The Effects of Dishonesty
There are many themes in Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, but none are as prevalent as the theme of dishonesty. Dishonesty is shown from the beginning of the play - as soon as Blanche DuBois met with her sister, Stella, she lies to her face. This sets up the character of Blanche as being a dishonest individual, and it also sets up the play to have a strong theme of dishonesty, which has the most shocking effect on the play and its characters. Thanks to the constant dishonesty in the play, it causes deterioration and distrust in relationships, and also leads characters to believe in fantasy worlds and a warped sense of reality.
Thanks to the overwhelming dishonesty seen in the play, relationships deteriorate
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and fall apart within hours. One such instance of a relationship falling apart is the relationship between Blanche and Mitch. The pair’s relationship seems to be healthy and happy. Stella at one point even confessed to Stanley that Blanche thought Mitch was going to propose and marry her, and that she hoped it, too, when she says, “Stanley, she thought Mitch was - going to - going to marry her. I was hoping, too” (Williams 126). Stella and Blanche come to this conclusion of Mitch’s imminent proposal due to his thoughts of Blanche being a demure sort of woman, since she’s told Mitch, “But, honey, you know as well as I do that a single girl, a girl alone in the world, has got to keep a firm hold on her emotions or she’ll be lost!” (Williams 103). What Blanche meant by this is that a woman should not be promiscuous. This makes Mitch think she has old-fashioned ideals which is soon proven not true because of Stanley. Stanley tells Mitch about Blanche’s sexual relationship with a teenage boy and multiple others in Laurel. Stanley is the first to even mention Blanche’s incident with a teenage boy, announcing this to Stella: “They kicked her out of that high school before the spring term ended - and I hate to tell you the reason that step was taken! A seventeen-year-old boy - she’d gotten mixed up with!” (Williams 122). Stanley also explains the news of Blanche’s frequent visits to the Flamingo, which is a hotel known to host less than admirable meetings of adults in Laurel. Stanley tells Stella: “She moved to the Flamingo! A second-class hotel which has the advantage of not interfering in the private social life of the personalities there! The Flamingo is used to all kinds of goings-on. But even the management of the Flamingo was impressed by Dame Blanche! In fact they was so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room-key - for permanently!” (Williams 120). This new information causes the relationship between Blanche and Mitch to worsen and end - the relationship is ultimately over when Mitch tells Blanche, “I don’t think I want to marry you anymore” (Williams 150). Dishonesty also leads to distrust.
As a result of Blanche not being totally honest with her, Stella has no choice but to disbelieve Blanche’s claims that Stanley forced himself upon her. Throughout the play there are examples of Blanche lying to Stella, or not telling the complete truth. The earliest of these instances is when Blanche tells Stella, “So Mr. Graves - Mr. Graves is the high school superintendent - he suggested I take a leave of absence” (Williams 14). Stella also witnesses Blanche twisting the truth when Blanche wires Shep Huntleigh, an old boyfriend of hers. In the correspondence to Shep, Blanche writes, “Sister and I are in desperate situation,” (Williams 78) which is not true. Due to Blanche’s constant lying, and Stella’s knowledge of it, it leads Stella to distrust Blanche and disbelieve things she says. When Blanche confronts Stella and tells her of Stanley’s raping her, Stella can’t make herself believe it, as she thinks it is just another one of Blanche’s stories. Stella confides in Eunice, telling the woman, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (Williams 165). It is also presumed that Stella was the one who called for the doctor as she, again, confides in Eunice: “What have I done to my sister? Oh, God, what have I done to my sister?” (Williams …show more content…
176). Lying and dishonesty also leads characters to believe that they are living in a fantasy world or a fantasy reality.
Both Blanche and Stella live in a fake reality due to the lies the women tell themselves: towards the play’s end, Blanche begins to believe Shep Huntleigh is coming to take her away and sweep her off her feet. Blanche frantically tells Stanley at one point, “Then - just now - this wire - inviting me on a cruise of the Caribbean!” (Williams 153). Blanche’s franticness about Shep’s apparent wire shows that she delusionally believes in a fantasy world where Shep is coming to her aid. At the end of the play, Stella even proves this point by telling Eunice before the doctors come and take Blanche away, “I - just told her that - we’d made arrangements for her to rest in the country. She’s got it mixed in her mind with Shep Huntleigh” (Williams 164-165). This shows that even in Blanche’s broken state of mind, she keeps lying to herself, thinking Shep Huntleigh is still coming to her rescue. Oppositely, Stella turns a blind eye to her husband’s abusive nature and keeps coming back to him. The first time this happens is when Stanley rages and the women run upstairs to Eunice’s. It is quite clear then Stanley is a dangerous individual, but Stella ends up going home with him for the night. Stella’s explanation to Blanche as to why she went back is, “In the first place, when men are drinking and playing poker anything can happen. It’s always a powder-keg. He didn’t know
what he was doing….He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself” (Williams 72). Stella turned a blind eye to her husband’s abusive ways and accepts his apologies quickly due to living in a false reality. Again, Stella justifies her ways by telling Blanche when her sister insists she’s not in a healthy relationship: “I said I am not in anything that I have a desire to get out of...People have got to tolerate each other’s habits, I guess” (Williams 74). In her dishonesty to herself, Stella believes Stanley’s habit of being an abusive drunk and a mental abuser just comes about through his habits which she must tolerate. Stella’s lies make her fixated on the good things about her husband, and makes her find excuses to justify his behavior. For both women, by ignoring reality and lying to themselves, it led one to stay in an unhealthy relationship and the other to succumb to a state of fragility that was easily broken. Dishonesty, a recurring theme of the play, has astonishing effects on the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire - lying causes two women into believing that the realities in which they live in are healthy or true, deterioration of relationships, and even leads to a woman distrusting her own sister. Dishonesty leads to Blanche being taken away by a doctor due to her sister not being able to determine what Blanche says is fact or fiction; it also leads to a seemingly happy relationship being ripped apart due to finding out the truth. These examples only solidify why lying has such the staggering and dramatic effect on the characters as it does.
