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Comparing Catcher In The Rye And A Streetcar Named Desire

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In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden’s brother passed away at a young age. All his life Holden went on with the thought of his brother in the back of his mind. Holden’s decisions are impacted by his dead brother who is not around, but ultimately change his life. Similarly, In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the main character, Blanche, is impacted by the death of her husband Allan. Blanche’s life is impacted by this and she officially goes on to having a life where a perfect fantasy is taking over her reality. Blanche drinks to shield her reality and goes insane. She doesn’t know what is real and what is not, which is all due to the death of her husband. In both pieces, a character from their …show more content…

Since Blanche came to stay with Stella, Stanley grew a disliking to her. She would always lie and be very private as a result of the death of her husband. As Blanche fell deeper into her fantasy, Stanley couldn’t stand her anymore and they got into a massive argument. Blanche’s behavior is always a result of the night her husband took his life, and any reminder of that night she would hear the polka which they danced too. As the amount of times Blanche is reminded of this night increases, the deeper she falls into her fantasy which angers Stanley. As Blanche’s downward spirals continues, so does the distrust of the people surrounding her. Not only does Stanley start to dislike her even more, Mitch and Stella are starting to question the sanity of Blanche. Realizing the sanity of Blanche is not well, Mitch decides to not marry her because she is ¨not clean enough to bring in the house with mother in it¨. Hearing those words from Mitch lead Blanche to fall in deeper to her fantasy as if she is trying to block out that the one she loves is luring her out of her fantasy. Stanley notices the game Blanche is ultimately playing and decides to go along with it. As he goes along with the fantasy, he waits for the right moment to make it crumble. Blanche is expecting to go on a date with Shep Huntley, buy Stanley calls Blanche out on how there is no man that is going to call her and how the cruise is just a lie. The fantasy becomes so alarming that Stella has to call a doctor to come get Blanche. As soon as Blanche sees the doctor she is frightened at first but later goes with him willingly because she has ¨always depended on the kindest¨. The doctor acts like a gentlemen which plays into Blanche’s fantasy. Although Stanley has crushed it, the doctor builds Blanche’s fantasy up again as he takes her away. This connects back to Allan’s death because Blanche slips into her fantasy more and more and as people play along

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When the polka music rises up, Blanche remembers her husband because this music is linked with the death of Allan grey Blanche’s husband, because it was the music they were dancing on ( Tischler 53 ). Moreover, the split of the coke on Blanche’s clothes symbolizes the split of her husband’s blood on her. Blanche’s excessive bathing throughout the play reflects her remorse and her desire to be cleansed from her sin. The most obvious symbol in the play is its title.

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Blanche is emotional, dramatic and strongly feminine. She has very specific ideas about proper behavior and feminine matters, becoming highly critical of her sister’s appearance as soon as she sees her: “You messy child, you, you’ve spilt something on that pretty white lace collar! About your hair—you ought to have it cut in a feather bob with your dainty features.” She places a high value on being upper class and dresses “as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district” and does not hesitate to insult Stanley’s “not so highbrow” social status. Stanley, on the other hand, is blunt, simple and rough-natured, often described as being a true man in behavior.

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1451 Words | 6 Pages

Due to the time period the play is set in Stella is unable to leave Stanley and has to remain in an abusive relationship. We see that Stella ‘sobs with inhuman abandon’(P. 124) when ‘Blanche walks on without turning, followed by the doctor’(P.124) showing how Stanley’s force impacts then those who he cares most for. The relationship between masculinity and power causes Stella to be trapped in an unhealthy marriage and loose her

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903 Words | 4 Pages

In other words, Stella is very aware that her sexual relationship with Stanley can help her sort out any problems between them. Also, shortly before Stanley rapes Blanche, Williams says in the stage directions that there were “inhuman voices like cries in the jungle” (399; sc. 10). Blanche, which means white wood, is out of her element in this jungle of Stanley’s and it is she, who once called Stanley “bestial” (322; sc. 4) and “sub-human” (323; sc. 4), who has now found herself being stalked and charged like prey being hunted by an animal. With his sister-in-law present, Stanley has been unable to fulfill his sexual desires and so he releases them out on Blanche.

