For a play to be memorable it must have a powerful and dramatic ending; Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is one example of a play which achieves just this. By using various dramatic methods Williams can provide his audience with both a memorable and effective ending. He accomplishes this in many ways, be it through his focus on reality turning to madness, the mental destruction of an individual, the failure to acknowledge and reflect upon past events or closure for certain characters.
Throughout A Streetcar Named Desire Williams’ employs various dramatic methods which help contribute to an effective and intense ending. From the outset Stanley determines to shatter the illusion Blanche has created and this culminates at the play’s ending. Throughout, Stanley’s actions can be deemed by audience members as
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The lantern protects Blanche from the cruel and harsh realities of her life, so this metaphorically eradicates Blanche’s façade. This can be seen here: “He crosses to dressing table and seizes the paper lantern, tearing it off the light bulb and extends it towards her.” The audience are witnesses to the dismantling of a vulnerable person, this is both dramatic and difficult to view. Blanche’s terrified reaction to this highlights her fear of Stanley and potentially a recollection of the horrific trauma she suffered with her rape. The stage direction displays a dramatic and violent destruction of a powerless character. Williams’ use of the word ‘tearing’ suggests it is not gentle or tender, instead appears brutish and violent, much like Stanley’s character. This links to another part of the play, where Blanche again is disassembled and pulled apart in a careless way, however, in this example not by Stanley but another male character, Mitch. He states, “You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother” at this point, Mitch is