英师112班13号李如霞.ppt

Character analysis Theme analysis Symbols Illusion versus reality Cruelty Loneliness Desire Illusion versus Fantasy Blanche dwells in illusion; fantasy is her primary means of self-defense, both against outside threats and against her own demons. Fantasy has a liberating magic that protects her from the tragedies she has had to endure. Cruelty This sin is Stanley’s specialty. His final assault against Blanche is a merciless attack against an already-beaten foe. Blanche, on the other hand, is dishonest but she never lies out of malice. Her cruelty is unintentional; often, she lies in a vain or misguided effort to please. Loneliness Blanche desperately seeks companionship and protection in the arms of strangers. Blanche is in need of a defender. Desirecentral theme Although we learn later in the play that desire is one of her driving motivations, Blanche seeks to deny it. Physical desire, and not intellectual or spiritual intimacy, is the heart of Stella’s and Stanley’s relationship. Desire is also Blanche’s undoing, because she cannot find a healthy way of dealing with her natural urges - she is always either trying to suppress them or pursuing them with abandon. Light  Throughout the play, Blanche avoids appearing in direct, bright light, especially in front of her suitor, Mitch. It is clear that she avoids light in order to prevent him from seeing the reality of her fading beauty. Blanche covers the exposed light bulb in the Kowalski apartment with a Chinese paper lantern, and she refuses to go on dates with Mitch during the daytime or to well-lit locations. In Scene Six, Blanche tells Mitch that being in love with her husband, Allan Grey, was like having the world revealed in bright, vivid light. Since Allan’s suicide, Blanche says, the bright light has been missing. Bathing Throughout the play, Blanche bathes a lot. Her sexual experiences have made her a hysterical woman, but these baths, as she says, calm her nerves. These bat