You are welcome to choose one of the Streetcar Named Desire essay topicswhich are represented below.

Streetcar Named Desire Essay Topics

• “Desire” is used throughout the play, both literally and figuratively. At the end of Act II, Blanche tells Mitch that Desire is the opposite of death. Explain her use of desire.
• What does Williams’s depiction of Blanche and Stanley’s lives say about desire?
• Traditionalism versus defiance in the Streetcar Named Desire.
• Morality and Immorality in the Streetcar Named Desire and in the Picture of Dorian Gray.
• Are there symbolic meanings suggested by the names of places (e.g. Desire, Elysian, Cemeteries) in the play? If so, explain the symbolic meaning.
• The plot of A Streetcar Named Desire is driven by the dueling personalities of Blanche and Stanley. What are the sources of their animosity toward one another?
• Blanche’s “world” is often contrasted to the world of Stanley’s and Stella’s. Blanche firmly states the kind of world she wants: “I don’t want realism. I want – magic!” In what way is Blanche’s world an illusion? Is it any less real than Stanley or Stella? What defines reality in A Streetcar Named Desire? What defines illusion?
• A Streetcar Named Desire can be described as an elegy, or poetic expression of mourning, for an Old South that died in the first part of the twentieth century. Expand on this description.
• At the end of the play, Blanche is taken away to an asylum. Do you believe she is insane? If she isn’t, what defines her sanity? Do you think she is responsible for her circumstances?
• Describe the use of light in the play. What does its presence or absence indicate?
• How does Blanche’s fascination with teenage boys relate to her decline and fall?
• Compare and contrast Mitch to the other men in the play.
• Compare and contrast Blanche and Stella.
• 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 on them?
• 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?
• The play includes many stage directions referring to music. What music and songs are present in the first three scenes (e.g. “the blue piano” and polka)? What is the significance of that music? In what ways is it symbolic? How does the music relate to the characters
• Blanche drinking problems. Why does she drink? What is she nervous about?
• Can you explain the dynamics of Blanche’s encounter with the newspaper boy? Why does Blanche flirt with him?
• What does Blanche want from Mitch? Is she honest with him? Describe their relationship. Is Mitch an aristocratic southern gentleman? If not, provide examples to support your answer. Do they love each other? How is their relationship different from the relationship between Stanley and Stella?
• Music is as much a part of A Streetcar Named Desire as the dialogue. It is often argued that music acts as a second dialogue within a play. Blanche explains her relationship with her husband. What does she unexpectedly learn about him? How does she respond to this? What does her husband do? How does Blanche respond to his death? Does this explain why the polka music repeats in her mind? What does this music symbolize for Blanche?
• Why did Blanche have so many “intimacies with strangers” (118)?
• Blanche and Stanley are alone in the apartment. Why is Stella not present? Blanche again mentions Shep Huntleigh. He, too, has taken on a symbolic meaning for Blanche. What does he represent to her? Why does she tell Stanley a lie about Shep Huntleigh? What does Stanley mean when he asks Blanche, “Shall we bury the hatchet and make it a loving-cup”? Why does Blanche say no?
• At the end of the play, Blanche is taken away to an asylum. Do you believe she is insane? If she isn’t, what defines her sanity? Do you think she is responsible for her circumstances?
• What do you think is the symbolic meaning of the Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead in scene nine?

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