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Specifications that use this resource:

  • AS and A-level English Literature A 7711; 7712

Teaching guide: Modern times - Literature from 1945 to the present day

modern

A range of resources to help you plan your teaching and assessment for the Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day component of A-level English Literature A.

How to use these resources

Whichever texts or text combinations you teach, the sample assessment materials give you details about some of the aspects of Modern times the texts cover. Don't forget to consult the specification for a list of possible aspects.

These documents will help you to focus your teaching on those aspects and to work towards the relevant exam question in the sample assessment materials. The example student responses with marking commentary act as models for the students and help you to assess their work.

Paper 2B, Section A

  • Creating your own questions
  • Exemplar student response - band 2 - A Streetcar Named Desire
  • Exemplar student response - band 5 - A Streetcar Named Desire
  • Download the full package for Paper 2B, Section A

Paper 2B, Section B

  • Creating your own questions - Unseen text
  • Creating your own questions - Comparative texts
  • Exemplar student response - band 4 - Unseen text
  • Exemplar student response - band 3 - Unseen text
  • Exemplar student response - band 5 - Comparative texts
  • Exemplar student response - band 2 - Comparative texts
  • Specimen question commentary - Unseen text
  • Specimen question commentary - Comparative texts
  • Download the full package for Paper 2B, Section B

Unseen extracts

These prose extracts can beused to develop students' unseen extracts essay writing skills, as theyconsider the representation of key aspects of the time period in a range ofliterary prose extracts.

Using these extracts studentswill:

  • be able to apply the knowledge gained doing the prose study to theanalysis of unseen prose extracts
  • understand the demands of A-level paper 2B, section B
  • learn how to structure a response to a practice exam question.
  • Unseen extract 2:  Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit , Jeanette Winterson
  • Unseen extract 3:  Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit , Jeanette Winterson
  • Unseen extract 4: Revolutionary Road , Richard Yates
  • Unseen extract 5:  The God of Small Things , Arundhati Roy
  • Unseen extract 6: The Handmaid's Tale , Margaret Atwood
  • Unseen extract 7: The Help , Kathryn Stockett
  • Unseen extract 8: The Help , Kathryn Stockett

These prose extracts can be used to develop students' unseen extracts essay writing skills, as they consider the representation of key aspects of the time period in a range of literary prose extracts.

Using these extracts students will:

  • be able to apply the knowledge gained doing the prose study to the analysis of unseen prose extracts
  • Extract 1 - Harvey Milk
  • Extract 2 - Oranges are not the only fruit , Jeanette Winterson
  • Extract 3 - Oranges are not the only fruit , Jeanette Winterson
  • Extract 4 - Revolutionary Road , Richard Yates
  • Extract 5 - The God of Small Things , Arundhati Roy
  • Extract 6 - The Handmaid's Tale , Margaret Atwood
  • Extract 7 - The Help , Kathryn Stockett
  • Extract 8 - The Help , Kathryn Stockett
  • Extract 9 - Waterland , Graham Swift

Document URL https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-a/teach/modern-times-literature-from-1945-to-the-present-day-resource-package

Last updated 19 Sep 2023

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Plays — A Streetcar Named Desire

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Essays on A Streetcar Named Desire

Choosing the right essay topic is crucial for your success in college. Your creativity and personal interests play a significant role in the selection process. This webpage aims to provide you with a variety of A Streetcar Named Desire essay topics to inspire your writing and help you excel in your academic pursuits.

Essay Types and Topics

Argumentative.

  • The role of gender in A Streetcar Named Desire
  • The impact of societal norms on the characters' behaviors

Paragraph Example:

In Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, the portrayal of gender dynamics is a central theme that sheds light on the power struggles and societal expectations faced by the characters. This essay aims to explore the significance of gender in the play and its influence on the characters' decisions and relationships.

Through a close examination of the gender dynamics in A Streetcar Named Desire, this essay has highlighted the complexities of societal norms and their impact on individual lives. The characters' struggles serve as a reflection of the broader societal challenges, prompting us to reconsider our perceptions of gender roles and expectations.

