A Streetcar Named Desire Socratic Seminar

Preparation
By: Bahal, Rebecca, Alen, Amira, Wadana, Melvin, Sidney
Streetcar Socratic Seminar Goals:
● To make in-depth inferences about character, conflict, and theme

● To support ideas with evidence

● To form multi-layered, complex interpretations of the meaning of the play as a whole by

● synthesizing ideas and finding patterns

● To determine where the play leaves things uncertain

Directions: Using your books, answer the following discussion prompts in your groups. You will be
required to submit written answers for the questions labeled REQUIRED along with your choice of two
additional prompts. These will be collected at the end of the Socratic Seminar on Friday.

Part I. Each Character’s End: Answer required one PLUS 2 more.

1. REQUIRED: Blanche’s End

A) Why does she respond to the doctor?
-She was scared as the matron was slightly aggressive with her. However, when the doctor
calmed down and took matters into his own hands, it made Blanche comfortable that the
doctor was listening to her and acting upon her needs.
What does he do that “allows” her to go with him?
-Blanche was not mentally stable after the rape, she hallucinated much and did not believe
people cared for her as Stella, her own sister, took the side of the rapist (Stanley) instead of
standing up for her sister. The doctor listened to Blanche when she asked the matron to let
her go, which was an act of kindness that allowed Blanche to trust the doctor.
Why doesn’t Blanche turn back when Stella cries her name?
-Blanche was schizophrenic, which explains why she heard certain voices and did not hear
others. Additionally, after being raped Blanche realized that no one acted upon it or cared
much about it even after 3 weeks of the grievous occurrence. Stella nor Eunice wanted to or
did believe that the rape took place. Therefore, when Stella cried Blanche’s name, Blanche
did not see the worth of saying a last goodbye to her sister, the one that betrayed her.
What does Williams mean by “she allows [the doctor] to lead her as if she were blind”?
-Rape, betrayal and a mental illness left Blanche detached from reality, and hence blind,
which is evidenced by hallucinations, such as when she believes Shep Huntley is inviting
Blanche over. Williams uses the quote above to convey that Blanche is losing her dominant
attitude and personality due to her deteriorating mental state and abusive environment.
How are we supposed to interpret this? “Allows” implies some measure of power.
-Blanche is known to be the female character that persuades men and dominates their way
of thinking or their atmosphere. This indicates that Blanche is a powerful character that
finds her way through life by leading men on. Even in this quote at such a horrendous state,
 Blanche is the one who holds power over who is allowed in her inner circle and who is not
OR who is allowed to lead her on not.
Has Williams left Blanche in a position of power or weakness or neither or both?
-Both. Blanche receives her position of power through validation from people, especially
men. Therefore, indicating that Blanche is weak enough to be reliant on other people to feed
her interior soul. However, Blanche is powerful enough to choose who gets close to her or
who has an effect on her, as seen with the doctor. Additionally, Blanche was seen as weak
when she was raped by Stanley, however, the way she dealt with it and put up with the
environment for weeks shows that she is strong.
Is Blanche “blind”? If so, to what? Why?
-In some aspects, Blanche could be identified as blind. She was blind to where Stella’s
loyalty lies. Blanche thought that Stella would support her, and help her instead of taking
sides with Stanley as he was in the wrong for raping and emotionally abusing her. However,
in the end, Stella picked Stanley because she was too dependent on him as she desired touch
which brought her comfort. Nevertheless, Blanche was not blind to trusting anybody. When
the doctor came for Blanche, she did not go with him at first. However, after the doctor made
her feel comfortable and listened to her needs, she trusted him enough to let him lead her to
the car and destination.

B) Blanche: “Whoever you are--I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers” (178). Connect
back to Scene Three: “There’s so much—so much confusion in the world…Thank you for being so kind! I
need kindness now”(69).

How does Blanche define kindness?

-From Blanche’s perspective, people who assist her during times she can not make decisions
for herself, guide herself, or be in touch with her surroundings or herself are the people
whom Blanche considers kind. Therefore, acts from these sorts of people are defined as acts
of kindness by Blanche. Additionally, it could be claimed that Blanche defines kindness as
acts committed by other people that are considerate, comforting, or friendly toward her or
those in need.
Why are these Blanche’s parting words?
-In the mental state she was in, Blanche became even more dependent on other people’s
kindness and understanding toward Blanche. Therefore, Blanche felt the need to make it
known that kindness is what she truly desires rather than beauty and the gaze of men. That
people misunderstood her all along.
Why does Williams end Blanche’s life in an institution?
-Williams used the thematic message, “reality triumphs fantasy, but fantasy is important as
as reality.” In a sense, by sending her to an institution, hes protecting her from the harshness
of reality. She's a fragile victim that does not need to acknowledge that she has been raped,
abused by men, her sister does not support her and she lost herself.
What larger thematic message does Williams make through Blanche’s end? What is the
tone of her end?
-The end has a larger thematic meaning of survival of the fittest. The world evolves and
changes take place to revolutionize and better the world. New people with new ways of
thinking fit in as the world is moving towards them, in their favor rather than the old people
with old customs. Williams conveyed through Stanley's (new) and Blanche’s(old) lives
clashing to Blanche leaving and marking Stanley’s win that having the skill of adapting to
change allows you to win over those who can not seem to evolve in order to fit in.

