Scene Eight

Question 1

“Mr Kowalski is too busy making a pig of himself to think of anything else!”

Answer 1

• distaste towards his behaviour
• scolding shows some of Stella’s lingering old south values
• animalistic insult

Question 2

“Remember what Huey Long said - ‘Every Man is a King! And I am the kind around here, so don’t forget it!”

Answer 2

• Huey Long: corrupt 40th governor of Louisiana who improved the standard of living for the working class. reduced unemployment and came from a background of poverty
• Long actually meant equality for all, not just must
• cultural reference
• royal imagery is ironic as Stanley is lower class
• reminding Stella that he is superior
• Selfish: trying to ruin every aspect of Blanches life

Question 3

“God, honey, it’s gonna be sweet when we can make noise in the night the way we used to”

Answer 3

• romanticising their relationship
• their relationship is entirely powered by sex; manipulating her. reverting to primitive instincts

Question 4

“Oh those pretty, pretty little candles! Oh don’t burn them, Stella.”

Answer 4

• Blanche likes to preserve beautiful things, including herself
• candles mirror her desire to not be metaphorically morphed by heat of the fire

Question 5

“What I am is a one hundred per cent American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don’t even call me a Polack”

Answer 5

• patriotic; loyalty to American heritage
• dismissive of his Polish heritage
• reaffirming his identity and distancing himself from his past; ironic as he attacks Blanche for trying to reinvent herself

Question 6

“Take me to the hospital”

Answer 6

• deliberate removal of Stella from the scene leaves Blanche vulnerable and isolated