A Streetcar Named Desire Lesson Plan

The Good Guy and the Bad Guy

Kind of Activity:

Discussion

Objective:

Evaluating character and the playwright's intent

Structure:

Williams has insisted that Blanche is no hero, even though she is the protagonist. Scenes 7 and 8 give us many reasons to sympathize with her, and she is more of an antihero. She has been lying and deceiving Stella, Stanley, and Mitch through the whole play, but she is far from an incarnation of evil.

Lead a discussion about Blanche's good qualities. How does Williams make us sympathize with Blanche? Looking at Stanley's abusive and manipulative treatment as the latest cause of Blanche's problems, can we say that Blanche is a...