70 pages • 2 hours read
Tennessee WilliamsA Streetcar Named Desire
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1947A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Quiz
Reading Check, Multiple Choice & Short Answer Quizzes
Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.
Scenes 1-3
Reading Check
1. What is the name of the street Stella and Stanley live on?
2. What is Stanley carrying when he first appears?
3. What is the name of the plantation home that is now lost?
4. What subject did Blanche teach?
5. With whom does Blanche flirt at poker night?
6. Why does Stella hide upstairs at Eunice’s?
Multiple Choice
1. In the stage directions, Blanche, wearing a white suit, is compared to:
A) a bride
B) a cloud
C) a moth
D) a daisy
2. Based on her words and actions, which set of character traits best describes Blanche in scenes 1-3?
A) delicate, proud, and confused
B) bold, loud, and sassy
C) demure, honest, polite
D) clumsy, conceited, energetic
3. What does Blanche do to calm her nerves?
A) play the radio
B) play poker
C) wash dishes
D) take a bath
4. What does Blanche say she’ll “burn” after Stanley has touched them?
A)her clothes
B) her love letters
C) her pearls
D) her glasses
5. What does Stanley cite as the reason he is entitled to Belle Reve?
A) Morse code
B) Austrian code
C) Enigma code
D) Napoleonic code
6. At poker night, what does Stanley throw out the window?
A) the radio
B) Blanche’s paper lantern
C) Mitch’s cigarette case
D) the deck of cards
7. At poker night, what action occurs offstage?
A) Mitch and Blanche kiss.
B) Stanley hits Stella.
C) Blanche faints.
D) The poker players get in a fight.
8. Based on his words and actions, which set of character traits best describes Stanley in scenes 1-3?
A) respectful, calm, chivalrous
B) smart, witty, entertaining
C) boring, unimaginative, reticent
D) hot-tempered, animalistic, intense
Short-Answer Response
1. Based on her behavior at the end of Scene 3, why do you think Stella returns to Stanley after he has hit her?
2. What is the “four-letter word” that Blanche cites as the reason for losing Belle Reve? Why can’t she bring herself to say the word?
3. Why does Blanche lie about her drinking? What other things does she lie about? What might be her reasons for telling these falsehoods?
4. How does Stella describe her love for Stanley? What specific imagery does she use? Is this a portrayal of a healthy relationship?
5. How does lighting function in relation to the events of the play? How does it change the mood of a scene?
Scenes 4-6
Reading Check
1. How does Stella feel towards Stanley after poker night?
2. What is the name of the man Blanche met in Miami?
3. What does Stanley overhear Blanche saying about him?
4. What is Blanche’s astrological sign?
5. Where does Stanley’s friend Shaw claim to have seen Blanche before?
6. What story does Blanche tell Mitch about the boy she loved and lost?
Multiple Choice
1. What line best encapsulates how Stella feels about Stanley after poker night?
A) “You [Blanche] are married to a madman!”
B) “Stanley’s always smashed things.”
C) “He [Stanley] is as good as a lamb.”
D) “[That’s] any part of a gentleman’s nature.”
2. Based on her words and actions, which set of character traits best describes Stella the morning after poker night?
A) angry, hurt, upset
B) crazed, hysterical, energetic
C) content, enamored, calm
D) confused, worried, anxious
3. Why did Blanche go to Miami over the Christmas holidays?
A) She wanted some time at the beach.
B) She was spending time with friends.
C) She was doing research for her teaching.
D) She wanted to meet a millionaire.
4. What is a sign that Stanley controls Stella’s money?
A) He asks to see receipts from all of her purchases.
B) He keeps her purse locked up.
C) He doesn’t give her a regular allowance.
D) He keeps her poker winnings for himself.
5. What term does Blanche use to describe Stanley to Stella?
A) “sub-human”
B) “handsome”
C) “refined”
D) “ordinary”
6. What word best describes the underlying tension between Stanley and Blanche?
A) anxious
B) combative
C) sad
D) irritated
7. Based on their conversation in Scene 6, why are Blanche and Mitch a mismatched couple?
A) He’s friends with Stanley.
