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rory_john14's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, Infidelity, and Slavery
mwreadings's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This play is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It’s dark and twisted but it’s so well written. I enjoyed Williams style and i’m glad to be studying it for A-Level and it’s definitely my favourite out of the texts that I do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Hate crime, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Body shaming, and Alcohol
wolfiegrrrl's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was surprised by how much I ended up loving this play. It's a really interesting character study about the effects of racism and class (among other things) on America that has me constantly returning to spot more details - symbolism, foreshadowing, and so so much double-speak - that I hadn't realized the first time I read it, so my copy is steadily being filled with notes and highlights each time I revisit it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Vomit
arianappstrg's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
4,75: A lot of moral dilemmas with this one. Is it people that make society or society people?
Raunchy and carnal, Streetcar skitters from eroticism to brutality so quick it makes you wince. I have read that Williams' intention in writing problematic characters is not to throw blame at them or make the readers point fingers but to shed light on what happens when different worlds, cultures, classes, economies and upbringings collide. From this collision, springs violence and silence and the simple fact that all characters, on the page as well as in real life, are problematic. With Streetcar, I found it very hard not to throw blame and judge based on the individual. An individual is indeed, to some extent, a product of their society. Their choices are bound to be influenced by said society's teachings and yet it was still incredibly difficult to refrain from putting everyone into categories; innocent and guilty, mad and reasonable, civilized and uncivilized. Among working-class brutish men, Stanley is quite civilized and even loveable. Among old money tycoons and estate owners, Blanche is quite sane, reasonable and lovely. When they enter each other's orbit, the only possible outcome is violence and insanity. It was upsetting to witness such a resolution and kept thinking that if Stanley was visiting Blanche in her world, he would have probably been met with a similar fate. If not a mental institution, it would have been prison. Because, ultimately, we do not understand each other. To bridge that gap between such opposing worlds would perhaps take much more strength of character and determination than people possess.
It feels like it is all about necessity. In fact, I caught myself using necessity and desire interchangeably. Stanley needs to reaffirm his control every chance he gets. His macho sexual energy is the one thing he has a grip on, the one thing that assures him he is an honest and hard-working husband therefore superior to the privileged. When threatened, he bursts into random acts of violence and cruelty. Stella needs gratification, she needs to know that it is acceptable for her to desire and to want to be desired, to want such things as pleasure and roughness, considered base and primitive by the class she was born into. Blanche seeks stability, mental and financial, in others because she cannot attain it on her own. She tells stories and puts up pretences to stay afloat and safely tucked away from reality. She wants to be saved. In spite of all her questionable choices and inconsistencies, it is infuriating how she had to be sacrificed on the altar of other people's needs. It reads like she had to go down so that Stanley could continue to reassert his macho nonsense and so that Stella could feel better living with a man responsible for her sister's mental breakdown. And yet it makes total sense that it should happen that way if you see it from Williams' perspective. Stanley and Stella are only protecting their interests, interests that are formed in accordance to their environment, interests that their environment dictates they should protect. What is a woman with a newborn supposed to do in wretched New Orleans in the 40s-50s? And what is Stanley supposed to feel about his actions when he just did what he thought was in his nature to do? He is not expecting to be punished for anything. So bleak to think about.
Raunchy and carnal, Streetcar skitters from eroticism to brutality so quick it makes you wince. I have read that Williams' intention in writing problematic characters is not to throw blame at them or make the readers point fingers but to shed light on what happens when different worlds, cultures, classes, economies and upbringings collide. From this collision, springs violence and silence and the simple fact that all characters, on the page as well as in real life, are problematic. With Streetcar, I found it very hard not to throw blame and judge based on the individual. An individual is indeed, to some extent, a product of their society. Their choices are bound to be influenced by said society's teachings and yet it was still incredibly difficult to refrain from putting everyone into categories; innocent and guilty, mad and reasonable, civilized and uncivilized. Among working-class brutish men, Stanley is quite civilized and even loveable. Among old money tycoons and estate owners, Blanche is quite sane, reasonable and lovely. When they enter each other's orbit, the only possible outcome is violence and insanity. It was upsetting to witness such a resolution and kept thinking that if Stanley was visiting Blanche in her world, he would have probably been met with a similar fate. If not a mental institution, it would have been prison. Because, ultimately, we do not understand each other. To bridge that gap between such opposing worlds would perhaps take much more strength of character and determination than people possess.
It feels like it is all about necessity. In fact, I caught myself using necessity and desire interchangeably. Stanley needs to reaffirm his control every chance he gets. His macho sexual energy is the one thing he has a grip on, the one thing that assures him he is an honest and hard-working husband therefore superior to the privileged. When threatened, he bursts into random acts of violence and cruelty. Stella needs gratification, she needs to know that it is acceptable for her to desire and to want to be desired, to want such things as pleasure and roughness, considered base and primitive by the class she was born into. Blanche seeks stability, mental and financial, in others because she cannot attain it on her own. She tells stories and puts up pretences to stay afloat and safely tucked away from reality. She wants to be saved. In spite of all her questionable choices and inconsistencies, it is infuriating how she had to be sacrificed on the altar of other people's needs. It reads like she had to go down so that Stanley could continue to reassert his macho nonsense and so that Stella could feel better living with a man responsible for her sister's mental breakdown. And yet it makes total sense that it should happen that way if you see it from Williams' perspective. Stanley and Stella are only protecting their interests, interests that are formed in accordance to their environment, interests that their environment dictates they should protect. What is a woman with a newborn supposed to do in wretched New Orleans in the 40s-50s? And what is Stanley supposed to feel about his actions when he just did what he thought was in his nature to do? He is not expecting to be punished for anything. So bleak to think about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape
The rape happens off stage and is not even mentioned in the stage directions. It is implied by the mention of the change in music if I remember correctly. And obviously, Stanley's remark cannot be misinterpreted. It's all too clear what is about to happen and in fact, it's all been building up to this moment. Sadly.bexsur's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Xenophobia
elliehutch21's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
sherbertwells's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Before I proceed with this review, I’d like to thank Ms. Lentz for lending my a copy of this play. Best of luck with The Theory of Relativity this week!
At the end of my (Ms. Lentz’s) copy of A Streetcar Named Desire, playwright Tenesee Wiliams interviews himself. His questions are flattering and encourage the type of beautiful monologues about “the present plague of violence and horror” that he drizzles onto the script of the play. He even addresses his choice to write about the infected:
“Q: You sound as if you felt quite detached and superior to [the] process of corruption in society [you write about].”
A: I have never written about any kind of vice which I can’t observe in myself”
But for every question he excavates in the interview, there are a thousand he leaves buried in the text. For example: Mr. Williams, how do you know what it’s like to be a teenage girl?
Blanche Dubois and Stella Kowalski, the protagonists of A Streetcar Named Desire, are technically adults—in fact, Blanche is getting on in years. But due to a combination of factors (societal, sexual, etc) the sisters remain frozen in a self-illusion typically associated with the most painful periods of adolescence. Blanche is a fantastic deceiver: “I don’t tell the truth,” she declares. “I tell what ought to be the truth” (145) Stella, meanwhile, attaches herself to the abusive lout Stanley Kowalski.
The interactions of the fatal trio make up the bulk of the script. All three characters are excellent, but there is not much plot. Instead, Williams occupies himself with “artful hysteria.” Sex, violence, shameful secrets—all these swirl through the play like sugar in beer, consumed by a climax of pathetic force.
At times, Streetcar seems too stylish to stage. The division between masculine and feminine spaces is suffocating. Blanche speaks like (and is?) a deranged English teacher. And Williams is kind of racist against Polish people.
He definitely displays a paternalistic, disinterested attitude toward Black and Hispanic people, who live in “New Orleans…a cosmopolitan city where there is a relatively warm and easy intermingling of the races” (2). The only characters of color are an offscreen pianist and two figures named “Negro Woman” and “Mexican Woman.” And given Williams’ treatment of Stanley, I doubt that Streetcar would benefit for more diversity.
Stanley Kowalski, who is Polish-American, plays into the accusations that Streetcar levels against him. Blanche despises her sister’s husband, calling him “sub-human” and urging Stella not to “hang back with the brutes” (83). This bias is part of Blanche’s character; she is a descendant of the planter aristocracy and tries to present herself as the last vestige of purity among the sins of the French Quarter. But Stanley, a working-class misogynist with primitive sex appeal, embodies every simian stereotype Blanche suggests!
Racism, however, is not Williams’ most prominent vice. It is authorial self-indulgence.
The reader’s tolerance for the narrative style of Tennessee Williams will determine whether or not they enjoy A Streetcar Named Desire. The play’s monologues bloom only in a hothouse atmosphere, and its staging can unravel very quickly if the language is not treated with appropriate delicacy. It may even be better as a text for study than as a living work, scrutinized under the harsh light of the stage. But I hold a kernel of affection for Williams’ work.
I can recognize a few of the playwright’s vices as my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Suicide
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