Discussion One

The Poker Night was the original title of A Streetcar Named Desire. Scene 3, the only titled scene in the play, bears that original name, which suggests its importance to the play.

When a text mentions another another text, when a work of art mentions another work of art, I mean, you have to look, no? (If your answer is actually “no,” we can’t be friends. You defiinitely should be checking that stuff out.) Here’s the Van Gogh painting:

The question for this discussion is why this one? What’s going on in the painting, and how does it match up with the events of Scene 3?

Pronunciation of Van Gogh is still uncertain.

(Links to an external site.)

Discussion Two

Think about why the male birds-of-paradise puts on such an elaborate display.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/01/how_to_say_van_gogh.shtml
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/01/how_to_say_van_gogh.shtml
Now for Stanley. Look through the first two scenes of the play. What references do you see to Stanley as animal or animal-like? How is he acting like the birds of paradise above or the waterfowl described below.