B) She’s much older than he is.
C) He lives at home with his mom.
D) She’s much smarter than he is.
8. Why does Blanche blame herself for Allan’s death?
A) She wanted to go to Moon Lake Casino and he didn’t.
B) She shamed him after finding him in a sexual encounter with another man.
C) She failed to notice his depression.
D) He found out that she never really loved him.
Short-Answer Response
1. Why is Blanche so repulsed by Stanley?
2. Why is Blanche convinced that Stella is stuck in a “desperate situation”?
3. How do Blanche and Stella’s views of love differ?
4. What thematic significance might there be in the moment in which Stella spills Coke on Blanche’s white skirt?
5. What does Blanche’s behavior with the young man who is collecting for the Evening Star indicate about her state of mind?
6. Why does Mitch have hope that he and Blanche could be a couple?
Scenes 7-9
Reading Check
1. What event is Stella decorating for at the start of Scene 7?
2. What has Stanley found out about Blanche’s past in Laurel?
3. Based on what Stanley says, why won’t Mitch join in celebrating Blanche’s birthday?
4. Why does Stanley throw a plate on the floor during dinner?
5. What is Stanley’s “birthday gift” to Blanche?
6. Why doesn’t Blanche want Mitch to turn on the light?
7. What does Blanche yell to make Mitch leave the apartment?
Multiple Choice
1. What does Stanley cite as the real reason why Blanche left teaching?
A) She developed a nervous condition.
B) She became unexpectedly ill.
C) She had a relationship with a student.
D) She wanted to make more money.
2. What bird is at the center of the joke Blanche tells at dinner?
A) a flamingo
B) an eagle
C) a wren
D) a parrot
3. What does Stanley believe will “fix” things between him and Stella?
A) Blanche’s leaving
B) their having a baby
C) A only
D) Both A and B
4. What happens at the end of Scene 8 just after Stanley presents Blanche with a bus ticket back to Laurel?
A) Stella goes into labor.
B) Stanley kicks Blanche out of the house.
C) Blanche throws a dinner plate.
D) Blanche takes a bath.
5. Why doesn’t Blanche want Mitch to turn the light on?
A) Her eyes are sensitive to light.
B) She doesn’t watch Mitch to see her true age.
C) She thinks dim lighting is more romantic.
D) She doesn’t want the light to attract any mosquitoes.
6. What does Blanche say is the opposite of death?
A) desire
B) love
C) birth
D) happiness
7. Why does Mitch no longer want to marry Blanche?
A) He’s fallen in love with another woman.
B) Stanley will no longer be friends with him if he does.
C) Blanche lied to him about her age and sexual past.
D) He must take care of his ill mother.
8. Why does Blanche beg Mitch to marry her?
A) She loves him.
B) She wants to make Stanley angry.
C) She knows she has no other option to secure a stable life.
D) She wants to live in the French Quarter near her sister.
Short-Answer Response
1. How are Blanche’s frequent baths symbolic?
2. How are the lyrics Blanche sings in the bathtub significant to the themes of the text?
3. Why does Stanley hate Blanche so much? What insecurities does she draw out of him?
4. When Stella says to Stanley, “People like you abused [Blanche] and forced her to change,” what “people” does she mean? What does she believe to be the reason for Blanche’s behavior?
5. When Blanche says, “I don’t want realism. I want magic,” what does she mean?
6. How does the Mexican woman selling flowers amplify the final moments of Blanche and Mitch’s relationship? What thematic significance can be attributed to her selling flowers for the dead?
