those who feel things deeply tend to be affected by pain and tragedy in their lives, while those who do not possess sympathetic emotions tend to be amused by the pain of others, often contributing to the tragedy experienced by those who feel.
 

Power Point Presentation Guidelines

We will create a book project based on the Streetcar Named Desire Using Power Point Presentation program. Here are the contents that are required for the book project-

IPower point Presentation of the Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (Title Slide)

Part 1: The highlights of each scene
•   Major events-
•   Conflict (s) revealed-
•   Character development -
•   My reflections-


Part II: Journals (From #3 - #12 )

Part III: Questions and answers from each scene (please make sure to indicate scene number, for example Scene 1 Q: & A: )

Part IV: Creative Responses to each scene (Using homework from each scene )

Part V: Main Characters -Writing a Character analysis -Read an example

• Blanche-
• Stanley-
• Stella-
• Mitch-

Part VI: Analysis (Essay)


Part VII:  A digital collage of the (setting, characters, scenes or themes)

Part VIII: For those who will see the play of the Streetcar Named Desire, please add your review.
 

Pre-Theater Questions:

1. If you were the director, how would you portray  the main characters in the play " Streetcar" , for example, the physical appearance of the actors and the kind of persona you would like to create? Write a separate paragraph for each main character.
2. What's your vision of how the settings as depicted in the beginning scene 1, scene 3,  8, 9 & 11 should be staged?
3. What scene(s) (or Moments) are crucial  to the development of the play( point out one or two and explain why)? You will pay special attention to this scene( moment) while viewing the play on stage and judge whether the scene( moment) is staged successfully based on your preconception [Explain why the scene is staged     (a)successfully   (b) unsuccessfully   (c) unexpected ]

  Post-Theater Questions:

1. How do the actors demonstrate the character traits of the role they play ( for example, using certain distinctive body language and facial expressions, etc.)?
2. How do actors show the inner life of the characters, especially Blanche?
3. Do actors' performances meet your expectations? Explain.
4. Is the selected scene staged the way you have anticipated or different? If different, in what way(s)?
5. According to you, what is the most successful part of the play ? The failing part( director's choice of actors, actors' performance, sets, music, portrayal of the inner life of the characters, etc.)?

Theater Review

Combine and organize your answer to both pre-theater and post-theater workshops questions.

Reflection on the Theater Workshops

How have the theater workshops helped you gain a better understanding of  the play The Streetcar Named Desire?