Sanity & Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire & Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Lesson 11
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ELA

Unit 10

10th Grade

Lesson 11 of 23

Objective


Compare and contrast Stella and Blanche’s perceptions of reality in relation to the violence of the poker night.

Readings and Materials


  • Play: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams  — Scene 4

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A Note for Teachers


  • Big ideas in text:  In Scene 4, the morning after the poker game, Stella and Stanley have made up. Students, in this lesson, will be comparing Blanche’s perception of reality with her sister Stella’s. I think for the first time we see that Blanche has an accurate perception of reality at least when it comes to others. With regards to herself, her perception of reality is skewed, similar to Stella’s. 
  • Important Note: Consider providing students with the phrase "power dynamics" to refer to the ways in which power shifts in characters’ interactions. These power dynamics are often influenced by the social situation of the characters. 
  • Potential Misconception: The following line is a key quote that helps students to unpack the tension between Stanley and Blanche that they examined in previous lessons and will continue to examine in future lessons: "But the only way to live with such a man is to go to bed with him.  And that’s your job—not mine"
    • To help students further unpack them, you may need to engage them in the following questions.
      • What does this moment reveal about Blanche’s view of men?  
      • Let’s revise our discourse from the poker scene, Scene 3. How can men and women coexist?
      • What does this reveal about why there is tension between Blanche and Stanley?

Target Task


Writing Prompt

How does Stella’s perception of reality compare with Blanche’s perception of reality in relation to the violence of the poker night?

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Blanche’s perception of reality?

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Stella’s perception of reality?

Scaffolding Questions

Passage 1: pages 70–73

  • How does Stella feel about poker night? How does Stella feel about Stanley? 
  • What happened on Stella and Stanley’s wedding night? Why is this significant and what does it suggest about Stanley? 

Passage 2: pages 81–83

  • How does Blanche feel about poker night? 
  • How does Blanche feel about Stanley?

Discourse Questions

Which sister appears to be more connected with reality: Blanche or Stella?

What is interesting or unexpected about this conclusion? 

Homework


Read and annotate A Streetcar Named Desire, Scenes 8–11 by Lesson 13.

  • Scene 8: What tension exists in this scene between Stanley and Stella? Stanley and Blanche?
  • Scene 9: What lines reveal Blanche’s reality and deception? What lines reveal Mitch’s reality? 
  • Scene 10: What tension exists in this scene between Stanley and Blanche? 
  • Scene 11: What lines reveal Blanche’s mental/emotional state? What lines reveal Stella’s mental/emotional state?

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Standards


  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Supporting Standards

LO 1.3A
LO 2.3A
LO 2.3B
LO 2.3C
LO 2.3D
LO 5.1A
LO 5.1B
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.4
SL.9-10.1

Next

Analyze how Blanche’s relationship with men functions in the text and what it reveals about her character and the overall meaning of the work.

Lesson 12
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