Coping In A Streetcar Named Desire

Youth can be compared to open land. It is free, open, and full of opportunities as far as the eye can see, but as life moves forward, space in the land becomes sparse and limited, eventually paving the way toward adulthood where your land is taken up and your life will be shapen by it. Being an adult can be difficult which leads many individuals to perform certain actions to remind them of their past, but to what extent should an individual seek to reconnect with their past? The play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, develops Blanche DuBois as an old soul who keeps her best effort to stay young as long as possible. After moving away from Laurel, Blanche attempts to make amends with her past by keeping herself out of the

A reaction is necessary to confront a problem to fix one's self-identity or adversity. Coping is a form of therapy for many individuals that may help them forget an unappealing reality. Blanche begins to present lies to many of the characters in the play instantaneously as she moves into Kowalski’s quaint Apartment. This is through the way she dresses and the perfume she wears displaying her falsely rich personality. Stanley is fooled by her jewelry while Stella knows it is fake. “ “And diamonds! A crown for an empress!” “Next to a glass door” ” ( 2, Pg35). Initially, Blanche is creating Illusions that both make herself look rich and powerful, but also fool others to give a false sense of who Blanche is hiding and trying to reconcile. Blanche also lies to mitch through the manipulation of light because she is startled by the idea of her new love interest finding out about her dark past. Appearing young may prove an individuals innocence while old age shows you have been through more. “You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I-I’m fading now! I Don't know how long I can turn the trick.” ( 5, Pg 92 ). Blanche's adversity is evident and is very self-aware that she is aging. Creating an illusion seems like the only way Blanche will be happy and content with who she is, although aging is inevitable and she will not always be able to run away from light. Sometimes creating an illusion may not always be successful. Coping can involve self-harm through the use of drugs and alcohol which will alter your mental state. From the begging of the play, the reader can see that Blanche is never willing to turn down a drink or two. “She pours a half tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down.” ( 1, pg 10). Every time Blanche drinks, she always denies that she drinks often which creates another illusion to hide her innocence. Coping with trauma is important, but the method of coping can lead to different results.