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The themes of a streetcar named desire
Morals of a streetcar named desire
The themes of a streetcar named desire
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The play’s tragic protagonist Blanche DuBois is a prime example of how a broken mental state can prohibit an individual’s ability to shape their own identity. Blanche’s past was filled with
One major similarity between Blanche and Stanley is that they both like to manipulate or control other people, to make themselves feel better. Even though there are different ways Stanley and Blanche take control of other people they still do it in a familiar matter. For example, Blanche takes power and influence over people by lying to others and herself, to make them believe in something that actually never happened, with fantacy, therefore makes Blanche feel greater, than she actually may be. To go deeper in depth, to prove that Blanche is manipulative she also says. ¨I don 't tell the truth.
Blanche is described as an emotional tragic figure trying to forget about her past. When Blanche was a young, innocent teenager, she fell in love with a boy named Allan Grey. Blanche says,” I didn't know anything except I loved him unendurable--”(103). In scene six, Blanche and Mitch starts talking about what being lonely feels like. Blanche admits to Mitch she is lonely by described as an emotional tragic figure trying to forget about her past.
A fragile victim of contempt, invasion of privacy, defamation, and rape attract one’s sympathy. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, sympathy towards Blanche is attained. In the play Blanche is a mentally ill Southern belle, visiting her sister Stella in hopes of starting a new life. In Laurel Blanche loses Belle Reve, being unable to finance the funerals and house one her own when Stella leaves. Upon Blanche’s encounter with Stanley, he invades Blanche’s privacy, going through Blanche’s luggage and love letters.
Tennessee Williams’ famous play of 1947 revolves around the iconic, tragicomic character of Blanche DuBois, a washed-up Southern Belle and disgraced high school teacher, who finds herself staying with her sister Stella and her uncouth husband Stanley Kowalski, in a seedy tenement in New Orleans. The tragedy and the bitter comedy of Blanche’s character lie in her disconnection from reality. The grandiosity and glamour with which Blanche surrounds herself, with her costume jewelry, her fine clothes and improbable stories are at odds with the fact that, despite her distaste, she has to put up with her sister’s squalid apartment and brutish husband, because she has no other option; having lost her estate, her job, her reputation and her youthful
The costume design, as well as Vivien Leigh’s acting show the many sides of Blanche DuBois and how she eventually spirals into delirium. Blanche’s appearance is always important to her throughout the play. The mise-en-scene in the film, specifically the costuming, help show Blanche ’s focus on how she seems to others. She was always dressed in a much more formal way than others and always seems to stand out.
In the natural structure, the male is always stronger than female. The men consider that demonstrating and maintaining their power and superiority is significantly importance and idealistic for their life. In order to pursuit their idealism, they mostly use aggressive approaches. The major character, Stanley Kowalski in the play of “A streetcar named desire” by Tennessee Williams, demonstrate how the men protect their powerfulness and dignity by using violence. Stanley and his wife, Stella is living in the working- class neighborhood in New Orleans in the time after WWII.
Throughout Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois threatens Stanley Kowalski’s proud Polish-American status. Stanley’s American dream of living in Elysian Fields with his wife, Stella, is threatened by Blanche’s constant criticism about Stanley being a "Polack” (22). Stanley frequently tries to express his dominance over Blanche, culminating in rape. Only wanting to let his brutish desires rule him in peace, like before Blanche’s arrival, Stanley begins to see his Elysium slip away as his wife reverts to the southern elegance she and Blanche were raised in. By the end of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar
The Role of Fantasy and Purpose in Individuals “I don’t want realism, I want magic”- Blanche DuBois (Williams 145). In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams presents readers with the acute presence of fantasy in individuals’ lives. Every character fabricates fantasies in his life to gloss over his struggles and forget each other 's flaws. A Streetcar Named Desire evaluates individual’s use of fantasy as a crutch to avoid the hard truths and give purpose to an empty life. Blanche DuBois, the protagonist of the story, uses fantasy to cope with her world crumbling around her.
Dubois is a figment of a bygone era: one associated with a magical fantasy of the world, rather than what is a bitter and harsh reality. [Dubois magic vs realism quote]. She’s ruled by her philosophies and finds herself unable to compromise her necessity for illusion with the bitter reality of life. Pitted against on the other end of the spectrum, is the equally transfixed Stanley Kowalski, who finds himself a slave to action and raw instinct. A brutish man with a bit of a cruel streak, Kowalski can be a viewed as somewhat of a champion, in the sense that he is a man of unwavering honesty; all of his words and actions are entirely intended, and nothing infuriates him more than a liar.
For my representational project, I decided to make two plushies- one of Mr. Stanley Kowalski, and the other of Mrs. Stella Kowalski- and how they were affected by the arrival of Blanche DuBuois. Stella is represented as a star not only because Blanche refers to Stella as "Stella for star", but also because since Stella left their home in Belle Reve she has been unreachable just like the stars themselves. As the sister of Blanche, Stella is inclined to believe whatever Blanche says, because they have been through plenty of experiences together as kids. The fabric over the eyes represents that the wool has been pulled over her eyes for believing in the lies that her sister concocted. Another way to interpret the covering of the eyes
Although the protagonists of “Fahrenheit 451” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” live in two drastically different societies, both are not satisfied with their current way of living and desire a change and improvement in their life. In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, the title of the play itself signifies Blanche’s desire to escape from the reality of her life, as she is haunted by her past and is currently living a life of insecurity, due to the loss of Belle Reve. Ironically, the streetcar named Desire did not bring her to what she truly wanted, an end of all her problems, and she in fact lost her sanity. The reason for Blanche’s tragic ending is due to the avoidance of her problems, shown metaphorically in the form of a flimsy paper lantern on top of a lamp.
In the avid pursuit of happiness, an individual can feel compelled to fabricate the truth about themselves in order to achieve the joy that they believe they deserve. The harsh truth of reality can force us to turn to the warmth of a fantasy to ease us in our search of contentment. Such is the case in Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where sisters, Blanche and Stella both lie to themselves and others in order to become satisfied with their lives. Through the eyes of the beholder, happiness is measured differently; to Blanche, happiness is measured in wealth, particularly a wealthy man, whereas to Stella, happiness is in the comfort of a husband whom she refuses to call abusive. When we are first introduced to Blanche, Williams
