A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, is a playwright that posses multiple motifs and themes. Within the play, the author uses a wide variety of literary devices and author craft choices to further develop the characters, themes, and motifs in the book. One overarching theme of the book is the overwhelming feeling of chasing a desire, this theme is apparent in all of the characters. The most prominent character in the play that follows their desire is Blanche. However, she is in denial about her past, and present so she critiques Stella for following her own desire. ¨´What are you talking about is brutal desire- just desire! The name of the rattle trap streetcar that bangs through the quarter, up one old narrow street and down another´¨( Williams 81). This quotes emphasis how Blanche believes that Stella is doing everything out of desire, …show more content…
In the book, Stella continues to stay with Stanley even after he beats her with the potential to hurt the baby. But Stella's reluctance to stay with Stanley touches on another important aspect of the play, dependency on others. ¨oh, I guess he's just not the type that goes for jasmine perfume, but maybe he's what we need to mix with our blood now that we've lost Belle Reve´¨(Williams 81). This quote shows how Blanche thinks both her and Stella are unfit, hopeless and incapable of success. Hence why she believes they need Stanley's masculinity to fix things and help them reach success. This, however, is not the only example of this dependent on men. After Stanley beats Stella he comes crawling back to her and pathetically calls for her till she comes down and rushes into his arms, pretending it's all okay. This topic of dependency helps set the setting of the play, because of the time period men were more dominant and woman had little rights as this is emphasized in the story with these small acts of the women's dependence on men in the
A Streetcar Named Desire is a classic tragedy written by Tennessee Williams, which earned him the Pulitzer Prize as well as many other awards. This brilliant play explores many important themes and issues. The main recurring theme Williams explores to the readers is the conflict between fantasy and reality, honesty and lies. However, sexuality, violence, and social differences also shape the action of the plot, in which they contribute to the effect of the characters of the play. The three main characters, Blanche Dubois, Stella Kowalski, and Stanley Kowalski, have different ways of dealing with the said conflicts in their harsh surroundings in which they live in, as they all face different crisis. Blanche, who suffers from emotional and inner conflict, is caught between two worlds and tries to escape reality and the truth as much as she possibly can with her imagination. Stella on the other hand, is a naïve and sensitive character, and may be considered to be the protagonist of the play. Stella tries to ignore the truth going on around her, and as harsh as they may be, she accepts them. Stanley, who is an aggressive, dominant, and sexual character, uses violence to receive his desire, no matter the cost. Throughout this play, Blanche, Stella, and Stanley try to survive and deal with reality in different ways in order to satisfy their desire.
Examining the climax, it is apparent that the animalistic predisposition are out in full force in Stanley as he parades around in a "vivid green silk bowling shirt" and "brilliant silk pajamas." Therefore, the rape is a result of an act of brutal desire in its most futile form, stemming from animal impulses and hostility that propelled the two towards each other. The rape is an act in which each character is at the peak of their battle, which is to be the "final hand" in the game of desire. Furthermore, a symbolic event that I believe foreshadows the rape is when Stella pours Blanche a drink, a coke with a shot of whiskey. It overflows and spills foam on Blanche's dress. Upset by being dirty and violated, Blanche screams with a piercing cry about stains on her pastel-colored dress.
Throughout Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois exemplified several tragic flaws. She suffered from her haunting past; her inability to overcome; her desire to be someone else; and from the cruel, animalistic treatment she received from Stanley. Sadly, her sister Stella also played a role in her downfall. All of these factors ultimately led to Blanche’s tragic breakdown in the end.
In Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire the characters represent two opposing themes. These themes are of illusion and reality. The two characters that demonstrate these themes are Blanche, and Stanley. Blanche represents the theme of Illusion, with her lies, and excuses. Stanley demonstrates the theme of reality with his straightforward vulgar ness. Tennessee Williams uses these characters effectively to demonstrate these themes, while also using music and background characters to reinforce one another.