C) Does Williams want us to root for Blanche? What attitude does he want us to have
towards her by play’s end? Why or why not? Justify response with quotes
 - I would not say that Williams wanted us to root for Blanche but rather feel sorrowful for
her. Blanche from the start was a liar and kept many secrets in order to fulfill her desires
and needs. In a way, she was a narcissist. The character of Blanche was detached from
reality, making her inconsiderate multiple times, therefore I do not believe Williams wanted
us to root for Blanche. By putting Blanche through traumatic incidents, such as a lover’s
suicide and rape, Williams portrays Blanche as a victim which makes the audience feel
sorry for Blanche, especially considering that Blanche was once energetic and lived a
beautiful life until everything slowly fell apart.

2. Stanley’s End: Stanley’s last lines are, “Stella? Now, honey. Now, love. Now, now, love.”
According to the stage directions, he “kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her
blouse.”

Given Stanley’s view of the world and himself, to what extent is Stanley living in
illusion and reality by the end of the play?
-By the end of the play, Stanley lives an illusion in which he believes he is superior to
everyone else as he is able to read people, manipulate them and force them into doing things
they would not like to. However, Stanley is not as detached from reality as Blanche. Stanley
goes on about not caring about people, he knows what he is doing, and he does not live in the
past but rather in the present. That is the most significant difference between Blanche and
Stanley. Blanche lived in the past and was detached from reality whereas Stanley lived in
the present and was attached to reality. Stanley wants to move on in life and Blanche wants
to go back.
Why does he approach Stella “a bit uncertainly”?
-Stella at the moment is very vulnerable and in an emotional state due to her sister’s
departure. Stanley is an inconsiderate character therefore it may be that Stanley is afraid
that he might worsen his situation of Stella if he tries to comfort her. If not this, then it may
be because of guilt. Stanley is the reason why Blanche is even more mentally ill than she was
when she arrived but most importantly, Stanley is the reason why Blanche is leaving.
Is his kneeling beside Stella a position of power or weakness or both?
-Kneeling is a stance that can imply that someone is giving in or it may be a posture of
respect. However, in this case, Stanley is kneeling beside Stella who is fighting grief in order
to assert his support. Therefore, the body language of Stanley may impose weakness but the
purpose counters the weakness. Furthermore, Stanley seduces Stella in this scene which is
clearly a dominant act, an act of power.

What will his relationship with Stella be like post-Blanche?

-After Blanche leaves, it can be inferred that Stanley is going to force everything to go back to
normal, and act like he didn't do what he to Stella and Blanche (assault) and Stella is just
going to be fine with because of the fact that she relies on Stanley, also because she basically
sacrificed Blanche for him.

What is the tone of his final words and actions?

-Stanley’s final words are repetitive and as he speaks them, he fingers Stella’s blouse which is a
clear sign of seduction. Therefore, it could be concluded that the tone of Stanley’s final words is
manipulatively comforting for Stella. Historically, Stella always gives in to Stanley’s seduction and
touch due to desire. This very desire hurts her mentally and physically.

How will his life go on?

 -Stanley will remain in his very shaky and problematic life, because as Blanche gets
sacrificed by Stella, and is put in a special hospital it puts them in a position in which there
back to being only them two, which will let them be toxic as there is no there (Blanche) to see
what happens.

Will Stanley’s luck run out?

-No. It is clearly evident that at the end of the book Stanley dominated Blanche, showing
that he is lucky, as Blanche dominated many men over the years.

Will he always be king?

-Yes. Because he does not let anyone control or dominate him, he wants to dominate and
show that he can’t be dominated.
What kind of father will he be?
-Stanley will be a good father, this can be seen in his attitude of wanting Blanche to leave
the house. In Stanley’s mind, Blanche represents “bad things” for his family. So this
attitude, trying to remove “bad things” from his house, shows that he will be a good father
and he will be very protective.

B) Does Williams want us to root for Stanley? What attitude does he want us to have
towards him by play’s end? Why? Justify response with quotes.
-Yes. William wants us to think that Stanley always wanted to protect Stella and their son,
and his bad attitude towards Blanche was to protect his family from Blanche. “In the book
it’s clearly evident that everyone was against Blanche. All this trouble for Blanche was first
created by Stanley, who tried to find out about Belle Rive and Blanche’s past. As he found
out, everything about Blanche, Blanche’s house fell apart.

