| Final Exam Study Guide Streetcar Named Desire The format of the exam: you�ll be a given a number of questions to answers, but you will have a choice about which ones you want to answer. Each answer should be a paragraph long (a good 5-7 sentences) and should include examples from the play as a support. That is, you should incorporate a quote or two that helps prove your point. Themes to be familiar with: Fantasy v Reality � Who lives in a fantasy world? Who is more realistic? Are the characters consistently realistic or fantasy-driven throughout the whole play? If not, be familiar with when changes occur. Light v Dark: Be familiar with images of light, both literal and figurative, and what they represent. You may want to consider appearance, mood, shadows, darkness, and sunlight (among others). Madness: Blanche is often considered insane. Why might this be? You should be familiar with evidence of her madness as well as what causes it. Living in the past: It�s clear that Blanche is somewhat trapped in/by her past; Stanley and Stella, however, are not quite as obvious. How do they long for the past? Addiction: Quotes to be familiar with: � �They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at�Elysian Fields!� Pay close attention to the words �Desire,� �Cemeteries,� and �Elysian Fields.� What might be the symbolism behind what Blanche says about where she�s going and how she gets there. � �This place is a trap!� . . . �In desperate, desperate circumstances! Help me! Caught in a trap!� Although Blanche says this, is anyone else in a trap? � �He's like an animal. He has an animal's habits. Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There's even something � sub-human � something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something�ape-like about him . . . Thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is! Stanley Kowalski, survivor of the Stone Age, bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle! And you - you here waiting for him. Maybe he'll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you . . .� How does Stanley prove this assessment correct? Others: � �I don�t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic!� � �[Death] is the opposite of desire.� � �I couldn�t believe her story and going on living with Stanley.� |