7.2 Planning and Writing an Essay
From A Streetcar Named Desire
[There is a pause]
BLANCHE: May I – speak – plainly?
STELLA: Yes, do. Go ahead. As plainly as you want to.
[Outside a train approaches. They are silent till the noise subsides.
They are both in the bedroom.
Under cover of the train’s noises STANLEY enters from outside. He stands unseen by the women, holding some packages in his arms, and overhears their following conversation. He wears an undershirt and grease-stained seersucker pants.]
BLANCHE: Well – if you’ll forgive me – he’s common!
STELLA: Why, yes, I suppose he is.
BLANCHE: Suppose! You can’t have forgotten that much of our bringing up, Stella, that you just suppose that any part of a gentleman’s in his nature! Not one particle, no! Oh, if he was just – ordinary! Just plain but good and wholesome, but – no. There’s something downright – bestial – about him! You’re hating me saying this, aren’t you?
STELLA [coldly]: Go on and say it all, Blanche.
BLANCHE: He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There’s even something- sub-human something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something – ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I’ve seen in – anthropological studies! Thousands and thousands of years have passed him right by and there he is Stanley Kowalski – survivor of the Stone Age! Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle! And you –you here – waiting for him! Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you! That is, if kisses have been discovered yet! Night falls and the other apes gather! There in the front of the cave, all grunting like him, and swilling and gnawing and hulking! His poker night! – you call it – this party of apes! Somebody growls – some creature snatches at something – the fight is on! God! Maybe we are a long way from being made in God’s image, but Stella -my sister – there has been some progress since then! Such things as art – as poetry and music – such kinds of new light have come into the world since then! In some kinds of people some tenderer feelings have had some little beginning! That we have got to make grow! And cling to, and hold as our flag! In this dark march toward whatever it is we’re approaching… Don’t — don’t hang back with the brutes!
[Another train passes outside. STANLEY hesitates, licking his lips. Then suddenly he turns stealthily about and withdraws through the front door.
The women are s till unaware of his presence. When the train has passed, he calls through the closed front door]
STANLEY: Hey! Hey! Stella!
STELLA [who has listened gravely to BLANCHE]: Stanley!
BLANCHE: Still, I
[But STELLA has gone to the front door. STANLEY enters casually with his packages.]
STANLEY: Hyun, Stella, Blanche back?
STELLA: Yes, she’s back.
STANLEY: Hiyuh, Blanche. [He grins at her.]
STELLA: You must’ve got under the car.
STANLEY: Them darn mechanics at Fritz’s don’t know their can from third base!
[STELLA has embraced him with both arms, fiercely, and full in the view of BLANCHE. He laughs and clasps her head to him. Over her head he grins through the curtains at BLANCHE. As the lights fade away, with a lingering brightness on their embrace, the music of the ‘blue piano’ and trumpet and drums is heard.]
Task 1: Plan a 500-word essay based on the essay question below.
How is Stanley Kowalski portrayed in this extract, and what does his portrayal reveal about the themes of class and masculinity in A Streetcar Named Desire?
1. Introduction: [Here you should write the thesis statement and a possible hook for the introduction. Include how many words you will dedicate to this paragraph.]
2. Body paragraph 1: [Here you should write what will be the main point of this paragraph. Indicate how many words you will dedicate to this paragraph.]
3. Body paragraph 2: [Here you should write what will be the main point of this paragraph. Indicate how many words you will dedicate to this paragraph.]
4. Body paragraph 3: [Here you should write what will be the main point of this paragraph. Indicate how many words you will dedicate to this paragraph.]
5. Conclusion: [Here you should summarize the main point of your essay and paraphrase the thesis statement. Indicate how many words you will dedicate to this paragraph.]
Finally, decide whether you are satisfied with the organization of your ideas or if the body paragraphs should be rearranged to form a logical order.
Quotations: Some common mistakes
For quotations to be useful in supporting your response, they should be as brief as possible and integrated smoothly into your sentences. The proper handling of textual evidence indicates a high-level response.
Here are some common errors that students make in using quotations.
Quotation error
What is wrong with this?
Using long, unfocused quotations
Such an approach gets in the way of commenting on key words. Long quotations often seem to be ‘space fillers.
Quoting without making a comment on key words in the quotation
Quoting on its own is not sufficient when you are analyzing literature. The quotation should lead to analytical comment.
Making a point and then writing out a quotation – without making the connection clear
It is important to integrate the quotation smoothly into your own sentences. In this way, your reader can follow the link between point and quotation.
Not exploring the key word(s) in quotations
Close analysis of the key words you quote is necessary for the effective analysis of language.
Explaining what quotations mean
There is no point in simply repeating what is in the quotation. This is description rather than analysis.
Task 2: Find suitable quotations from the extract to support the points of each body paragraph within your essay plan.
1. Body paragraph 1:
2. Body paragraph 2:
3. Body paragraph 3:
Homework – Task 3: Write the first draft of your essay. Be sure to use the claim-evidence-explanation structure in each body paragraph. You should include transitions and transitional phrases throughout your essay. Consider the register you should use throughout this academic writing.