Compare and Contrast

  • The parallels between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski
  • The contrasting symbols of light and darkness in the play

Descriptive

  • The vivid imagery of New Orleans in the play
  • The sensory experiences portrayed in A Streetcar Named Desire
  • An argument for Blanche's mental state and its impact on her actions
  • The case for the significance of the play's setting in shaping the characters
  • Reimagining a key scene from a different character's perspective
  • A personal reflection on the themes of illusion and reality in the play

Engagement and Creativity

As you explore these essay topics, remember to engage your critical thinking skills and bring your unique perspective to your writing. A Streetcar Named Desire offers a rich tapestry of themes and characters, providing ample opportunities for creative exploration in your essays.

Educational Value

Each essay type presents a valuable opportunity for you to develop different skills. Argumentative essays can refine your analytical thinking, while descriptive essays can enhance your ability to paint vivid pictures with words. Persuasive essays help you hone your persuasive writing skills, and narrative essays allow you to practice storytelling and narrative techniques.

Reality Versus Illusion in The Streetcar Named Desire

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How Blanche and Stella Rely on Self-delusion in a Streetcar Named Desire

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An Examination of The Character of Blanche in a Streetcar Named Desire

The flaws of blanche and why she ultimately failed, analysis of stanley kowalski’s role in tennessee williams’ book, a streetcar named desire, analysis of blanche and stella relationship in a streetcar named desire, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

The Concealed Homosexuality in a Streetcar Named Desire

Oppression, its brutality and its inescapability, is a dominant theme in literature, similar themes in a streetcar named desire by tennessee williams and water by robery lowell, first impression lies: the power and masculinity exuded by stanley kolawski, determining the tragedy potential in a streetcar named desire, how tennessee williams is influenced by the work of chekhov, the use of suspense in a streetcar named desire, a streetcar named desire by tennessee williams: personal identity of blanche, the portrayals of sexuality in cat on a hot tin roof and a streetcar named desire, evaluation of the social class ranking as illustrated in the book, a streetcar named desire, blanche and mitch relationship in a streetcar named desire, female powerlessness in the duchess of malfi and a streetcar named desire, a comparison between the plastic theatre and expressionism in a streetcar named desire, morality and immorality in a streetcar named desire and the picture of dorian gray, oppositions and their purpose in "a streetcar named desire" and "the birthday party", how femininity and masculinity are presented in ariel and a streetcar named desire, tennessee williams’ depiction of blanche as a casualty as illustrated in his play, a streetcar named desire, history defined the themes of a streetcar named desire, comparing social and ethnic tensions in a streetcar named desire and blues for mister charlie, the use of contrast as a literary device at the beginning of a streetcar named desire.

December 3, 1947, Tennessee Williams

Play; Southern Gothic

The French Quarter and Downtown New Orleans

Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski, Harold "Mitch" Mitchell

1. Vlasopolos, A. (1986). Authorizing History: Victimization in" A Streetcar Named Desire". Theatre Journal, 38(3), 322-338. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3208047) 2. Corrigan, M. A. (1976). Realism and Theatricalism in A Streetcar Named Desire. Modern Drama, 19(4), 385-396. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/50/article/497088/summary) 3. Quirino, L. (1983). The Cards Indicate a Voyage on'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Contemporary Literary Criticism, 30. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1100001571&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00913421&p=LitRC&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E8abc495e) 4. Corrigan, M. A. (2019). Realism and Theatricalism in A Streetcar Named Desire. In Essays on Modern American Drama (pp. 27-38). University of Toronto Press. (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.3138/9781487577803-004/html?lang=de) 5. Van Duyvenbode, R. (2001). Darkness Made Visible: Miscegenation, Masquerade and the Signified Racial Other in Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll and A Streetcar Named Desire. Journal of American Studies, 35(2), 203-215. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/abs/darkness-made-visible-miscegenation-masquerade-and-the-signified-racial-other-in-tennessee-williams-baby-doll-and-a-streetcar-named-desire/B73C386D2422793FB8DC00E0B79B7331) 6. Cahir, L. C. (1994). The Artful Rerouting of A Streetcar Named Desire. Literature/Film Quarterly, 22(2), 72. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/7040761d75f7fd8f9bf37a2f719a28a4/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5938) 7. Silvio, J. R. (2002). A Streetcar Named Desire—Psychoanalytic Perspectives. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 30(1), 135-144. (https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jaap.30.1.135.21985) 8. Griffies, W. S. (2007). A streetcar named desire and tennessee Williams' object‐relational conflicts. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4(2), 110-127. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aps.127) 9. Shackelford, D. (2000). Is There a Gay Man in This Text?: Subverting the Closet in A Streetcar Named Desire. In Literature and Homosexuality (pp. 135-159). Brill. (https://brill.com/display/book/9789004483460/B9789004483460_s010.xml)

