Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Tennessee Williams - A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire

Setting: New Orleans, LA during the 1940s. Mostly in the Kowalski Small apartment.

Thomas "Tom " Lanier

Born in Columbus, Mississippi

Father: drunk, violent, aggressive, traveling salesman

Mother: Overprotective Southern Belle

1929: Studied Journalism at 18 Years Old

...until angry father withdrew him and he was forced to work at a shoe company.

Had a nervous breakdown from stress of school, family, and denial to pursue his interests (writing and theater).

Why NOLA?

  • Old world French architecture meets the new world.
  • Old Chivalry meets the animal instincts of desire and procreation.
  • The facade of upper class refinement vs. the growing lower class blue collar worker.
  • Post World War II

The Birth of "Tennessee" Williams

  • Earned his BA in English from the University of Iowa in 1937
  • Moved to New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) to reinvent himself
  • Professional Name: Tennessee
  • Openly gay after failed heterosexual relationships

Meanwhile back at home...

  • Sister suffered from schizophrenia
  • Tried lobotomy to cure her.
  • Lived the rest of her life at a mental hospital
  • Tennessee never forgave his parents or himself for what happened to his sister.
  • Drank himself to oblivion because of this

Allen Grey

Harold "Mitch" Mitchell

Blanche's husband

that commits suicide

likes

Conflicts

Poker friend

sisters

married

Blanche Dubois

Stanley Kowalski

Stella Kowalski

Abandoned family

English teacher. Lost everything

in MS and forced to live with Kowalskis.

Poker friend

Steve

upstairs neighbor

  • Blanche's fantasies vs. Reality
  • Blanche's fantasies with Mitch
  • Blanche's superiority vs. Stanley's ego
  • Stella's love for Blanche vs. Stella's dependency on Stanley

Young Collector

Eunice Hubbell

Poker friend

Pablo

Shep Huntleigh

Topics That Lead to Theme

As You Read...

What does this say about the American experience in the scope of love and relationships?

What is different/similar between this play that takes place after WWII and The Lost Generation (WWI)?

  • Fantasy/Illusion vs. Reality
  • The Transformation of the "Old South" to the "New South"
  • Cruelty
  • Primal vs. Civil Nature
  • Desire
  • Loneliness
  • Gender Roles
Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi