Until They Bring The Streetcars Back Sparknotes

Until They Bring The Streetcars Back is a novel written by Stanley Gordon west. The book centers around a high schooler named Calvin Grant, who faces all sorts of obstacles, during his senior year at Central High School. Despite the fact that Cal is a jock, and a popular kid, he does everything in his power to help Gretchen Lutterman, the weird girl at their school, escape her abusive father, and remain her sanity. The author enhances the story by using different elements of literature. He uses characters to describe their physical features, personality, inner thoughts, and explains the reasoning behind their actions. He describes the multiple themes, that are the center/ many focus throughout the book. He also created many conflicts in the

book, that resulted in changing and shaping characters in the book.
The author of the book creates believable characterization, by displaying it in his character's physical features, their inner thoughts, and their personality. One of the characters is Steve Holland. When Steve was in the sixth grade “ he got polio and his right leg kind of shriveled and ended up shorter than his other leg and it was real skinny” (West 5). But he was lucky to have survived, because many people didn’t. Because one his leg was shorter than the other, “ … the only sport he could play was goalie in hockey” (5). Because it didn’t involve a lot of movement, like running after a ball, like most sports did. To most of his friends, Steve was little wild, but Cal the narrator thinks “ he looked real smart, and I think he really was, but he never studied much and had terrible grades…” (5). Cal believes Steve looks smart, and might be, but he doesn’t act smart. No one could tell what Steve was gonna do next. Although many believe Steve is a fun, wild person, he has a deeper personality, filled with sadness. Steve is convinced that his being punished because he thinks he killed his little brother. His little brother was born with heart problem, and they used to sleep in the same bed. “ When I found him in the morning. I didn’t call them. I was too scared… I knew it was my fault” (86). He blames himself for the death of his brother, that he attempts to commit suicide “ Because no one in the world gives a damn if I’m dead or alive” (156). If it wasn’t for Jerry, coming behind Steve and slamming him, he might’ve jumped.
Helping others is major theme in the book, that ended up changing people's lives, for better and for worst.

Cal goes through a lot trying to help Gretchen escape her toxic, abusive father. In fact he puts his live in danger, and breaks the law, while going at it. “ You promise, if I bring you the body, you’ll lock the man up, and keep him locked up until there’s a trial or something?” (162). Cal had a plan to wait till Luttermann went on his walks, than he would go inside the house, to the freezer, get the dead body of Little Jacob, take it to the police and get Luttermann arrested. He wanted to end this, once and for all. But his plan didn’t go as planned, “Son of gun, I’d blown it. I dropped Little Jacob and lost the evidence that could have set Gretchen free” (166). After Cal got the body of the dead baby, he started racing out of the house, but Lutterman started chasing him with a knife. That’s when he fumbled and dropped the dead baby. Since his first plan didn’t work, Cal came up with a new plan, that involved stealing liquor from Sid. “I vowed to swipe two or more cases on Saturday. I had to get him before he got me” (177). Without getting Sid attention, Cal would steal bottles of liquor from the store, every time he was delivering an order. And the reason why he stole the cases of liquor, was to get Lutterman, before he would hurt Gretchen or him. Even though Cal gets caught stealing the cases liquor, and gets “ Thirty days in the workhouse as a good lesson. And one

year probation” (198). He still thinks about Gretchen, and how he doesn’t want to quit helping her. “You saved me Cal” , “ I’d decided to kill myself, I was going home Monday and swallow the moth balls… But Sandy came up to me in the hall and gave me a Nut Goodie” (222). While he was at the workhouse, Cal asks Sandy to take a Nut Goodie to Gretchen. And that symbolizes hope, because Gretchen decides to not give up, and commit suicide.
Conflict is another element of literature, that is used a lot in the book. After everything that Cal and Gretchen been through, Cal was able to put Luttermann behind bars. And the only way he was able to do so, was by completing his plan. “ At about ten miles an hour, I turned up over the curb and rammed Luttermann Plymouth halfway through the drugstore display window” (215). Cal’s plan involved stealing Luttermann car, loading all the liquor cases he stole inside the car, and slamming Luttermann cars into the drugstore display window. Cal decided to do his plan that night, because Luttermann “ probably found out I was in jail and figured I was out of the way” (212). Cal believes Luttermann doesn’t think he's a threat anymore, because he might’ve heard he's in jail. Cal finds out that his plan worked, and Luttermann does something unexpected. “ Gretchen the Wretch? Haven’t you heard? Her dad stabbed a cop, they caught him breaking into a liquor store, he’s in jail” (218). Cal’s plan took different a turn, because Luttermann will be in for a while, for stabbing the cop. When the police show up at Luttermann house, they were asking Gretchen mother question, when “he saw the police he got really mad and thought I’d told on him…” (221). So when one of the police officer tried to calm him down, her father “ knocked him flat and ran into the kitchen and the other policeman ran after him and my father stabbed him… ” (221-22). Shocked, Gretchen decides to tell the police what her father did to Helga and her. “ … while the other one ran out to call for help and I told them what my father had been doing to me…” (222). Gretchen was so scared, she decided to tell what’s been done to her, and because she saw what her father did to the police officer, she just told them.
Gretchen confusing what her father did to her, and Luttermann getting arrested, wasn’t the end of the conflict.

The only way Luttermann would permanently be in jail, would be proving he was guilty in the trail. But that was hard, because Luttermann attorney was doing his best to undermine Cal. “She’s a girl and a friend. Doesn’t that make her a girlfriend?”(257). He was trying so hard to make it seem like Cal and Gretchen were dating. The attorney also suggest that Lutterman was trying to do what’s best for his daughter, and that he was a dedicated father. “This conscientious father wouldn’t let his daughter see you, would he?”(259). He implied that Luttermann rejected Cal as Gretchen boyfriend, and that might be the reason why Cal is testifying against him. He also assumes that Cal must be the baby father of Gretchen’s baby. “ If there was a baby,” Moss said, “we’re you the father?” (259). The attorney was trying to prove that Cal was Gretchen boyfriend, and the father of her baby,“ Cal,” Moss said, standing right in front of me, “did you and Gretchen plan to frame her father?”(260), and that must be the reason he wants Lutterman arrested, because he refuses their relationship. It wouldn’t be possible to win the case if it wasn’t for Mrs. Luttermann. “ There was a baby, there was a baby, there was a baby.” (261). It seemed that Cal and Gretchen were losing the case, but Mrs. Luttermann yells, that there was a baby, implying that the allegation is

true.
To sum it up, Until They Bring The Streetcars Back, is about a jock that goes to Central High School named Cal Grant, who puts his life in danger, trying to help the school's outcast Gretchen Luttermann, escape her abusive father. The author of the book uses many element of literature to strengthen the novel. Examples of the element of literature are; characterization, theme, and conflict.