A Streetcar Named Desire (Scenes 1 & 2)

In the beginning of A Streetcar Named Desire, we meet Stella and her husband Stanley, who live in a two-bedroom apartment on Elysian Fields in New Orleans, Louisiana. The story begins when Stanley tells his wife he is going bowling with friends. Stella decides to go with him. Two women begin to talk, one of whom is Eunice; a white woman who lives in their building. Later, a woman dressed in all white and pearls approaches the scene. This is Stella’s sister Blanche, who is paying an expected visit to Stella, but an unexpected one to Stanley. After Eunice tells Blanche her sister is out, she takes her to the apartment and, to Blanche’s surprise, is quite cramped. After Eunice leaves to go get Stella and Stanley, Blanche looks around the place while having a drink. Upon Stella’s arrival home, we see the two sisters embrace, thrilled to see one another. We learn that Blanche is on a leave of absence from her teaching job and is not excited about living in such tight quarters. Additionally, we learn their family owned a plantation in Mississippi called Belle Reave. Blanche expresses bitterness towards Stella for leaving the plantation and not staying back to help her save it. After Stanley and his friends come home from bowling, we see Blanche and Stanley first interact in a conversation about Blanche’s previous marriage.

To begin scene two, Stella tells Stanley to take is easy on Blanche because she’s upset about losing Belle Reave. We also learn Stella is pregnant, but doesn’t want Blanche to know. Stella decides that her and Blanche are going out, but before she can go, Stanley demands to see papers that record Belle Reave was sold. We learn that that Belle Reave was not sold but instead lost. Stanley doesn’t believe its true and tells Stella about the Napoleonic Code: A code that states whatever belongs to the wife also belongs to the husband. After Stella walks away, upset, he begins to rummage through Blanche’s things only to find furs and jewelry. When Blanche comes out, she acts flirtatious with Stanley which annoys him. When Stanley asks about the money, she continues to flirt. Stella walks in, but Blanche sends her away to get something from the drugstore. After she leaves, Blanche tells Stanley she will answer any questions. Stanley finds what he thinks are documents, but are instead are love letters that are important and valuable to Blanche. She later hands over all documents that are related to Belle Reave. Stanley tells her a lawyer will look them over and says “a man has to take an interest in his wife’s affairs --- especially now that she’s going to have a baby” (Williams 44). When Stella comes back, Blanche admits she flirted with her husband and expresses her new-found excitement for her being pregnant.

Stella is a more quiet and subtle character, who seems to be extremely genuine in her actions and relationships. Blanche is very lady like and flirtatious, which clashes with Stanley characteristics. Stanley is dominant, confident and blunt. He is not afraid to get his point across or hurt someone along the way.

How do we think Blanche and Stanley’s relationship will evolve? Will they clash or ultimately get along?

How will the theme of desire play an important role in these relationships and the plot of the novel?   

Their Eyes were Watching God: Chapters 19-20

Chapter 19 begins with descriptions of the devastation from the hurricane. Dead bodies are found in the everglades and Hurston provides the reader with another example of racism. As discussed in the novel, white bodies were given coffins and black bodies were buried without one.  Hurston wrote, "They makin' coffins fuh all de white folks" (Hurston 171). This provides another example of prejudice that Tea Cake and Janie had to endure. As the chapter continues, Tea Cake's health dramatically declines. He wasn't able to drink or eat anything. Janie calls Dr. Simmons to check on Tea Cake. He comes to the conclusion that Tea Cake had been bitten by a mad dog when saving Janie during the hurricane and there was close to no chance of survival. He goes on to say that Tea Cake could bite someone else which would put them in a critical condition. Later, when Janie was propping Tea Cake up in bed, she felt a pistol under his pillow. As they were still waiting for medicine to be sent to their home, Janie grew frightened that Tea Cake might try and hurt her. As Tea Cake grew sicker and more paranoid, he drew his pistol on Janie. Thankfully she had taken the first three bullets out so Tea Cake's first attempts would give Janie time to run. When Tea Cake shot the pistol, Janie had prepared herself with a rifle. In order for her to save herself, she shot Tea Cake. This ended up killing him. 

Janie was then put on trial for the murder of Tea Cake. The all-male, all-white jury found her innocent after she and Dr. Simmons provided testimonies. Janie goes down to Palm Beach and buries Tea Cake. Hurston wrote, "No expensive veils and robes for Janie this time. She went on in her overalls. She was too busy feeling grief to dress like grief" (189). This shows how genuine Janie's love for Tea Cake was and contrasts Tea Cake's death and Jodie's death to show how Janie truly felt about the two men.

Lastly in chapter 20, Janie returns home to Eatonville. She wants to plant the seeds Tea Cake gave her in memory of him. We return to present day. Janie has finished telling her story to Pheoby and is glad to be home. She talks about how she expects to receive criticism from people in the town but she can handle it because she feels fulfilled with her life.