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8x A* 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' ESSAYS for A Level English Literature

8x A* 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' ESSAYS for A Level English Literature

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Assessment and revision

tomco_

Last updated

22 June 2019

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This is a bank of 8 ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Essays submitted as part of the Edexcel A Level English Literature course. All of them were marked and were either a high Level 4 or Level 5, which, when using the grade boundaries from last year, means that they are all an A* standard. This is useful to teachers, who are looking to share exemplar essays with their students. It’s also useful to students themselves who are looking to compare their work or improve. All the questions answered cover various themes and characters to ensure students are best prepared for the exam. This resource might be useful for a reverse essay planning exercise, where students have to generate an essay plan from a pre-written essay. It might also be good for students to self-assess, to identify what the Exam Board are looking for and where

The questions answered are:

‘Despite the excitement and clamour, the play essentially shows us the vulnerability of human beings.’ In the light of this comment, explore Williams’ dramatic presentation of vulnerability in A Streetcar Named Desire. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘Williams viewed the characters he created as ‘my little company of the faded and frightened, the difficult, the odd, the lonely’. In light of this statement, explore Williams’ presentation of key characters. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘When a play employs unconventional techniques it is not, or certainly shouldn’t be, trying to escape its responsibility of dealing with reality.’ In the light of this comment, explore Williams’ dramatic presentation of reality. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘Elysian Fields is a world filled with violence, in which Blanche cannot survive.’ In the light of this comment, explore Williams’ dramatic presentation of violence in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘Mitch may be a weak character, but his treatment of Blanche is still disturbing and harmful.’ In the light of this comment, explore Williams’ dramatic presentation of Mitch. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘Blanche to Mitch: I don’t want you to think I am severe and old-maid school-teacherish or anything like that…I guess it is just that I have … old-fashioned ideals!’ In light of this quotation, explore Williams’ presentation of characters’ attitudes to sex and sexuality. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

‘A Streetcar Named Desire is a play concerned with the conflict between the old world and the new.’ In light of this comment, explore Williams’ presentation of the conflict between Blanche and Stanley so far. In your answer you must consider relevant contextual factors.

Evaluate Williams’ presentation of the setting and characters presented in the exposition of his play A Streetcar Named Desire. You should make links to relevant contextual factors.

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COMMENTS

  1. AQA

    Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between Stella and Stanley is 'inconceivable'. Band 5 response. It is arguable that Williams' representation of the very different characters of Stella and Stanley make their relationship unrealistic.

  2. PDF A-level English Literature A Resource package A Modern times

    AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in ... A Streetcar Named Desire • Exemplar student response - Paper 2B, Section A - band 5 - A Streetcar Named Desire ... In this essay I am going to explain why I think the relationship between Stella and Stanley is not a failure.

  3. PDF A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A

    in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. [25 marks] 9 'Top Girls ' - Caryl Churchill . OR . 0 9 Examine the view that, in 'Top Girls', Churchill presents women as haunted by the past. ... AQA Subject: English Literature A; English Created Date: 20220110154645Z ...

  4. PDF A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A

    • an AQA 12-page answer book ... 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Tennessee Williams . EITHER . 0 7 . Examine the significance of the relationship between Blanche and Mitch in the play. [25 marks] OR . 0 8 . Examine the significance of places in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. [25 marks]

  5. A Streetcar Named Desire: Essay Questions

    A list of potential essay questions to form revision and speed planning practice 'Stella is the lynchpin within the play for better or for worse' In light of this statement, explore William's presentation of relationships in A Streetcar Named Desire. In your answer, you must consider relevant contextual factors. 'Shame lies at the….

