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A Streetcar Named Desire: An Annotated Bibliography

The following is an annotated bibliography for Elia Kazan's "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), based on Tennessee Williams play of the same name. In this film, the beautiful yet disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister, Stella, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, only to be physically and psychologically tormented by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley. The more Blanche's situation deteriorates, the more she loses touch with reality.

tagged a_streetcar_named_desire blanche brando the_south vivien_leigh by kendallo ...on 09-APR-08

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The Reshaping of Plantation Society

Wayne, Michael, 1947- . Reshaping of plantation society : the Natchez District, 1860-80 / Michael Wayne. Illini books ed. 0252061276 (alk. paper) series Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 1990.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HD1471.U5 W39 1990

In this book, Wayne describes the Natchez District of Mississippi, an area east of the Mississippi River toward the north of the state. This district may be relatively small, but it was the first plantation area in Mississippi and the richest area in the Deep South. Known to Europeans for years, the district was known for its physical beauty and enormously productive plantations, particularly with the introduction of the cotton gin. In Chapter Four, titled “Survival of the Old Elite,” Wayne describes the “old money” families who succeeded in recovering their affluence after the Civil War and essentially comprised some of the most powerful groups of people in the South. However, debt was often an issue in the Natchez District. Terms of credit had changed from those before the Civil War to the extreme disadvantage of anyone who had borrowed money, while plantations were traditionally passed down through families, with each successor inheriting their family’s debt. Mismanagement of the land was common, while dramatically rising taxes through the ages devastated many landowners. A way to avoid these losses was to enter into an advantageous marriage or to sell the plantation to a friend until the funds to buy it back could be raised. However, the easiest way to compensate for a plantation’s losses was to take in boarders, raise livestock, or sell portions of the land altogether.
It is this sort of area that we can imagine Blanche DuBois to be from. Williams tells us that Blanche is from Mississippi, while Wayne states that the Natchez District was first occupied by the French, which is perhaps why Blanche has a French name. Whether this is true or not, the Natchez District would accurately represent the idyllic land where Blanche’s family estate, Belle Reve, would have been located. The name “Belle Reve” even means “beautiful” or “sweet dream” when translated into English. Thus, Blanche’s family plantation contributes to her difficulties in separating illusion from reality, and also contributes to her starry-eyed viewed on what a “cultured” family ought to be like. However, Wayne’s account of the difficulties the Old Elite encountered while running their plantations also sheds light on Blanche’s inability to keep Belle Reve within her family, leading to Blanche’s lack of control in virtually all aspects of her life.

belongs to A Streetcar Named Desire: An Annotated Bibliography project
tagged plantations the_south by kendallo ...on 09-APR-08

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Southern Grotesque Literature

Presley, Delma Eugene. “The Moral Function of Distortion in Southern Grotesque.” South Atlantic Bulletin, 37.2 (May 1972): 37-46. South Atlantic Modern Language Association. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. <http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/6965/2>.

In this article, Presley explores the use of grotesque literature by American authors around the second half of the twentieth century. Both a literary movement and writing style associated with the Southern Gothic, grotesque literature is meant to induce both empathy and disgust in readers, and traditionally explores characters who are physically, mentally, or morally disadvantaged or incompetent. Created as an aftermath of historical misfortunate and the “cultural confusion” of the South’s agrarian roots in an age of progress, writers such as Truman Capote, Flannery O’Connor, and Tennessee Williams all wrote in the grotesque style in order to reveal the character of the American South and to bring social issues to light through supernatural, ironic, or unusual events. Founded on the use of Gothic archetypes such as the “damsel in distress” motif, grotesque writers took clichéd subject matter and placed it in a modern context. Presley commends grotesque writers for giving readers insight into the cultural dilemmas relating to the south, yet also finds that many of these issues are taken out of context and are often distorted for dramatic purposes.
Tennessee Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire is a prime example of a grotesque piece of literature. Flannery O’Connor stated that grotesque writers are “faced with the reality that they live in an age whose distortions function as indicators of how far man has drifted from his true image as a creature of God.” In this vein, Williams explores the corruption of mankind, along with its difficulties in reconciling its primal nature with the rules of society: Blanche’s charm and beauty is overridden by her alcoholism, nymphomania, and general debauchery, while Stanley’s work ethic is conquered by his animalistic brutality. Because he believes desires of the “flesh and the spirit” cannot exists harmoniously in society, Williams also explores the impossibility of durable love, which is evidenced at the end of Streetcar when Stella finally leaves her husband. Thus, Presley’s analysis of grotesque literature not only reveals the methodology behind Williams’ play, but why he chose to write it in the first place.

belongs to A Streetcar Named Desire: An Annotated Bibliography project
tagged american_literature grotesque southern_literature tennessee_williams the_south by kendallo ...on 09-APR-08