... how many of these points would you be able to make?
AO2: aspects of dramatic form and genre, e.g. melodrama, comedy and tragedy, social realism; structure, e.g. crisis– climax–resolution, forward-moving action with 'flashback' (Blanche's discovery of her young husband's homosexuality and his subsequent suicide); setting in the Elysian Fields quarter of New Orleans; naturalistic effects: the use of music (the 'Negro' Blue Piano, the Polish Varsouviana), sound (thunder, passing train) and lighting (described in meticulous detail in the stage directions); dialogue (Stanley's is colloquial, working-class and assertive while Stella's is higher register but sensible and down-to-earth); action (Stanley can be violent, clumsy, impetuous, but also tender and always passionate, while Stella answers his passion in equal measure and in behaviour that bespeaks a wife who, motivated by self-interest as well as by love, will unquestioningly stand by her man).
To address AO3 students will need to show how the marriage of Stanley and Stella is embedded in a specific historical context, i.e. that of America immediately after the Second World War. The essential nature of that marriage is also determined by their differing class backgrounds and values. During the war Stanley served as an NCO in the US Army; now a civilian, he is employed as a commercial traveller at the same engineering 'plant' as Mitch with whom he plays poker and goes bowling. Stella, like Blanche, is a product of a bygone colonial era; she made her way to New Orleans during the war where she met Stanley and the two fell in love. In determining the inconceivability or otherwise of their relationship, students will want to take account of the tremendous social and cultural disruption which the war brought about, making their meeting a possibility against the odds.
Candidates could also explore the roles of men and women within marriage, so connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of modern literature. They may cite examples of the differences between the social backgrounds and personalities of Stanley and Stella. He is working-class, 'common', from a European immigrant family, an arrogant, assertive alpha male; insensitive, coarse, bestial, capable of raping his sister-in-law while she is a guest under his own roof. She is refined but from a ruinously decadent aristocratic family, submissive, loyal, rejoicing in her new motherhood, protective towards her sister but unwilling to accept the accusation of rape. They are both sexually passionate (which leads to some 'stormy' scenes), but also capable of showing tenderness towards each other, of giving and taking pleasure; both are needy and self-centred, both are materialistic.
Exploring different interpretations, the requirements of AO5 are met if students conduct a debate around the notion of the Kowalskis' marriage being 'inconceivable'. If they accept the proposition set up in the task they may focus on some of the following: Stella's previous life in Belle Rêve; the differences between them as seen in their respective values, speech and actions; Blanche's difficulty in understanding the attraction they have for each other. In addition, they might like to consider Williams's themes (the 'ambiguous nature of sexuality, the betrayal of faith, the corruption of modern America, the over-arching battle of artistic sensitivity against physical materialism') and whether or not the relationship between Stanley and Stella ties in with those themes. Some candidates may decide that Stella's migration from Belle Rêve to the Elysian Fields is not entirely plausible. If they do not accept the 'view' of inconceivability, they will probably focus on the magnetic attraction that the two characters experience for each other which is sexual, powerful and undeniable; the presentation of Stanley as physically attractive, but also persuasive and manipulative; the presentation of Stella's 'narcotized tranquility', her tolerance of Stanley's brutish behaviour and his weaknesses.
Question 8: A Streetcar Named Desire
Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between Stella and Stanley is 'inconceivable'.
Possible content
Students might choose to write about the following and thereby addressAO2: aspects of dramatic form and genre, e.g. melodrama, comedy and tragedy, social realism; structure, e.g. crisis– climax–resolution, forward-moving action with 'flashback' (Blanche's discovery of her young husband's homosexuality and his subsequent suicide); setting in the Elysian Fields quarter of New Orleans; naturalistic effects: the use of music (the 'Negro' Blue Piano, the Polish Varsouviana), sound (thunder, passing train) and lighting (described in meticulous detail in the stage directions); dialogue (Stanley's is colloquial, working-class and assertive while Stella's is higher register but sensible and down-to-earth); action (Stanley can be violent, clumsy, impetuous, but also tender and always passionate, while Stella answers his passion in equal measure and in behaviour that bespeaks a wife who, motivated by self-interest as well as by love, will unquestioningly stand by her man).
To address AO3 students will need to show how the marriage of Stanley and Stella is embedded in a specific historical context, i.e. that of America immediately after the Second World War. The essential nature of that marriage is also determined by their differing class backgrounds and values. During the war Stanley served as an NCO in the US Army; now a civilian, he is employed as a commercial traveller at the same engineering 'plant' as Mitch with whom he plays poker and goes bowling. Stella, like Blanche, is a product of a bygone colonial era; she made her way to New Orleans during the war where she met Stanley and the two fell in love. In determining the inconceivability or otherwise of their relationship, students will want to take account of the tremendous social and cultural disruption which the war brought about, making their meeting a possibility against the odds.
Candidates could also explore the roles of men and women within marriage, so connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of modern literature. They may cite examples of the differences between the social backgrounds and personalities of Stanley and Stella. He is working-class, 'common', from a European immigrant family, an arrogant, assertive alpha male; insensitive, coarse, bestial, capable of raping his sister-in-law while she is a guest under his own roof. She is refined but from a ruinously decadent aristocratic family, submissive, loyal, rejoicing in her new motherhood, protective towards her sister but unwilling to accept the accusation of rape. They are both sexually passionate (which leads to some 'stormy' scenes), but also capable of showing tenderness towards each other, of giving and taking pleasure; both are needy and self-centred, both are materialistic.
Exploring different interpretations, the requirements of AO5 are met if students conduct a debate around the notion of the Kowalskis' marriage being 'inconceivable'. If they accept the proposition set up in the task they may focus on some of the following: Stella's previous life in Belle Rêve; the differences between them as seen in their respective values, speech and actions; Blanche's difficulty in understanding the attraction they have for each other. In addition, they might like to consider Williams's themes (the 'ambiguous nature of sexuality, the betrayal of faith, the corruption of modern America, the over-arching battle of artistic sensitivity against physical materialism') and whether or not the relationship between Stanley and Stella ties in with those themes. Some candidates may decide that Stella's migration from Belle Rêve to the Elysian Fields is not entirely plausible. If they do not accept the 'view' of inconceivability, they will probably focus on the magnetic attraction that the two characters experience for each other which is sexual, powerful and undeniable; the presentation of Stanley as physically attractive, but also persuasive and manipulative; the presentation of Stella's 'narcotized tranquility', her tolerance of Stanley's brutish behaviour and his weaknesses.
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