A Streetcar Named Desire

Scenes 1-3

Setting and Place Names

1. Describe the setting of the play. What does the house where the play is set look like? What does the Kowalski apartment look

like? What city is the play set in? As you are introduced to each of the major characters in the first three scenes, how does the setting help you to understand them and their situation more?

2. Are there symbolic meanings suggested by the names of places (e.g. Desire, Elysian, Cemeteries) in the play? If so, explain the symbolic meaning.

Characters

3. Blanche and Stella--Describe Blanche. What is she like? Why is she described as being moth-like? How is she like and unlike her sister Stella in, for instance, the issues of appearance and

class difference? How would you describe their relationship? What is their background like? What is Belle Reve? Is Blanche always honest in the first three scenes? What does she think

about fibs and lies? Why does she drink so much? Why does she bathe so often? Why does she flirt with Stanley?

4. How does Stanley Kowalski differ from Blanche? How do they respond to each other? In what ways is he the opposite of Blanche? Besides their different cultural background, Belle

Reve is a major reason for their conflict. How do they each handle the conflict? How does Stella deal with the opposition between her sister and her husband?

5. Describe the relationship between Stanley and Stella. Since Blanche and Stella are sisters and share the same background,

why do you think one sister is so attracted to Stanley and the other so repulsed by him? Can you find out a pattern in their marriage? Why is the word "animal" used?

6. Mitch & Blanche --How does Mitch compare and contrast with Stanley? How does he respond to Blanche? How does Blanche

respond to him? Discuss his relationship with his mother and the other men.

Themes

7. From the beginning of the play to the end it presents a sexual tension. Describe the presence and influence of sexual desire

that you see in the first three scenes. Does the attraction between Mitch and Blanche seem different from the attraction

between Stanley and Stella?