Scenes 10-11
Reading Check
1. What is Blanche wearing in her hair when Stanley returns from the hospital?
2. What does Stanley like to wear on special occasions?
3. What illusion does Blanche cling to?
4. What does Blanche use as a weapon to fight off Stanley?
5. Is Stella’s baby a boy or a girl?
6. Where does Stella send Blanche at the end of the play?
Multiple Choice
1. What does Blanche claim Shep Huntleigh invited her to join?
A) a safari
B) a trip to Paris
C) a Caribbean cruise
D) a road trip
2. Based on what you know about Blanche, why does she lie about Mitch returning to beg forgiveness with a box of roses?
A) She is eager to marry him.
B) She prefers fantasy to reality.
C) She bought roses for herself and needs an explanation for them.
D) She’s too proud to admit he rejected her.
3. What action occurs offstage at the end of Scene 10?
A) Stella gives birth to her baby.
B) Eunice yells at her husband.
C) The Mexican woman announces roses for sale.
D) Stanley rapes Blanche.
4. What does Stella tell Blanche about the reason for her going away?
A) She’s going to rest in the country.
B) She’s going on a Caribbean cruise.
C) She’s going to a mental hospital.
D) She’s going back to Belle Reve.
5. What does Stella cite as the reason why she’s sending Blanche away?
A) The apartment is too crowded with the addition of the baby.
B) Stella can’t believe Blanche’s story and continue living with Stanley.
C) Stella can’t forgive Blanche for losing Belle Reve.
D) Stanley threatens to leave Stella unless Blanche goes.
6. Which of the following descriptions does Blanche use in referring to Stanley and Stella’s apartment?
A) “My home away from home”
B) “Such a cozy house”
C) “It’s smaller than Belle Reve”
D) “This place is a trap”
7. Where does Blanche imagine she will die?
A) in a fire
B) in her bed
C) in the bathtub
D) on the ocean
8. Who takes Blanche away at the end of the play?
A) Stanley and Stella
B) Mitch
C) Eunice
D) the doctor and the matron
Short-Answer Response
1. Given what you know about Blanche, why do you think she has imagined that Shep Huntleigh is coming to her rescue? Why does she build such an elaborate fantasy?
2. Why does Stanley insist on exposing Blanche’s lies to her? What satisfaction does he gain?
3. What is the thematic significance of the jungle sounds that are playing as Stanley overpowers Blanche?
4. What does Stanley mean when he says, “We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning”?
5. Given what you know about Stella, why does she choose not to believe Blanche’s story about the rape?
6. Why is it significant that a new game of poker begins at the end of the play? How have card games functioned throughout the play?
Quizzes – Answer Key
Scenes 1-3
Reading Check
1. Elysian Fields
2. a package of meat
3. Belle Reve
4. English
5. Mitch
6. Stanley hit her.
Multiple Choice
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. B
8. D
Short-Answer Response
1. She is drawn to him by an animalistic, primal desire.
2. Answers may vary but students will likely identify the F-word as the implied term. Another possibility is “debt.” Blanche cannot bring herself to use words that she considers too ugly or crass to be spoken aloud by someone of her social class and position.
3. She wants to maintain an image of innocence, youth, purity, and virginity. She also lies about her age in order to maintain this facade. It’s important to her that people perceive her as a classic southern belle.
4. She describes her love for him in animalistic, lustful language. She calls him “a different species” and an “animal thing.” While there is certainly raw attraction between the two, Stanley and Stella have a problematic relationship; he is a domestic abuser.
5. Blanche is careful about lighting and makes sure to never be in direct light. The lighting in the apartment is always dim, and Blanche makes sure to use curtains and paper lanterns to avoid light. Lighting reveals truth, and Blanche prefers to live in the dim shadows of fantasy.
Scenes 4-6
Reading Check
1. She feels forgiving and loving, and somewhat “thrilled” by his violence.
2. Shep Huntleigh
3. He hears her say that he is “an animal,” something “sub-human” and “ape-like.” Blanche declares him a “survivor of the stone age” and mocks his vicious physicality and his lack of education. He hears her urge her sister not to “hang back with the brutes.”
4. Virgo, the virgin
5. the Hotel Flamingo
6. She relates that Allan committed suicide because Blanche had caught him in a sexual encounter with another man earlier that night.