Questions:

1. Do you think the choice to keep Tea Cake at home instead of a controlled environment was right? Why or why not?

2. Was there another way for Janie to protect herself other than shooting Tea Cake?

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 17-18

Chapter 17 begins with Tea Cake beating Janie out of jealousy because Mrs. Turner’s brother is in town. He pampers Janie afterwards and Janie does not seem to harbor any ill feelings about the incident. Then a fight breaks out in Mrs. Turner’s bar. Mrs. Turner is injured, and she yells at her husband for letting the men in to just tear the place apart. The chapter ends with the men who tore up her place coming to her and apologizing profusely, giving her 5 dollars from each of them.

Chapter 18 begins with Janie noticing that the indigenous people of the region are leaving the area. When she asks why, they say it is because a hurricane is coming. When asked if they are going to leave, Tea Cake decides that he and Janie will stay. Soon the hurricane begins to hit the town and Janie and Tea Cake are forced to flee to higher ground, leaving their friend Motor Boat behind. They have to swim in some areas, passing dead bodies and debris as they go. Janie finds a cow with a dog on its back and tries to hold onto the cow’s tail in order to stay afloat. When the dog attacks her, Tea Cake kills it. At the end of the chapter, we are left with Tea Cake and Janie finding a place to rest.

In these chapters, we get to see a darker side of Tea Cake. He is not the sweet man with a few small fatal flaws we thought he was. He is turning out to be just like the rest of the men Janie has been with. He tries to control Janie because of his jealousy, just like Jody Starks. In Chapter 18, on page 159, we get a quote that is the closest thing we have to the title: “Six eyes were questioning God”.

Will they go back to Eatonville?

Will Janie stay with Tea Cake or move on?

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 6-8

 Chapter 6 starts off with Janie in the store listening to some of the townsmen tease a man named Matt Bonner about an underfed, overworked, mis-tempered mule. Everyone in Eatonville pokes fun at the mule, just like they talk about the women in the town. They are a source of laughter and entertainment for the men, but it comes at the emotional and sometimes physical cost of the women and the mule. As much as Janie enjoys listening to the men, Jody does not let her sit outside which bothers Janie, but not as much as his persistence on her wearing a head rag out in public. The mule ends up running away and some of the townsmen find it outside the store. They mess around with it which upsets Janie and leads to Jody buying the mule so that it can rest until its death. It becomes a symbol of pride in the town. Eventually, the mule dies, and they town holds a mock funeral for it, but again, Jody prohibits Janie from engaging in town activities. As the chapters go on, the men on the porch continue to tell stories that catch Janie’s attention, but Joe consistently reals her back and picks fights with her to prevent her from engaging. Jody has built a “high chair” for her to sit on, and he thinks she should be grateful, but she wants to run free, feel emotions, and be a part of the rich community in Eatonville. He is constantly restricting her feelings to keep up this perfect persona that he imagines for her, and as the years go on, it wears Janie down. The years age Janie, but they age Jody even more. He starts to become insecure in his own skin and takes it out on Janie by ridiculing her appearance, until she finally snaps back which leads to his physical decline. His reputation plummets alongside his self-esteem and power. After a big fight in the store, Janie and Jody live in separate rooms in the house and Jody’s health deteriorates. He consults with alternative doctors which tell him lies, until we finally learn that his kidneys are failing, and he is going to die. Janie decides to talk with him one last time, and she tells him that he does not even really know who she truly is because he was always trying to change her. In the end of Chapter 8, Jody takes his last breath and Janie lets her hair down, frees herself from Joe’s grasp, then puts it back up to put on a mask of grief for the townsfolk.

Chapter 6-8 center around death with both the mule and Jody passing. When the mule died, the vultures stalked the funeral until it was finally their time, and with Jody, the “wingless bird” clouded the town, foreshadowing his death. Both the mule and Jody were a sense of pride for the town at one point, but with their death, Eatonville can move own to new, hopeful, and freeing endeavors.

What is next for Janie?

 

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 4-5

    As chapter four begins, Logan Killicks prepares to travel to Lake City, in order to buy another mule, so that Janie can plow the potatoes herself. While he is gone, Janie meets the incredibly intriguing Joe Starks, who grows passionate about marrying her and becoming a "big voice" that will build up a new town in Florida. After a large fight, where Mr. Killicks threatens Janie if she does not do his work, Janie decides to run away with Joe, freeing herself from the control of Logan Killicks. In chapter five, Janie and Joe arrive in the new town, which is much smaller and less developed than they expected. Joe uses his own money to buy two hundred more acres of land and build a store, which brings ten new families to town in only six weeks. At the opening event for the store, Tony Taylor nominates Joe to be the mayor, to which everyone agrees. However, after the lighting of the first streetlamp in a colored town, this position of authority causes Janie to feel a sense of loneliness and division from the rest of the women. This feeling of separation is heightened, due to the appearance of the Stark's house compared to the rest of the village, which is similar to that of a plantation house compared to slave's quarters. Joe also begins giving the people different tasks and jobs to fulfill, as well as making Henry Pitts leave town for being caught with ribbon cane, which begins gossip about Joe's new wealth and speculations about Janie.

