Key Quotes and Notes for ASND

• A 'Southern Belle' is a young woman of beauty and elegance who is from or is living in the Deep South of American and is commonly of upper socioeconomic class. Blanche DuBois is considered a Southern Belle, and so was Williams' mother.
• New Orleans is a large port city in the state of Louisiana, which straddles the Mississippi river. In relation to the book, New Orleans has 4 streetcar lines, and is considered by Blanche to represent the ugliness of reality.
• During the 19th century, many people emigrated to the U.S.A to live the freedom and experience the American Dream.
• Williams' other plays include, 'The Glass Menagerie,' 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,' 'Suddenly, Last Summer,' 'Orpheus Descending,' and 'The Rose Tattoo.'
• Williams was considered one of the most foremost of American playwrights in America during the 19th century. He considered himself homosexual, although never revealed his sexuality to his parents. His father was thought to be violent, and possibly a drunkard which is similar to Stanley in ASND. He was close to his sister Rose, who was schizophrenic and later was compelled to have a lobotomy, which ended with disastrous results, meaning she was institutionalised for the rest of her life.
• The poker players wearing vivid coloured shirts shows clashing and an alpha male struggle. Even Van Gogh's 'billiard parlour' is mentioned which is violently colourful. The alcohol is also prominent from the start with, "whiskey bottles" (plural). Stanley's language is controlling as he barks his orders and has drunken acions - from the start there is foreshadowing of violent events to come.