ipl-logo

Illusions In A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

547 Words3 Pages

Tennessee Williams timeless masterpiece titled “A Streetcar Named Desire” Delves into the
Intricacies of using illusion as strength to face difficult situations through the lives of his characters. The character that most embodies this in Williams' work is Blanche Dubois, a particularly enigmatic character that often used illusion as a coping mechanism. Through Blanche, Williams asserts that even though illusion can in the start provide a semblance of strength, in the end it causes the person using it to crumble often leaving them more vulnerable to the harsh realities that had caused them to use illusion as an escape than before it has been used. Through the use of key quotes from the play we can uncover William's perspective on the dichotomous nature of illusions and their limitation in shielding individuals from a truth they must confront.

Blanche Dubois, the central protagonist of “A Streetcar Named Desire” , relies on illusions as a refuge from her troubled past and present circumstances. She artfully constructs a realm of make belief shielding herself from the harsh realities of her situation. Resenting the bland and boring realities of realism Blanche asserts, “I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic!” This concise quote highlights her inclination towards illusions as she seeks solace and strength in …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
1065 Words | 5 Pages

301617- A Streetcar Named Desire Lying as well as deception is a common theme in A Streetcar Named Desire for the characters. There is Blanche, whom, because of her deception and lying which has played a bigger role on the other characters than she goes and realizes. Blanche stated in scene two of A Streetcar

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

Essential flaws are bound to be a part of people’s character. Flaws are a trait in human nature that everybody has because nobody is perfect. This play represents essential flaws in the way the 3 main characters express negative ways of being. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennesee Williams sketches many flaws that we encounter in ourselves and others in real life - Blanche’s desire for escapism, Stanley's incapability for sympathy and empathy, and Stella’s passivity. This affects each character’s interaction with another by keeping them from being able to connect with each other.

Read More
1166 Words | 5 Pages

Blanche feels the need to be appreciated by men at all time and seeks attention when she does not receive it, especially from Mitch. “She dupes him regarding her age and declares herself younger to Stella, tries to fool him regarding her drinking habits, avoid going out with him until after dark and manages to avoid being seen in direct bulb-light!”(Kararia 24). Blanche is portrayed as a liar and attention seeker who wants to be showered with compliments from Mitch. She tries to fool and flirt with Mitch so she can secure her future with him. “She sees in Mitch an opportunity to prove her allure and score an easy sexual conquest.

Read More
1020 Words | 5 Pages

It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that's how it struck the world for me” (102). This is where she provides the audience the understanding of the light bulb motif behind the story, the fact that she never feels love the same way she did with that young man she met when she was sixteen years old. When she continues to tell her story, some locomotive passes through and when the light shines on her, she ducks her body over so that it will not shine on her. Therefore, Blanche’s innocence was with that boy, young and naive, and when it ended she can no longer claim her innocence

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

However the main conflict is Blanche’s inability to accept reality or her inability to let go of her past. Blanche sees herself above her sister’s life and carries a sense of entitlement that no longer fits her environment like it did in her past. Underneath, Blanche is a liar and Stanley is not. Stanley and Stella are able to able to admit what they are while Blanche is constantly trying to hide who she is. She is unable to come to her desire and sees herself superior to the people around her.

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Tennessee Williams is acclaimed for his ability to create multi faced characters such as Blanche Dubois in the play, A Streetcar Named Desire. She comes to New Orleans after losing everything including her job, money, and her family’s plantation Belle Reve, to live with her sister Stella. During her time there she causes many conflicts with Stella’s husband Stanley and tries to get involved with the people there, all while judging them for their place in society, although she is imperfect too. Through her, Williams has created a complex character. She is lost, confused, conflicted, lashing out in sexual ways, and living in her own fantasies throughout the entirety of the play.

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

This shows how someone can think they are doing a good job how hiding their true self, but actually, everyone can see through their persona. Blanche tries her best to make sure her appearances are well kept; she is completely oblivious to the fact that she has severe mental and emotional problems, due to the fact that her husband took his own life.

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1697 Words | 7 Pages

A Streetcar Named Desire Literary Analysis The late 1940’s were characterized by the emergence out of World War II that led to a dependence on the idea of The American Dream, which meant men were working harder to achieve a more comforting lifestyle and opportunity while women were still fighting the oppression of caused by unequal representation. This idealistic dream is illustrated throughout Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire”, which has a rigid dichotomy between illusion and reality revealed throughout multiple characters and their dysfunctional lives that are a direct result between fantasy and actuality. Illusion is taken advantage of as an alternative to the unfair circumstances that the characters in “A Streetcar Named

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

Not only has Tennesse Williams portrayed Stella and Blanche to be seen as delicate and dependent, our own society has created this image but this not only affects how individuals see themselves but affects relationships immensely. Tennessee Williams reinforces the stereotype in which women are often the victims of unfortunate fate within the usage of the character Blanche. Throughout the whole play, we have witnessed Blanche being on the bitter end of life's miseries as she has encountered the tough loss of Belle Reve, dealing with her ex-husband's suicide and the loss of her relationship with Mitch. Arguably, the expectations and beliefs of women were either to be a housewife or a mother, whereas Blanche shows neither, as a result of automatically feeling out of place possibly leading to her downfall. Blanche was constantly fantasizing about the traditional values of a southern gentlemen, proving her dependence on this sex.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

Galileo Galilei “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them” (quotesgram.com 2016) Galileo Galilei lived between 1564 and 1642. He was considered as the father of modern science and was an astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher and a mathematician. He made major discoveries in the solar system, found out that the planets didn’t revolve around the Earth, invented an improvised telescope, wrote a book called the starry messenger that made him a celebrity in Italy and was placed on trial for advocating heliocentrism (Helden, 2016).

Read More
1089 Words | 5 Pages

Fantasy and Illusions grant one the ability to escape their reality and live in a world that fulfills only their potential and standards. In this new world time stops and everything ceases to exist, many conclude that it is their imagination and go as far as saying they are insane, but there is a kind of sane in insanity that drives one to the point of imagination, their realism and their reality. Tennessee Williams explores the dominant themes of fantasy, and illusions vs. realities through the main characters Blanche, Stanley, and Stella through the dynamic play a Streetcar Named Desire. In the beginning of the play one can see Blanche as an intelligent, pure and innocent women, a telling from her attire and equate.

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

As soon as Blanche steps into the Kowalski household and meets Stanley, it is evident that her appearance is a threat to his superiority. Both characters attempt to establish dominance through their control over Stella, a minor character who exists mainly to deepen the contrast between Blanche and Stanley. In scene four, Blanche advises Stella to leave her abusive husband and attempts to influence her by saying “I have a plan for us both, to get us both—out!” (69).

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

In a scene with Mitch Blanche says, “I don’t want realism, I want magic! [..] Yes, yes, magic! 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.

Read More
1397 Words | 6 Pages

Psychologist Sigmund Freud developed an idea that there is more than one aspect to the human psyche. The human psyche rather is structured into three separate parts including: id, ego, and superego. In a similar manner, Tennessee Williams has three main characters in his Southern Gothic play, A Streetcar Named Desire. In addition to the human psyche as the three mentioned categories, Freud introduced psychoanalysis, which is the belief that people could be cured through developing their unconscious thoughts or motivations into their conscious decisions, receiving insight (McLeod). Characters are shaped by their thoughts and actions, as this is present in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Read More

More about Illusions In A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Related Topics

Open Document