AO2 Imagery: Blanche and Stella

In lesson we finished reading the last few pages of scene 1. Afterwards we got into groups and we looked at how Blanche and Stella are portrayed in Scene 1. We also looked at how Tennessee Williams uses allot of imagery to describe his characters throughout the play. Tennessee Williams uses;

v Visual: descriptions of what you could see

v Auditory: descriptions of sound

v Olfactory: descriptions of smell

v Gustatory: descriptions of taste

v Kinaesthetic: describes movement

v Tactile: description of touch

Example of olfactory: “The voices of people on the street can be heard overlapping”

Example of visual: “Two women one white and one coloured”

Example of kinaesthetic: “she ruches to the closet and removes the bottle”

Summary;

Blanche is a school teacher from Mississippi and she comes to New Orleans to come and see her sister. Although it seems that Blanche has fallen out of close contact with her sister she intends to stay at her sister’s apartment. Blanche later explains that she has come to see her sister because her mental strain has forced her to take a leave of absence from her job as a school teacher. Blanche tells Stella that she lost Belle Reve, their ancestral home due to the death of all their remaining relatives. The first impression of Blanche is that she seems like a spoilt and arrogant person this can be shown through the way she is clothed “Dressed in a fine white suit”.

Blanche;

Relationship with Stella;

v “You’re a fine one to sit there accusing me of it” this shows us that Blanche has allot of anger towards Stella. This is because Blanche was the one who had to deal with all the emotions and responsibilities due to Stella leaving Belle Reve and coming to New Orleans.

v “you’ve put on some weight yes you’re as plump as a little partridge” this shows us that they have an open relationship with each other however it seems that Blanche does not know much about her sister Stella. It also shows us that they have been apart for such a long time.

Attitudes towards the past;

v “ I took the blows to my face and my body” this is showing us that even though they have had a bad past blanche wants to hold onto her past and not let go. It seems as though her bad past is a major part of her life.

v “I stayed at Belle Reve and tired to hold it together” this is becasue the lifestyle she had at Belle Reve suited her very well and she did not want to leave it behind. Also it shows us that she does not belong in Stella’s world.

Attitudes towards the future;

v “Her head falls on her arms” Blanche is not too hopeful about her future and also she does not really think about her future however she tends to hold onto her past.

Attitudes towards men;

v “Yes I was quite young” Blanche seems to have got married at a very young age and this may be because she might have fallen in love or she might have had to get married.

v “the boy, the boy died. I’m afraid I’m going to be sick” something bad must have happened to the person she was married to causing them to die however we still need to find out what happened to him.

Stella;

Relationships with Blanche;

v “You never did give me a chance to say much Blanche” when Blanche and Stella was younger stella was the quite one whereas Blanche always has something to say and she never really gives Stella a chance to talk.

v “(They both laugh uncomfortably)” it’s quite awkward between them however they are both trying to get along with each other.

Attitudes towards the past;

v Blanche: “the summer dad died and left us” Stella: “it’s just incredible Blanche how well you’re looking” there is a sudden change of subject by Stella because she does not really want to talk about the past as she has forgotten her past. Also it seems like she has already had this conversation with Blanche and she does not want to talk about it again.

Attitudes towards the future;

v “The best I could do was make my own living. Blanche?” Stella had to get away from her past and the only way she could do this was to leave Belle Reve.

v “but of course there were things to adjust myself to later on” although Blanche is finding things difficult in New Orleans Stella also found it difficult to move from Belle Reve however Stella had to adjust herself to fit in.

Attitudes towards men;

v “Oh you can’t describe someone you’re in love with!” Stella understands love but she cannot put into words how much she loves Stanley.

v “i can hardly stand it when he is away for a night” Stella is attached to Stanley also she loves him so much that she cannot be without him even for a minute as she always cries when he comes back from work.

sadia