A Streetcar Named Desire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stella

Although Blanche is supposed to have come for a visit she has in fact been evicted from the family home, and has lost her job at the school, so she has nowhere else to go. Her sister Stella is delighted to see her.

Answer: Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was a Pulitzer prize winning American playwright. His first success came when he was 33 years old with 'The Glass Menagerie', which closely resembled his own early life. 'A Streetcar Named Desire' was first performed in 1947, and won him the Pulitzer prize.

He also wrote 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and Elizabeth Taylor played the character Maggie and Paul Newman played her husband in the movie.

Answer: Mitch

Mitch is a lonely man who has an elderly mother who is dying. He sees that Blanche is lonely too and thinks that he would like to marry her. Mitch is very different from Stanley in that he is courteous and gentle. When Stanley finds out that after her husband committed suicide Blanche had a number of short meaningless affairs, he tells Mitch. Mitch is no longer interested in having Blanche for a wife.

Answer: Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando was an actor/director who worked in Hollywood for over 60 years. He won an Oscar in 1955 early in his career for his role as Terry Malloy in 'On the Waterfront'. In 'The Godfather' (1972) he played Don Corleone, the title character and won another Oscar as Best Actor. Brando was always a strong supporter of civil rights and supported anti-racial organisations.

Answer: New Orleans

Blanche has been evicted from her family home in Belle Reve, Laurel, Mississippi, which undoubtedly was a more upmarket area than the one where she stays with her sister Stella. In the movie jazz music is heard which helps to give the atmosphere of New Orleans.

Answer: Karl Malden

Karl Malden was a character actor who worked in the movie industry for over 60 years. He was the winner of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work on 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. From 1972-1977 he played Lt Mike Stone in the television series 'The Streets of San Francisco'.

Answer: A train ticket home

Stanley has asked Blanche many times when she will be leaving, but she stays on because she has nowhere else to go. Her presence and pretensions cause friction between Stella and Stanley. She is very upset when he gives her the ticket.

Answer: Papers

Stanley thinks that Blanche may have sold the family home without giving a share of the proceeds to Stella, or that there may be other papers that prove that she has money. He gets very angry when he finds furs and other expensive clothing as Stella cannot afford such things.

Answer: He rapes her.

Stella and Stanley's apartment is very small and Blanche has to sleep in the living room with only a curtain to hide the bed. This leads to a lack of privacy and Stanley often sees her in a state of undress. The tension builds up and eventually when he is drunk and he and Blanche are alone he rapes her. Stella refuses to believe that Stanley did this, and not being believed combined with the rape causes Blanche to have a nervous breakdown.

Answer: False

At the end of the movie Stella has come to believe in Blanche's version of events and she says that she will never, ever, ever, take Stanley back. Blanche went to a mental institution, declaring that she has 'always relied on the kindness of strangers'.