A Streetcar Named Desire is on the way!

On Friday, 19th of October, 2007, we started off the class by reading the last play that have been assigned to study in this course that is “The Streetcar Named Desire”. At first, I did not know what this play is all about, I thought this play was something about a car. Shame on me, it was not. After being briefed by Dr Edwin, only then did I realized that this play is about a woman named Blanche who had an affair with a younger man and had her reputation gone down in the society that she decided to move and stay with her sister, Stella and her brother-in-law, Stanley. Her decision turned her life into a disaster. As we read on further, we will know that Stanley will be the cause that turns her life into a disaster.
Dr Edwin started the class by giving us a brief introduction on this play. Several important elements in the play had been emphasized by Dr Edwin so that we can pay more attention or focus on the elements such as the animal imagery, the causes of Blanche’s reversal of fortune, the differences between Stella and Blanche, the men that are mentioned in this play and the men that appear in this play. Dr Edwin would like us to pay more attention on these several elements which was said to be potentially coming out in the final examination.
First and foremost, this play is a modern tragedy and revolves around the reversal of fortune from agricultural society to the industrial society. It is also about the relationship between men and women. At Scene 1, it exposed to us the atmosphere of the setting that included the five senses such as the sense of smell, taste, touch, sight and auditory. It sets to us an atmosphere that is so real to us. It makes us feel as if we were at the scene. This is very different compared to other play as in the other play the setting won’t be described as such like a scene play.
The beginning of the dialogue is also very much different compared to other play as in this play, the beginning of the play is like as if we have walk other people’s life as the actress is already talking before the play started. This makes the play looks and sounds real and not artificial.
Moreover, the minor characters are first shown in the play before the appearance of the major characters. There are also no references of what will happen in the play later. It is something so real in our daily lives.
When the major characters come in, the age, the way the characters dressed and the way they behave are introduced to us. This is to imply to us the social background of the major characters and play very important role later in the play.
From the Stanley’s way of dressing, we know that Stanley is from a lower social society where he behaves roughly, even towards his wife. He also indicates to us that his works are rough works as he dresses informally. The way he handles the meat also tells us that he is not a careful person. Very obvious to us that he is from the lower class of society, very different from his wife, Stella.
From this first few pages of Scene 1, we get to examine the different behavior of the characters in this play will further leads us to understand the development of the play.
Although we had only read three pages of this play on the Friday class, it attracts my interests to read the play further as it is very interesting to read as the descriptions are vivid and real. The way the characters speak in this play attracts my interest to read this play. I am hoping to read something different from what I have read in the other plays, hopefully it will be something more unique and exciting.