...think that the play is about desire between people and the different ways they can express it, which the title, A Streetcar Named Desire, informs us. Blanche came to town on a streetcar because she was ostracized in her old home as a result of her desires. Blanche had a desire for sex in general to cope with her divorce and the loss of her family; she just needed to feel loved. Stanley expressed his hidden desire for Blanche by being cruel to her through the whole story, and then having sex with her. Mitch showed his desire for Blanche by asking her to marry him. Stella had a desire for Stanley’s love and for Blanche’s well being. The play is a display of the drama involved in families, and it shows that sometimes people have to make decisions and choose one relationship over another. In Stella’s case, she chose her relationship with Stanley over her sister.
However, there are also many instances where Stanley, a common working-class man, reveals his desire to be powerful and manly in his relationship with Stella, a woman who is of high class. Stanley is a man from a poor background and is married to a woman with a rich family history. Logically, Stanley may feel intimidated by Stella’s upbringing and feels that it is crucial to oppress her; it is hinted many times throughout the play as Stanley clearly demonstrates he is the one that holds the power by the way he treats Stella. Right from the start of the play, with Stanley’s introduction, he comes “around the corner… [with] a red-stained package from a butcher’s” (4), much like how an animal would bring its kill back home. With this, it is an analogy to a leader, Stanley, of a pack that brings back the food for the others to eat. The reliance of Stanley to bring back home the food broadcasts his will as the almighty alpha male that holds more importance than Stella. Furthermore, Stanley “heaves the meat at her (Stella),” (4) treating her as like a servant and also making a sexual innuendo. This action is one of disrespect and lets Stella know that she is under Stanley. This is an example of Stanley seeing Stella as a slave, a sexual object, under his control. Control is a large factor to Stanley as a husband and as a person. This is apparent when Stella explains that “Stanley doesn’t
In the play, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, by Tennessee Williams, the protagonist Blanche Dubois faces grandeur delusions when moving into her sisters house. Her sister, Stella Kowalski is married to a Polish man named Stanley who has many issues with Blanche’s personality and many conflicts arise. Throughout the play the author portrays more and more of Blanche’s inner personality and flaws. The author brings this out through Stanley, who constantly over powers her and is always trying to figure out more and more information about Blanche’s past and bad things that she has done. She is always on a defensive mode and is constantly trying to cover up her past.
In Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" two of the main characters Stanley and Blanche persistently oppose each other, their differences eventually spiral into Stanley's rape of Stella.
Sievers, W. David. Twentieth Century Interpretations of a Streetcar Named Desire: A collection of critical essays. Ed. Jordan Miller. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971.
There are 3 major themes in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, the first is the constant battle between fantasy and reality, second we have the relationship between sexuality and death, and lastly the dependence of men plays a major role in this book.
Good literature makes us think about the world. Tennessee Williams demonstrates this through “a street car named desire” by having themes that are contemporary, and allowing readers to see the different perspectives of these themes. The themes throughout this play include desire leading to death, alcoholism and gender roles which are all strongly present in the world today and Williams encourages discussion about these topics through the text
Written in 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire has always been considered one of Tennessee William’s most successful plays. One way for this can be found is the way Williams makes major use of symbols and colours as a dramatic technique.
The first principle character in this play is Blanche DuBois. She is a neurotic nymphomaniac that is on her way to meet her younger sister Stella in the Elysian Fields. Blanche takes two streetcars, one named Desire, the other Cemeteries to get to her little sisters dwelling. Blanche, Stella and Stanley all desire something in this drama. Blanche desired a world without pain, without suffering, in order to stop the mental distress that she had already obtained.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois who is in misplaced circumstances. Her life is lived through fantasies, the remembrance of her lost husband and the resentment that she feels for her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Various moral and ethical lessons arise in this play such as: Lying ultimately gets you nowhere, Abuse is never good, Treat people how you want to be treated, Stay true to yourself and Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Blanche uses her fantasies as a shield; and her desires as her motivation to survive. Her fading beauty being her only asset and chance of finding stability. Stella’s relationship with Stanley also emphasis the theme Williams created in this book. They’re only bond is physical desire and nothing at all intellectual or deep rooted. Tennessee Williams exemplifies that their relationship which only springs from desire doesn’t make it any weaker. He also creates a social dichotomy of the relationship between death and desire.