    At the beginning of these chapters, it seems as though Joe will provide a new, happy, carefree life for Janie. However, as the reader learns more about Joe's character it starts to look like this marriage will be just as empty as the one with Killicks. Janie does not receive the respect and opportunity she is promised by Joe and is left in the same situation as before, being unappreciated and overlooked. Joe focuses on himself and his own desires, not taking into consideration the wants and desires of his wife. Their marriage is filled with control, prohibiting Janie to escape from her family's history of slavery and racism. On top of this, Janie is unable to create relationships with others outside of her household, due to the control her husband holds in the town. When looking at Joe's lifestyle, one may perceive it to similar to that of a slave owner because he bosses people in the town around and shows off his money, which to others is very limited. Similarly to how kids talked about Janie in school as a child, the people of the town begin to gossip about her as well, adding one more thing to the list of experiences Janie is unable to escape. 

Questions:

How much longer will the town and Janie be able to stand Joe?

Will Janie ever be able to escape the racist and controlling life similar to that of her past?

Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapters 1-3

Chapter one starts with a group of townspeople gathered on Pheoby’s porch at sunset who see Janie arrive back in town and comment on her body and clothes. When she does not stop to talk with them, they grow indignant and begin gossiping about her running away with a younger man and speculate bad things that could have happened to her. However, Pheoby reproves them for their gossiping and brings Janie food. Janie is grateful for the meal and begins telling Pheoby her story. In chapter two, Janie reflects on her childhood. She recounts living in the Washburn’s backyard and finding out she is black at the age of six. Nanny bought a home so Janie would stop being made fun of for living in a white family’s backyard. Janie then remembers sitting under a pear tree at sixteen and noticing how much the world has to offer, including sexuality. However, she gets in trouble that afternoon for kissing a boy, which leads Nanny to insist on marrying her off to Logan Killicks. After Janie’s protesting, Nanny describes the hardships she experienced as a slave and how she is just trying to bring Janie safety and stability. Janie understands and appreciates Nanny’s desire for her safety, so she accepts Killicks’ hand in marriage. In chapter three, Janie assures herself that with marriage will come love. However, a couple months into her marriage, Janie realizes she will never love Killicks. Nanny scolds Janie for her lack of gratitude for Killicks providing for her. Later that night, Nanny prays for God to take care of Janie because she has done all she can. A month later Nanny dies.

In these chapters, the reader gets a sense for Janie’s restlessness and what she dreams for herself. Janie above all else desires to experience the world and experience love. However, her situation as a black woman living with no parents or means to protect herself brought Janie to settle for a loveless yet stable marriage. It is obvious this marriage will not be enough for her. Janie’s experience under the pear tree wakes her up to her true desires. It is the day Nanny declares her grown, and from that scene on the pear tree symbolizes her sexuality and desires for love. Another symbol that is seen throughout these chapters is the mule. Nanny describes black women as the mules of the world, but she does not want that to be the world for Jamie.

What does Nanny mean by comparing black women to mules?

What do you think Janie will do about her loveless marriage?

Are Janie’s desires reasonable or is she being selfish?

The Yellow Wallpaper

     “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells the story of the narrator, a middle-class woman and her husband, John, as they spend their summer vacation in an old house. The narrator records all of her thoughts during their vacation in this secret writing. The narrator spends most of her time in the upstairs bedroom, per her husband’s request, despite her desire to move to a room downstairs. While in the bedroom, which is covered in a horrible, yellow wallpaper, the narrator nearly immerses herself in the wallpaper. 

    Between describing the patterns, or lack thereof, the narrator also briefly discusses the troubles in her marriage and her illness. Her husband, she explains, is a physician who doubts that she is sick at all, speaking to her in a way that makes her feel crazy. The pattern of dialogue in the story shows the reader that the wallpaper, although frustrating to the narrator, also serves as a distraction from the apparent issues in her marriage. Towards the end of the story, the narrator reaches her breaking point. She has convinced herself that she is surrounded by other women, who have come out of the wallpaper and “creep around” the property; she also says later that she is one of them. This abrupt ending shows the reader how ill the narrator truly was, despite her husband consistently convincing her that she was improving. 

    Throughout the story, the author tries to make the “conflict” between the narrator and the wallpaper the main point of interest. However, I could not look past the way the husband treated her. Even though John rarely made an appearance throughout the, the conflict between the narrator and her husband was blatant. It was very frustrating to watch the narrator be manipulated and controlled by her husband, even when he was not present. The narrator was often very worried about her physical state, and explained in detail the symptoms she was experiencing, which got progressively worse. The narrator would often say phrases such as “of course it is only nervousness” or “I am glad my case is not serious”, completely undermining her illness (76). Along with convincing herself that she is improving, she also convinces herself that her husband is a good man, despite his manipulative and abusive ways. She repeatedly says things to herself, for example, “[h]e is very careful and loving” (76).

    This conflict with her husband, along with the conflict she is in with the wallpaper, all lead to an internal discussion with herself, which ultimately makes her delusional. The reader sees areas in the story where the narrator almost seems to be having a conversation with herself on paper. Even though it is clear to the reader that the narrator is definitely sick, I would argue that her husband, John, played a major role in her quick decline. He was always undermining her illness, and treated her as inferior, giving her no importance in their relationship. Because of her abusive relationship with her husband, the narrator was forced to deal with these issues herself, which became too much for her in the end.