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

Lesson 17
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ELA

Unit 10

10th Grade

Lesson 17 of 23

Objective


Analyze how Williams OR Wilson uses literary techniques to reveal the impact that desire has on each character’s development and the overall meaning of the work.

Readings and Materials


  • Play: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams 

  • Book: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom‎ by August Wilson 

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Homework


Read and annotate Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom through the following annotation focus by Lesson 19:

  • Annotation focus: 
    • Scene 1: How does Wilson create tension in Act 1 of the play? In other words, in what lines, words, and phrases does William use conflict to propel action? 
    • Scene 2: What does Ma desire? What does Levee desire?

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Standards


  • LO 1.3A — Analyze how literary elements interact to develop the central ideas of a work of literature.
  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • LO 2.3A — Assert a precise central claim that establishes the relationship between a work's features and overall meaning.
  • LO 2.3B — Organize ideas and evidence to effectively develop and support a thesis.
  • LO 2.3C — Select and incorporate relevant and compelling evidence to support a thesis.
  • LO 2.3D — Use an appropriate style and carefully selected language to strengthen an analysis.
  • RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • 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.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
  • W.9-10.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Next

Analyze how Elia Kazan’s cinematic and directorial choices in the 1951 film version of A Streetcar Named Desire contribute to meaning. 

Evaluate how Elia Kazan interprets Teneesee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire in his 1951 film of the same title. 

Lesson 18
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