  6. Sample Answers

    This is explained in the opening scene: Blanche travels on a New Orleans streetcar 'named Desire', then changes to one called Cemeteries, to reach her sister's home. This implies that desire leads to death. Making the symbolism more obvious, Blanche tells Stella in Scene Four that the 'streetcar' of desire has led her to the Kowalski ...

  7. Sample Answers

    Question: 'In A Streetcar Named Desire Williams portrays desire as a dangerous and destructive force.'. Examine this view and explain how far, and in what ways, you agree with it. I agree with this view. After all, Blanche is the play's tragic heroine. Some critics say that she only achieves this status by the end, but early on she at ...

  8. Sample Answers

    Desire is obviously important in the play because it is in the title. Also, Blanche arrives at the Kowalski home on a streetcar (tram) heading towards a place in New Orleans called Desire. Tennessee Williams had actually seen this. For some characters in the play desire is definitely dangerous and destructive, for others it is not so bad.

  9. AQA A Level English Literature A A Streetcar Named Desire Exemplar Essays

    This resource includes answers to exam-styled questions for AQA A Level English Literature. One of the best ways to use these exemplar essays is: To read the essay. To reread the essay. To assign five different colours to each assessment objective. To highlight where you see each assessment objective being addressed.

  10. PDF Question paper (A-level) : Paper 2 Exploring conflict

    Instructions. Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7707/2. There are two sections: Section A: Writing about Society Section B: Dramatic Encounters. Answer three questions in total: two questions from Section A and one question from Section B.

  11. Sample Answers

    Your particular essay task will have different marks allocated to each Assessment Objective. For example, there may be more marks for AO2 than AO4, or even no marks at all for one objective. To be absolutely certain of the AOs for your task, you can check with your teacher, or visit the appropriate exam board website: www.aqa.org.uk www.wjec.co.uk

  12. Sample Answers

    Question: 'In A Streetcar Named Desire Williams portrays desire as a dangerous and destructive force.'. Examine this view and explain how far, and in what ways, you agree with it. Williams initially idealises Stanley's masculinity. He is a meat provider who finds 'animal joy' in his existence, and who has 'the power and pride of a ...

  13. AQA

    The example student responses with marking commentary act as models for the students and help you to assess their work. Paper 2B, Section A. Creating your own questions; Exemplar student response - band 2 - A Streetcar Named Desire; Exemplar student response - band 5 - A Streetcar Named Desire; Download the full package for Paper 2B, Section A

  14. A Streetcar Named Desire FULL MARKS Sample Coursework A* A Level/AS

    A Streetcar Named Desire FULL MARKS Sample Coursework A* A Level/AS Level Essay AQA/OCR/Edexcel. Subject: English. Age range: 16+ Resource type: Assessment and revision. stutor1. 1.50 2 reviews. Last updated. 27 August 2020. Share this. Share through email; Share through twitter; Share through linkedin;

  15. A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

    An Examination of The Character of Blanche in a Streetcar Named Desire. 5 pages / 2287 words. In Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, the nature of theatricality, "magic," and "realism," all stem from the tragic character, Blanche DuBois. Blanche is both a theatricalizing and self-theatricalizing woman.

  16. A Streetcar Named Desire: A Level York Notes

    A Streetcar Named Desire: A Level; A View from the Bridge ; An Inspector Calls (Grades 9-1) An Inspector Calls Workbook ... An Inspector Calls: AQA ... An Inspector Calls: AQA Rapid ... An Inspector Calls: AQA Rapid ... Animal Farm (Grades 9-1) Animal Farm Workbook (Grades 9-1) Animal Farm: AQA Rapid Revision ... Anita and Me (Grades 9-1)

  17. 8x A* 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' ESSAYS for A Level English Literature

    This is a bank of 8 'A Streetcar Named Desire' Essays submitted as part of the Edexcel A Level English Literature course. All of them were marked and were either a high Level 4 or Level 5, which, when using the grade boundaries from last year, means that they are all an A* standard. This is useful to teachers, who are looking to share ...