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Themes in Streetcar Shown in Mitch

Relationships / Desire for Love
1. "You need somebody and I need somebody too. Could it be - you and me, Blanche?"
  1. Declarative/ Interrogative
  2. Mitch wants to replace his mother with Blanche with Blanche as she wants protection. Also Mitch has desire to be in love, and believes that Blanche could be the one for him
2. "I'll kill you! [He lunges and strikes at Stanley]"
  1. Declarative with stage directions
  2. Mitch is angered at Stanley as he knows that Stanley is the key reason why Blanche is being taken away, also because Blanche was Mitch's chance of being in love
3. "Mitch (With awkward courtesy): how do you do, Miss DuBois?"
  1. Question with stage directions
  2. Introduction of meeting Mitch for the first time shows immediately how awkward he is and how uneasy he gets when meeting new people
Loss/Death
1. "The girl's dead now."
  1. Declarative
  2. Mitch wants to make the point to Blanche that he has experienced a loss of a loved one before. The death of the girl had a big influence on his life, he wants Blanche to know this
2. "She won't live long. Maybe just a few months"
  1. Simple sentences
  2. Mitch reinforces the fact that his mother will die pretty soon, so he needs another person to reply on however he also wants to introduce Blanche to her before she goes
Conflict
Vulnerability
1. "She worries because I am not settled" "You are all married but I'll be alone when she goes"
  1. Declarative
  2. Mitch identifies how his Mother worries about how he will cope when she dies. The declarative shows how Mitch needs someone to desire and love
2. "We've - been drinking beer"
  1. Breaks maxim of relation
  2. Mitch is nervous when he first meets Blanche, and he breaks the maxim of relation as Blanche tells him the bathroom is busy
3. "Can I - uh - kiss you - goodnight?"
  1. Interrogative
  2. Mitch here shows his weakness of awkwardness when trying to flirt or interact with Blanche as she would like him to ask and be a proper gentleman, however Mitch is just awkward to be around
4. "Are you laughing at me?"
  1. Interrogative
  2. Mitch is portrayed by Williams as being unintelligent. He is unaware of other people's behaviour around him and he struggles to understand the message. This quote indicates how he doesn't understand Blanche's behaviour towards him
5. "I am ashamed of the way I perspire. My shirt is sticking to me"
  1. Declarative
  2. This is showing Mitch as a weak character and his nervousness around Blanche on the first date
Dominance / Violence
1. "Mitch: Slowly and bitterly But I was a fool enough to believe you was straight"
  1. Stage directions
  2. Mitch finds out the truth about Blanche and shows how hurt he is due to Blanches deceit and how he has been lied to all along just because she is lonely
2. "Put him under the shower"
  1. Exclamatory
  2. Mitch is trying to show his dominance in the current situation by demanding the men to put Stanley under the shower, he does this to prove himself to Blanche as he likes her
3. "Get him in here, men"
  1. Declarative
  2. Shows that Mitch can have power over the men when Stanley isn't around or when something bad happens to him, the men turn to him in domianance because he's the closest friend to Stanley
Class
1. "I wasn't listenin'"
  1. Endclipping
  2. This comment from Mitch shows his lower class status, as he doesn't pronounce the end of the word
2. "I guess we strike you as a pretty rough bunch"
  1. Understands old world and new world, knows that he comes under Blanche as he is from a lower class
3. "Set down on the steps and have a cigarette with me. Blanche: I'm not properly dressed" Mitch: "That don't make no difference in the Quarter"
  1. Contrast between the two worlds shows that Mitch doesn't care what she looks like and that he just wants the protection and security from Blanche
Conflict
1. "If you don't know, it must belong to Stan"
  1. Complex sentences
  2. During scene 9, Mitch confronts Blanche about her past, when Blanche tries to change topic Mitch gets more angry and sharp with the way he is speaking to Blanche
2. "Mitch: He tears the paper lantern off the light bulb. She utters a frightened gasp"
  1. Mitch identities that Blanche's weakness is her appearance. He then is violent and aggressive in his actions. The verb tears highlights Mitch's aggression to reinforce Blanche's vulnerability

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Themes in Streetcar Shown in Mitch

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	Created by Chloe Pilkington almost 7 years ago