Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

English

Chapter

Comprehension - (Narrative / Factual)

Question:

Read the passage and answer the following question.

A Streetcar Named Desire is a classic of the American theater. Tennessee Williams’ work continues to resonate with audiences and readers today despite—or perhaps because of—its simplistic though layered story. Blanche DuBois, arrives at her sister’s seedy New Orleans apartment where she is tortured by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche puts on airs of class and happiness throughout the play, though internally she is miserable and haunted by her tragic and scandalous past. Stanley forces Blanche to face her dolorous reality with his vitriol and, finally, his act of sexual aggression, and in doing so, he causes her to lose her tenuous grip on sanity. Most have argued that the play is about the ways the past haunts our present or that it is about the ways class and sexuality impact our lives. However, few have seen the play for what it is: an allegory for the theater itself.

Williams created lifelike characters who spoke in realistic dialect. But to make his point that melodrama was flawed, he added an equally unrealistic character. Blanche, unlike the other characters, speaks theatrically, acts larger than life on stage, and uses floral language and heightened mannerisms. Blanche is a character not to be trusted. She lies about everything, and the only thing that finally exposes her lies is reality itself: Stanley. He finally forces her off the stage and into the insane asylum by forcing himself on her sexually. And with that, realism forcibly removed melodrama from the stage.

According to Passage 1, the character of Blanche DuBois is _________.

Options:

is firmly rooted in realism and sanity

is brutally honest and frank during the play

is intentionally overdramatic and theatrical.

is recently married to Stanley Kowalski

Correct Answer:

is intentionally overdramatic and theatrical.

Explanation:

The author states that Blanche “speaks theatrically, acts larger than life on stage, and uses floral language and heightened mannerisms.” This makes it clear that she is overdramatic and theatrical