CAN THE ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY THE STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS THROUGH THE SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY, ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OFCRITICAL THINKING

Abstract

Teaching and developing students' ability to think critically is highlighted as one of the tasks of modern education and a part of curricular documents in various countries. Teachers are expected to teach the students how, and not what to think, emphasizing the change of focus in modern education, whose demand becomes a critical reflection on the content of teaching, and not exclusively its adoption and reproduction. Tennessee Williams’s play The Streetcar Named Desire although written in 1947 is frequently staged in theatres all over the world. The plot depicts family and social relations and, among others, the destiny of Blanche, a character with anxiety disorder, an alcoholic, labelled sexually deviant, older, who instead of being supported by her family, ends up in a mental institution. The goal of this paper is to analyse the presentation of characters in the play through the social model of disability, the central thesis of which is: disability, that is physical or mental impairment, is undoubtedly a limitation of functionality for each individual; however, disability also arises because of social processes. The way the disability is presented in the play can be a basis for teaching understanding, empathy and tolerance as well as correct decision-making as the foundation of critical thinking.