P2+Danesha+J+and+Ryan+S

Ryan M. Schmidt Danesha Jones 1-6-10

1. **Elysian Fields**: Is something in Greek mythology and it is where the souls of the heroic and virtuous went as their final resting place. Poets, priests and other men and women that did well with their abilities went to the fields to live there after life. It is also known as the Elysian plains, and it is in the underworld. Hero’s such as Hercules, and Achilles live in Elysian along with the rest of the hero’s in ancient Greece. The Elysian Fields were described, as beautiful places were there was green grass everywhere, a very peaceful place, and was also compared to heaven for how wonderful it was. Immortals went that had done good things in their life. The souls that lived their had the choice to live in this peaceful place or go back to earth but few did this because of how great Elysian was. Zeus’s father Cronus was living there as well because he was not allowed to live on mount Olympus with the rest of the gods. The reason why is because he was a cruel god and was sent there and since then he has behaved. "Elysian Fields." Web. 

2. **Tennessee Williams**: He was born on March 11th, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi to Cornelius and Edwina Dankin Williams. His full name is Thomas Lanier Williams. His mother was an aggressive women that was obsessed by her fantasies of genteel southern living, and his father was a traveling salesman for a large shoe manufacturer. It is said that the relationship between him and his father was both distant and abusive at times. He had to siblings and he had an older sister named Rose that lived most of her life in many mental institutions because she was emotionally disturbed. He also had a younger brother named Dankin, who was favored by their father more then the other two siblings. In Williams career he put together 30 full-length plays. He won two Pulitzer prizes for two of his plays such as a “street car named desire” in 1947, and “cat on a hot tin roof” in 1955. He was the first playwright to receive, in 1947 the Pulitzer prize for drama. In his career he accomplished many things such as the prizes he won and the plays that he wrote. He traveled around the U.S. showing his plays to all of the U.S. He lived most of his life in New York City where he created his plays and poems. He ended up dying in the Elysee hotel in New York on February 23rd, 1983.

Haley, Darryl E. "Thomas Lanier Williams." Web. .

New Orleans in the 1940’s was a time of new music. Both the African American and the European music that was coming to life in the United States was Jazz. It was a combination of all music during the time and it was like the styles from the blues, and folk music. Music wasn’t the only thing during the 1940’s New Orleans. The city also had to deal Segregation, the Second World War, etc. The population at the time was about 494,537 and that was a 7.8% increase from the decade before. Ten years later the population increased by 15 percent. The city was also hit by a couple of hurricanes during the 1940’s but one of the major ones was the one during 1947 called the fort Lauderdale hurricane that hit the city in September. The levees and pumping systems in the city helped keep a lot of the water out but most of the city was under two feet of water.

McNabb, Donnald, and Louis E. Lee. "A History of New Orleans." //Http://www.madere.com//. Nov. 2003. Web. 10 Jan. 2010.

The Varsouviana Polka is a country-dance. Annette Davison once said, "The Varsouviana Polka was a dance that orginated in France in the mid-nineteenth century and traveled to America soon after"(//A street Car//). It is supposed to be a combination of the mazurka and elements of the waltz. This was the time period when people went to smoky’s and other things like that. At smoky’s they would dance to music(Varsouviana Polka).It would be the funniest thing back in the day and people would go and dance. The Varsouviana Polka is a dance that originated from France and now traveled to the United States. Works Cited: Davison, Annette."A Street Car".a film guide.Rowman and Littlefield,2008.Web.6 January 2010.

 The Belle Reve was an house that was in the __A Streetcar Named Desire__ Blanche and Stella owned the place. ‘Belle Reve’ in the French language means ‘beautiful dream’ and it was named that because it is a huge and beautiful place. The Belle Reve is Blanche’s and Stella’s ancestral home in Laurel, Mississippi. In the story it showed that they lose the Belle Reve. Tim Dirks said they lost the Belle Reve because of “ …the family squandering its fortune, it was lost to creditors” (AMC). Not only is it a loss in property, but it is also a loss of their childhood. It was in the Belle Reve where Blanche and her family grew up. Tragedies are is a type of story that tells about a persons downfall. It was created by Aristotle. It had to do with questions of human existence such as “Why Am I here, what is my propose?” There are four types of tragedy. Classical tragedy shows the heroes falling because of an error injudgment. Romantic tragedies tend to focus more on characters rather than plot. Today’s tragedy combine classical and romantic tragedy and tend to focus on common people. Tragicomedy is a plot that does not usually end in disaster and uses humor, especially satire. "Tragedy". //Dictionary.com.// Random House, Inc//.// 7 Jan. 2010.