Mr. Sudol
2/7/13-2/8/13 (Days 83-84)
LESSON PLAN (JR): A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, SCENE 4: CLASS DEBATE # 1
OBJECTIVE: To comparatively analyze the characters of Blanche and Stella with regard to how they deceive
themselves and others around them about their respective lives.
PRAYER
DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY
2/7
Debate Research
“One of the major themes in A Streetcar Named Desire is that of self-deception; how characters trick themselves
into believing things about themselves and incidents that happen to them that are seemingly the complete opposite
of reality. It will be your job to determine who has taken themselves farthest from the truth about herself.
“You will be divided into two sides; one taking the position that Stella is the character that deceives herself most
with regard to how things ‘really are’ in her life, the other taking the position that Blanche is the most deluded
character in the story. Today, you will work to create arguments to this effect and to research the play to find
examples to support these arguments.”
2/8
Debate
Students will take turns advancing their arguments utilizing the facts researched from the previous day; the teacher
will moderate this debate. The debate format and rules are specified on the handout on the following page.
HOMEWORK
 2/7: Essay: write a 1/2-page minimum essay in which you advance your argument describing why you think
either Blanche or Stella is the more deluded character. This assignment will count as a 10-point quiz grade. For
this essay, you must:
o 1). Select one specific situation exemplifying how your character (Stella or Blanche) is deceiving
herself about her life and thoroughly analyze how that situation demonstrates the character’s selfdeception, then
o 2). Say how this situation proves your character to be more self-deluded than her sister.
 2/8: Read A Streetcar Named Desire scenes 5-6.
 2/8: SAT Vocab # 12
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE DEBATE #1: SELF-DECEPTION
One of the major themes in A Streetcar Named Desire is that of self-deception; how characters trick themselves into believing things
about themselves and incidents that happen to them that are seemingly the complete opposite of reality. People may deceive themselves
for a number of reasons; as a defense mechanism that allows them to deal with negative feelings about themselves, as a means of
“psyching themselves up” to believe that they can accomplish greater things in the future than they are doing presently, etc. Both Stella
Kowalski and Blanche DuBois deceive themselves in various ways and to varying degrees; it will be your job to determine who has
deceived herself more than the other, as well as why and how these characters deceive themselves.
Debate Setup
Groups will be organized into two teams of three groups each; one team will be assigned the task of explaining how Stella is more selfdeluded than Blanche; the other team will focus on how Blanche is more self-deluded than Stella. You will have the entire class period
on 2/7 to work with your group to research examples in the play (scenes 1 – 4) of how your character has deceived herself and to create
arguments to this effect. At this time, you will also need to figure out what arguments the other team will make and be able to counter
that team’s arguments. On 2/8, teams will take turns debating each other.
Debate Format
The team to speak first will be decided by coin toss. Debate rounds will proceed using the following format:
 Argument: A member from the team to speak first in the round will present one argument explaining how that team’s character has
deceived herself. This team member will also say why this character has deceived herself more than the other team’s character.
 Rebuttal: A member from the second team will be given the chance to counter the first team’s argument with an argument of his
own.
 Redirect: The member of the team who spoke first in the round will be given a chance to respond to the second team’s rebuttal.
After this individual has finished speaking, the teacher will determine which team member’s argument was most effective and award
a team point accordingly.
o Sample Format: In round one, a member of Team Stella gives an example of how Stella has deceived herself and why this
self-deception is greater than Blanche’s. Then a member of Team Blanche explains why Team Stella’s argument is invalid.
The original member of Team Stella then has a chance to defend his argument. In round 2, a member of Team Blanche
gives an example of how Blanche has deceived herself and why this self-deception is greater than Stella’s. A member of
Team Stella offers a rebuttal to this argument and the Team Blanche member has a chance to defend his argument, and so
on.
Scoring
The team with the most points at the end of the debate will score an additional point on their written assignments (see Grading, below).
In addition, special bonus points will be awarded individually to students who make particularly astute and lucid arguments.
Content
When constructing your arguments, pay attention in particular to the following aspects of the characters:
Blanche:
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How “rich” and/or refined she sees herself in comparison to other characters (and how she believes her sister and even
Stanley should look up to her)
How fragile she sees herself
How she sees herself as a “martyr” (in other words, how she has had to make sacrifices and has struggled in ways other
characters have not, especially in terms of what happened to Belle Reve)
How she pretends not to be a heavy drinker
How she believes herself to be desirable to others (especially to men like Mitch and Shep Huntleigh)
Stella:
 How she believes Blanche must be pandered to (i.e.: taken care of and given attention)
 How she excuses Blanche’s words and actions (especially to Stanley)
 How she believes her relationship with Stanley is just fine, even great
 How she believes Blanche is the victim of circumstance (especially in terms of what happened to Belle Reve)
 How she believes Stanley himself is a wonderful person
Grading
 2/7: Essay: write a 1/2-page minimum essay in which you advance your argument describing why you think either Blanche or Stella
is the more deluded character. This assignment will be turned in at the end of class on 2/8 and will count as a 10-point quiz grade; you
may use this essay to make your arguments in the debate on 2/8. For this essay, you must:
o 1). Select one specific situation exemplifying how your character (Stella or Blanche) is deceiving herself about her life
and thoroughly analyze how that situation demonstrates the character’s self-deception, then
o 2). Explain how and why this situation proves your character to be more self-deluded than her sister.