Context

• What does context mean for your exam?

  It refers to background information significance.
• How much does context count towards your exam marks?

  Approximately 24% of the marks.
• What are examiners looking for regarding context?

  Understanding significance and influence of contexts.
• What factors can context include?

  Author's background, historical context, reception.
• How does Williams’ portrayal of gender roles relate to context?

  It reflects 1940s societal norms and expectations.
• Why is it important to know a text's context?

  To fully understand the text and its references.
• What is the significance of Williams' original audience?

  They provide insight into the text's context.
• What should context in an exam essay be?

  Directly relevant, not bolted-on information.
• How did Williams' childhood affect his writing?

  Negative experiences influenced his character development.
• What was Williams' father's profession?

  He was a working-class salesman.
• How did Williams' mother view his father's behavior?

  She resented his drinking and affairs.
• What is Tennesse Williams' full name?

  Thomas Lanier Williams III.
• What illness did Williams suffer from as a child?

  He was bedridden for two years.
• How did Williams' sexuality influence his work?

  It reflected societal views on homosexuality.
• What does A Streetcar Named Desire reveal about Williams' life experiences?

  His struggles with loneliness and depression.
• What historical event is the play set in the aftermath of?

  The Civil War.
• What was the main issue of the Civil War?

  Abolishment of slavery.
• How did the Civil War affect the Southern States?

  It left a legacy of racism and poverty.
• What did New Orleans become after the Great Depression?

  A melting pot of culture.
• How does A Streetcar Named Desire depict the changing South?

  It shows tensions between old and new values.
• What does Blanche represent in the context of the play?

  The struggle of old money against modernity.
• How does Stanley embody the American Dream?

  He represents hard work and perseverance.
• What societal changes occurred after World War II?

  Women were pushed back into domestic roles.
• How does Williams portray gender roles in the play?

  He critiques limitations imposed on both genders.
• What percentage of women were in the workforce during WWII?

  27% to 37%.
• How does Williams twist gender stereotypes?

  By showcasing characters with mixed traits.
• What does the relationship between Blanche and Stanley illustrate?

  Prejudice faced by immigrants and class conflict.
• What does Blanche call Stanley in Scene Eight?

  A "polack."
• How does the play address racism?

  Through class prejudice rather than skin color.
• What principles did America evolve from?

  Puritan and Christian principles.
• How does morality play a role in the characters' lives?

  Blanche struggles with societal moral standards.
• What critique does the play offer regarding sexual morality?

  It highlights double standards for men and women.
• How was the play received on Broadway?

  It received mixed responses.
• What did some critics call Williams?

  An "ultra-realist."
• How did audiences react to the portrayal of sexuality in the play?

  Some admired its crude realism.
• How did critics compare A Streetcar Named Desire to The Glass Menagerie?

  It was deemed graver than the latter.
• What perspective do some critics take on Stanley's character?

  They view him as a victim of Blanche's madness.
• Who is labelled and ostracised in the play?

  Blanche
• How does Blanche cope with her feelings of being defiled?

  Through bathing
• What does Stanley get away with in the play?

  Domestic abuse and rape