A Streetcar Named Desire: Discussion Topics

Discussion Topics

“Desire” is used throughout the play, both literally and figuratively. At the end of Act II, Blanche tells Mitch that Desire is the opposite of death. Explain her use of desire.

At the end of the play, Blanche is taken away to an asylum. Do you believe she is insane? If she isn’t, what defines her sanity? Do you think she is responsible for her circumstances?

Blanche’s “world” is often contrasted to the world of Stanley’s and Stella’s. Blanche firmly states the kind of world she wants: “I don’t want realism. I want - magic!” In what way is Blanche’s world an illusion? Is it any less real than Stanley or Stella? What defines reality in A Streetcar Named Desire? What defines illusion?

Tennessee Williams uses astrology to further define Blanche and Stanley. Research the astrological birth signs of Blanche and Stanley. What do these signs reveal about these characters? What about their names? What significance does the name Blanche DuBois hold? What about Stanley Kowalski?

Music is as much a part of A Streetcar Named Desire as the dialogue. It is often argued that music acts as a second dialogue within a play. Tennessee Williams made specific reference to the Varsouviana throughout the play. When is it mentioned? What significance does it have for the character(s)? Does everyone hear this piece of music, or is it intended to be shared only by the audience and one or two other characters? What other music is used in the play? How is it used?

Blanche makes reference to being trapped in the last few scenes of the play:

“This place is a trap!" ... "In desperate, desperate circumstances! Help me! Caught in a trap!"

What does she mean? Is Blanche the only person trapped? Who else is trapped? Explain your answer with concrete examples.

Images of light, both literal and figurative, appear throughout the play. Find at least two references to light and describe their significance.

When the doctor escorts Blanche out of the house, Blanche delivers her famous line: “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Why does she say this? Do you think this departure is a defeat or victory for Blanche? What about for Stanley and Stella? Defend your answer.

The play makes several references to the old streetcars of New Orleans and places found in literature. Describe the significance of the use of Desire, Cemetaria, Elysian Fields, and “the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir”.

How does the play reveal violence and antagonistic behavior? Who is affected by this behavior and in what ways? How does this violence progress throughout the play and change the course of action?

New Orleans and the French Quarter are often referred to as “Vieux Carre.” Tennessee Williams named a play after it and several poems have been published under the same title. In Walter Adolphe Roberts’ poem, the city is described with romantic undertones. Write a poem in the voice of Blanche, Stella or another character describing “Vieux Carre”.

Vieux Carre

by Walter Adolphe Roberts

This city is the child of France and Spain,

That once lived nobly, ardent as the heat

In which it came to birth. Alas, how fleet

The years of love and arms! There now remain,

Bleached by the sun and moldered by the rain,

Impassive fronts that guard some rare retreat,

Some dim, arched salon, or some garden sweet,

Where dreams persist and the past lives again.

The braided iron of the balconies

Is like locked hands, fastidiously set

To bar the world. But the proud mysteries

Showed me a glamour I may not forget:

Your face, camellia-white upon the stair,

Framed in the midnight thicket of your hair.

Playwright Setting & Characters Poetic References

Discussion Topics Tandy vs. Tennessee