Streetcar End of Play Questions Directions: Answer all questions thoughtfully and in complete sentences, using cited quotes

to support your insights. 1. Desire is used throughout the play both literally and figuratively. At the end of scene 9, Blanche tells Mitch that desire is the opposite of death. Explain what she means. 2. Do you believe that Blanche is insane? Do you think that she is responsible for her circumstances? Explain. 3. Explain how Blanche represents illusion, Stanley represents reality, and Stella is the bridge between the two. 4. What does Blanche mean at the end of the play when she states that she is caught in a trap? Who else in the play is trapped? Who is the most trapped character in the play Blanche or Stella? Why? What/who traps her? What are her circumstances throughout the play, and what does her future seem to hold? To what theme does this idea of entrapment relate? Through these female characters, what message is Williams sending about the position of women in modern America? 5. Describe the significance of the images of light and dark used throughout the play (how it connects/relates to major characters and themes). 6. When Blanche leaves at the end of the play, is this a defeat or a victory for her? What about for Stanley and Stella? Explain. 7. Who is the most admirable character in the play? Why? Who is the most despicable character? Why? 8. Which of the characters behaviors elicit positive responses (especially Stanley and Blanche)? How are they rewarded? What is Williams point? 9. What social divisions does Williams make between the characters? What is his point? 10. Identify moments of moral and immoral choices and actions. What is Williams point/commentary about society and Americas future? 11. Explain how the bathing motif functions in the play (how it connects/relates to major characters and themes). 12. Why is Stanley victorious at the end of the play (why is Blanche defeated)? What does his triumph tell the reader about the nature of the modern world in which they live? How do Stanley and Blanche reflect the theme of desire and the concept of the American Dream? Explain.