Dear Class,
We were unable to meet today due to the weather. Here are my notes to you. Feel free to print them or copy them in your notebook. This is a portion of what would have been my lecture today. I did condense it. Prepare to think about Pub #2. You can e-mail me if you have any questions.
I look forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday. Have a happy and healthy weekend!
Best,
Professor Brady
In Scene 6- Blanche tells her story to Mitch and blames herself for his death. She says " You disgust me.... and then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light stronger than this kitchen candle..."
What happens to people when they suffer a traumatic experience? Sometimes they are unable to see the world in the same way. Sometimes they are unable to see others in the same way. Perhaps, they are unable to see themselves in the way they used to. This creates the human perspective I have been discussing in class. The one in which allows us to develop our own personal truths. The one that provides us with the tools necessary to cope with our own realities.
Desire- Once Mitch learns of Blanche's sordid affairs (thanks to Stanley), he clearly does not want to marry her nor carry on a relationship with her. In Scene 9 Blanche tells Mitch " I don't want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it!- Don't turn the lights on!"
"If we believe something to be true... who says it isn't true? If It is true to the one who believes it , then it is their truth and therefor real????? or NOT??????"
Realism vs Magic- In so many ways this play is about learning how to deal with the hardships and heartaches that life imposes upon us. It is a clear example of how one who loses a loved one closest to them "can never see the sunshine again". All of us have to experience love, pain, death, fear, etc. The difference between a person who can function in the world despite these circumstances and a person who can not... is the ability to cope. Blanche lacks the ability to cope. Her desire for love, family, money, security, stability, etc... (see notes from my lecture Tuesday) does not allow her to be disillusioned by fantasy and still maintain control of her own life. Instead, she falls prey to her emotional instability. She hangs on to the past and what was. In addition, her environment (time period and social/external world) do not allow her much flexibility. She cannot drink her sorrows away, tell her dead husbands story, discuss her insecurities and fear without judgment. This certainly is a period piece. SHE IS TRAPPED. Blanche's lies become her escape. Keep in mind that lies can become truths. Sometimes people lie to themselves. This is another coping mechanism.
In so many ways, MAGIC has power and control over so much of what we as human beings believe we are supposed to BE and HAVE and BECOME. This can be seen in so many areas in life.
Magic is the what was supposed to be...... rather than the Realism.. that is what is. With this said there is also the TRUTH.... that is subject to discussion. This is called perspective. It depends on how you see it. One can alter the truth the fit the perspective in which survival can take place. Some people cannot survive (emotionally) facing the truth. It is too devastating for them.
There are Inherent Desires and Created Desires. The ones that are created are the ones that we are not born with such as marriage, money, fame, success, idealism, perfection, houses, social status, careers, cars,etc... these desires are created for us by the external world.
Inherent desires are different however, they can relate to the created desires in that their fundamental premise ignites the desire to seek out the creation of the desirable external world.
Inherent desires include but are not limited to...
LOVE, SECURITY, COMPANIONSHIP, BELONGING, FOOD, SHELTER, COMMUNICATION AND EXPRESSION, UNDERSTANDING, FAMILY ETC...THere is more to be said here.. I will elaborate on Tuesday.
The Rape Scene - Scene 10
Stanley's agrression, the brutal desire, the final breaking point for Blanche.
Holding on to what is left of the fantasy...At this point she has nothing left. She claims that Mitch asks for her back by asking for forgiveness " He returned with a box of roses to beg my forgiveness. He implored my forgiveness. But some things are unforgivable."
Here is where the Darwin question comes in!
Some things are unforgivable... And the question here is.. What kinds of things are unforgivable? A broken love affair, a treacherous friend, a physical and emotional domination?
Stanley says " There isn't a goddam thing but imagination." "Oh, you want some rough house! Drop it! We have had this date from the beginning" (Stanley, 1231).
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Lecture on 3/10
Climax
and the ENDING SCENE
I have published Your second writing assignment. You are required to analyze the quote and discuss it. In addition, you are required to draw a connection by critically thinking about some themes and ideas discussed in class (my blog assignments and notes) and finding a correlation from the outside world. Your outside source must be a published source. You are required to look into the library databases under the categories of sociology, psychology or current events and properly document your source as an in-text.
Published Writing #2 Due on 3/12 by Midnight THAT IS ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!
I will see all of you on Tuesday!
Introduction to Short Story Unit on 3/12
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