C) Synthesize.
What larger thematic message does Williams make through Stanley’s end?
- The thematic message created by Williams through Stanley’s end is “reality triumphs
fantasy, but fantasy is just as important.” Stanleys ending is uncertain, he spent the whole
play isolating and leaving Blanche with nothing. He was utterly consumed by this, leading
us to question if he will ever be satisfied again? His ending is similar to Blanches, she is
consumed by his fantasy and throughout the play he was consumed by his fantasy to be
against Blanche. By sending Blanche to the institute, does he end his fanatsy or will he
create another one?
What is uncertain or paradoxical about his end?
-The uncertainty is will he be ever satisfied again. During the summer of Blanche's arrival,
he set an aim for himself to figuratively kill her. By digging into her past, seperating her
and Mitch, raping her and seperating her from her sister, he wanted to isolate her and
control the situation. There was so much hatred for Blanche from Stanley, this motivated
him to beat her and leave her with nothing. He was so intensively consumed by this, leading
us to question if he will be ever satisfied again? Will it leave him unsatisfied and bored with
his life or will he enjoy not having to work on something?

Why does this ambiguity or paradox matter to the meaning of the work?
-The whole play was about his consumption of isolating and leaving Blanche with nothing,
this ambiguity leads us to will his life ever be the same. This will matter to the meaning of
the work on how Stanley will develop if there would ever be a second book written. Will the
meaning of the book be affected?
 3. Play’s End: Examine the closing line of the play: “This game is seven-card stud” (179).
These are essentially Williams’s last words. He gives them to Steve. What does the
ending line of the play— and the poker metaphor—mean in light of the whole play?
(Google “seven-card stud rules” online.)

-In a seven-card stud game, only four out of seven cards are shown to the other players. This
is similar to the play in that only certain aspects of Stanley and the Kowalski family are
revealed. This might be a result of Stanley's tendency to control situations and withhold
details about his personal life. Alternatively, the privacy in such neighborhoods. In the play,
the majority of the characters were kept in the dark about his cruelty. The ability to bluff is a
key component of the poker game, and the ending demonstrates that Stanley was more
skilled at it than Blanche. The play as a whole is punked upon by the poker analogy,
indicating that it was an especially wild game.

Why does Williams end with these lines uttered by Steve, a character we’ve barely seen
in the play? What is the tone?
- Williams ended the play with an insignificant line from a minor character. This portraying
to the readers that their life goes on as normal. No matter how significant and dramatic
Blanche's stay was, it was mere in these characters' lives. The tone of the line is sympathetic,
as Blanche's ending could have been different.

Part II. Questions about the Meaning of the Work as a Whole: Answer required two

4. REQUIRED: Let’s go back to the beginning. Williams opens his play with an epithet—lines from
Hart Crane’s poem “The Broken Tower.”
And so it was I entered the broken world
To trace the visionary company of love, its voice
An instant in the wind (I know not whither hurled)
But not for long to hold each desperate choice.

A) What do these lines mean? Explain in your own words.

-The start of the epigraph brings to mind Blanche’s journey into New Orleans, to her, a
‘’broken world’’. It also captures the fleeting nature of love, which for Blanche was only an
‘’instant in the wind. ¨*referring to the boy that died.)

B) How do they apply to the meaning of the play as a whole?

-They both share a few themes and motifs that could be applied to the play’s meaning. One
way that the poem relates to the play is by the theme “isolation”, this demonstrates an
individual who struggles to find connection and meaning in a world that is hostile. You can
also notice that Blanche is also a lonely and isolated individual who suffers with past
traumas. Another way is the theme of the search for transcendence. In the poem, the speaker
is attempting to achieve a state of transcendence in order to rise above the restrictions of the
world. Blanche is also searching for transcendence, although it’s in a different way. Blanche
tries to free herself from the painful realities of her life through fantasy and dreaming.

5. REQUIRED: Why is this play entitled A Streetcar Named Desire? Find all the references
to the streetcar and desire in the play. Then synthesize this with Blanche’s
 proclamation in scene 9 that “the opposite [of death] is desire.” How does Blanche’s
statement support or refute the title of this play? What does Williams want to convey to
his audience about desire, death, and streetcars?

-The play is entitled A Streetcar Named Desire because the start of the play is when Blanche
arrives in a streetcar named desire and because it is the main semantic message of the play
which states that desire leads to death or downfall. An example of desire leading to death is
the story of Allan, the young boy who killed himself because he desired to be free and choose
to love who he wanted to. Later on, Blanche’s proclamation in scene 9 that “the opposite [of
death] is desire” relates to how Stella’s desire for Stanley and wanting to please him led to
Blanche’s and Stella’s relationship being “Killed” and also how Stanley’s desire for Blanche
led to Blanche’s departure which marked her end.

Part III. Problematic Parts

6. Identify 1 passage or chunk of a scene (from any part of the play) that remains problematic for
you. Why is this passage or scene problematic and what do you want to ask your classmates about
it?