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A Streetcar Named Desire Symbolism Essay

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The author Tennessee Williams has written make works of literature however there is one play in particular that is full of symbolism. A Streetcar Named Desire is a play about the interactions of two sisters, Stella and Blanche, and Stella’s husband Stanley. Theses characters go through many ups and downs while living with each other and experience terrifying and wonderful things. The author Tennessee Williams uses a lot of symbolism when it comes to light and darkness.
In this play Tennessee Williams uses darkness to symbolize mystery, loss, and manipulation. Blanche, Stella’s high society sister, is a very secretive character who tries to hide who she really is. This can be seen when Blanche exclaims “I don’t want realism. I want magic! [Mitch …show more content…

I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! – Don’t turn the light on!”(117). In this quote Blanche is explaining to her gentleman caller Mitch why she always hides in the dark. This statement Blanche makes shows the mysterious aspect of the darkness as Blanche uses the shadows to disguise her true self from those around her. In addition to mystery, darkness also symbolizes loss. When Blanche is reminiscing about the pain of her husband's death she sadly states "The searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stronger than this—kitchen—candle…" (96). What Blanche is trying to say here is that when she was in love with her husband the world was bright for her and everything was illuminated but as soon as she lost him everything became dim and dark. The way that Blanche describes her world after she lost her husband as a dull “Kitchen candle” shows how darkness illustrates loss. Another thing that darkness represents is manipulation. Throughout the entire play Blanche remains in the

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Brilliant and creative writers are able to exploit simple ideas or objects to emphasize an important message or characterize a persona in his or her play. In “Streetcar Named Desire,” by Tennessee Williams, Williams utilizes light to help characterize Blanche DuBois. She is presented as an individual who avoids reality, has sexual desires, and displays herself ostentatiously, but she is really an insecure tragic figure; she lies about her age and steers clear of things that will expose the truth. Williams uses light, in his play, as a motif to illustrate that Blanche does not only hide from the light to disguise her age, but by choice (very much) hide her imperfections (flaws) and the truth. There are many interpretations as to what “Blanche”

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The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is about an emotionally unstable lady named Blanche. She moves in with her youngest sister and her husband because the landlord took the land away from Blanche because they could not pay for it anymore. After being their for a while Blanche starts remembering her horrible past which is something she was trying to do in the first place. The husband of Stella, Stanley Kowalski was also someone that made Blanche’s life miserable for complicating everything and harassing her in every possible way. Death is one of the most symbolic terms in this play.

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