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1007 Words | 5 Pages

Blanche’s constant bathing, which is a passive, happy activity like a ‘child frolicking in a tub’, serves as an escape from reality. This childish mannerism displayed by Blanche indicates her innocence, yet the innocence Blanche beholds is not sexual but naïve in the sense that she cannot see the real world for what it is. Her need to act young also displays her paranoia of ageing. At the same time as wanting to gain back youth, she subconsciously tries to clean away her past, like rape victims are known to do. However, this inner calm is only short term, and it is ironic that while she takes her refuge in a bath, Stanley takes the opportunity to maliciously reveal her past to Stella.

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1492 Words | 6 Pages

Stella’s action demonstrates how madly in love she is with her husband and how she needs him to be sane. Additionally, when Blanche asks about Stanley, Stella tells her all good qualities about him because she is proud of her man and blind to his flaws. However, when Blanche finally gets to spend time with Stanley, she perceives him quite differently than Stella does. For example, when Stanley’s poker night got out of hand, Blanche was appalled with the way Stanley was acting, especially when he beat Stella. Moreover, Blanche cannot fathom how Stella puts up with his rude and animal like behavior around his friends and at home.

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The controversy between fantasy and reality based on Blanche’s relationship with both other characters and the world around her. Blanche didn’t want to live real life she wanted

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Blanche tries talking sense into her sister, but it does no good because Stella refuses to see past Stanley’s attractiveness. Blanche receives the same treatment from Mitch in the play. For example, in scene six, Mitch said, “Can I--uh--kiss you-goodnight?” (102). This just shows how much Blanche controlled in the relationship.

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547 Words | 3 Pages

As the play progresses the thin veil of Blanche’s fantasies begins to unravel exposing the fragility of her constructed life. Stanley Kowalski, her sister Stella’s husband, immediately sees through her carefully crafted facade and forcefully confronts her with the unvarnished truth. This can be seen when Blanche says she is a lady to which Stanley counters, “And I’m the king of France”. This telling exchange underscores the fleeting nature of the strength derived from illusions as they ultimately fail to provide lasting

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922 Words | 4 Pages

Blanche pretends to be uncomfortable with the open sexuality that Stella and Stanley share as she wants to act as though nothing has changed since the loss of Belle Reve. With only a mere sheet separating the two bedrooms Blanche feel as though she is right next to the sex life of her sister and with her attempt at staying to her old ways she acts as though this is highly strange, while still appearing grateful. The change brought on by the loss of Belle Reve has forced Blanche to change from the actual southern belle persona to one that is far more realistic. With the loss of Belle Reve Blanche began to act self detrimentally: “ They told was her she better move on to some fresh territory. Yep, it practically a town ordinance passed against her!”(Williams VII.101).

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860 Words | 4 Pages

Blanche, being the way she is, does not get along with Stella’s husband, Stanley. This feud leads to the outcome of disaster and eventually leads to the devastation of the people that they are surrounded by. Throughout life, we are surrounded by diverse personalities. Whether good or bad, we have to face

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1041 Words | 5 Pages

“Blanche tries to escape from her past through literal cleansing and the prospect of marriage to the simple but loving Mitch” (Dubois). Towards the end of the story there is a great amount of conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Stanley rapes her leaving an even more broken character than before. After the rape, Blanche starts talking nonsense. Blanche is convinced she is going to live with a rich millionaire, despite the fact she never officially spoke with a man.

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1218 Words | 5 Pages

She feels that she had failed her young husband in some way. Therefore, she tries to alleviate her guilt by giving herself at random to other young men. And by sleeping with others, she is trying to fill the void left by Allan's death — "intimacies with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with." And she was particularly drawn to very young men who would remind her of her young husband. During these years of promiscuity, Blanche has never been able to find anyone to fill the emptiness.

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1485 Words | 6 Pages

Blanche sets herself up to live in an alternate reality which is not healthy for her mentally. The first addiction that Blanche hides that the audience sees is when Blanche first arrived in New Orleans and was waiting for Stella to come back from the bowling alley. While waiting for Stella to return, she poured a half tumbler of whiskey and tossed it down. This disproves that she is not very ladylike though she tries to make people believe she is. She then went and lied to Stella while they were at the bar.

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1282 Words | 6 Pages

Blanche has a hated towards Stella’s husband Stanley, for he was not up to the standards that Blanche would have preferred. Since Blanche consider herself from an aristocratic

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