Multiple Choice
1. C
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. B
7. D
8. B
Short-Answer Response
1. To Blanche, Stanley is the complete opposite of what she seeks in a romantic partner. He is crude, unrefined, and aggressively physical, while Blanche longs for someone smart, intelligent, and chivalrous. Blanche longs for the ideal gentleman of the “old south,” while Stanley represents the new, diverse America that is beginning to upset the established social hierarchy.
2. Blanche feels that her sister is trapped in an abusive marriage.
3. Blanche is a romantic purist: her dreams are of Parisian strolls and sunsets, classic gentlemanly manners, and witty repartee. Her visions of love are intellectualized. In contrast, Stella is drawn to the physical act of love. Her marriage with Stanley involves lust, irresistible attraction, and a sating of animal desires.
4. Blanche’s “virginity” is spoiled, though Blanche works hard to maintain the illusion of her innocence. Notably, she washes off the stain so that it can’t be seen, but the skirt has been spoiled nonetheless.
5. She is attracted to his youthful boyishness, a foreshadowing of the story she will later tell about Allan. When she says “I’ve got to be good--and keep my hands off children,” she gives a hint of the true reason why she left teaching.
6. Because they both “need” someone. Their relationship is less about love and more about the convenience of having a partner.
Scenes 7-9
Reading Check
1. Blanche’s birthday dinner
2. She prostituted herself from the Hotel Flamingo and she was fired from her job for getting involved with a student.
3. Because Mitch has learned the truth about her and now sees her as a “dirty,” compromised woman.
4. He’s fed up with the insults and derogatory names that the sisters say to him.
5. a bus ticket back to Laurel
6. She knows that in direct light, he will see how old she is.
7. Fire!
Multiple Choice
1. C
2. D
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. A
7. C
8. C
Short-Answer Response
1. They represent her attempt to “cleanse” herself of her past.
2. The lyrics suggest that a world of fantasy is preferable to a world of reality. The line “It's a Barnum and Bailey world, Just as phony as it can be--” suggests that her perceptions of fantasy versus reality are inverted.
3. She makes him feel crude and uneducated and inferior.
4. She means “men.” She thinks Blanche was driven to prostitute herself out of desperation to stay alive.
6. She means that the world of reality is too difficult for her; she’d prefer to imagine things than to see them for what they really are.
7. She is announcing their relationship to be dead, essentially giving it a gravestone. She is also announcing the oncoming “death” of many things: Blanche’s ability to live in the real world, her relationship with her sister, and her hope that things will get better.
Scenes 10-11
Reading Check
1. a tiara
2. silk pajamas
3. that Shep Huntleigh sent her a telegram
4. a broken bottleneck
5. a girl
6. to a mental hospital
Multiple Choice
1. C
2. D
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. D
7. D
8. D
Short-Answer Response
1. She has to convince herself that there is a way “out” of her “desperate situation.” Shep Huntleigh is a wealthy “gentleman” who can provide the sort of life that Blanche dreams about, so she clings to him as a vestige of her desire to eternally be a southern belle.
2. When he exposes her lies, he gets to educate her, a reversal of their usual dynamic. In a sense, while Blanche likes to hide in the shadows, Stanley turns on the “bright light” of truth so that Blanche has nowhere to go for safety.
3. The sounds emphasize the power he has over her, as well as his raw animalism and the truth of Blanche’s assertion that he is bestial in his desires.
4. He’s implying that he and Blanche were always destined to be involved in some sort of power struggle, and that the underlying tension between them has, all this time, had sexual undercurrents.
5. She chooses not to believe Blanche because, were she to do so, she would be homeless and penniless, with a baby to care for. She can’t believe the truth about Stanley because it would mean sacrificing the stability and comfort she now has.
6. Poker is a game of deception, of convincing people to believe something that isn’t true. Stanley sits down to play yet another game of poker at the end of the play, as though to continue advancing Stella’s narrative that he is a harmless man.
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