Deception is present in Tennessee Williams’s drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, William Shakespeare’s Tragedy ‘Othello’ and L. P. Hartley’s novel ‘The Go-Between’; the writers choose to use characterisation to explore the theme in depth. Often the protagonists of each text are the primary offenders of deceit, though some supporting characters mislead as well; although Iago is the antagonist of ‘Othello’, he is incomparably the most deceitful character in the entire play. Similarly, Williams uses Blanche to develop the plot by misleading the other characters and even herself at times, though arguably, unlike Iago, Blanche is presented as a character who lacks the motivation to hurt anyone. Conversely Leo, although the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is not the most deceitful character – Ted Burgess and Marian Maudsley not only coerce him into the deceit, but they themselves are presented as masters of the game they play, however, this essay will focus on Leo as he is a unique symbol of deceit; he is unaware of the consequences of his actions.
When Stanley beats Stella in Scene 3, the abusive side becomes noticed and readers come to the conclusion that it was not the first time that this act of violence has occurred. (Williams 40). But Stella ends up coming back to him after he cries out to her, and their relationship resumes as it did in the times prior. He is also the one who investigates the protagonists’ (Blanche’s) past; as he knows there are things she is hiding. This need to know about Blanche’s history is driven by his hatred for her aristocratic ways. Furthermore, Stanley makes his dominance apparent through the expression of his sexuality. At the end of the play, he rapes Blanche as a way to regain his dominance in the household. Throughout the play, Blanche slowly gains some control over Stella, and causes disruption to Stanley’s
Stanley oftenly abuses Stella whenever he is drunk. One night, Stanley brings his friends over for a poker night. Mitch leaves the table in order to talk to Blanche. Stanley begins to get furious since Mitch is no longer playing. As more and more interruptions keep occurring, Stanley is furious and breaks the radio Blanche and Mitch were using. Stella then calls Stanley an animal. “He advances and disappears. There is a sound of a blow. Stella cries out.”(57) Stanley is usually abusive when he's either drunk or frustrated. After Stanley strikes her, Stella leaves the house and goes to her neighbors house. Blanche follows her sister upstairs to support Stella so she does not feel alone. Stanley then calms down and calls for Stella to come back. She returns and falls into Stanley's arms. Stella is very loyal to Stanley, she stays with him because he is her husband and does not want to change that. This is why she ignores her sister's pleas. Stanleys actions prove to the reader that he is an abusive husband to Stella and that Stella tolerates
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.
Firstly, the reader may initially feel Blanche is completely responsible or at least somewhat to blame, for what becomes of her. She is very deceitful and behaves in this way throughout the play, particularly to Mitch, saying, ‘Stella is my precious little sister’ and continuously attempting to deceive Stanley, saying she ‘received a telegram from an old admirer of mine’. These are just two examples of Blanches’ trickery and lying ways. In some ways though, the reader will sense that Blanche rather than knowingly being deceitful, actually begins to believe what she says is true, and that she lives in her own dream reality, telling people ‘what ought to be the truth’ probably due to the unforgiving nature of her true life. This will make the reader begin to pity Blanche and consider whether these lies and deceits are just what she uses to comfort and protect herself. Blanche has many romantic delusions which have been plaguing her mind since the death of her husband. Though his death was not entirely her fault, her flirtatious manner is a major contributor to her downfall. She came to New Orleans as she was fired from...
She presents herself as a very outspoken person, however, we as an audience learn that she is very fragile, this can be seen through her drinking habits and also by the way she vents to Mitch as she unravels her true self. And, so when her lies are detected he is the first to realise that she was battling against her own insecurities and needed someone to comfort as she had putting up a strong front. Furthermore, when Blanche suffered from the loss of Belle Reeve and witnessed the death of her family members and lost her partner she decided to fill the void by working at the hotel as she states that “Intimacies with strangers was all I seemed to able to fill my empty heart with” (scene nine). For the longest time Blanche showed no emotion in relation to grief. Blanche also attempts to save Stella from the marriage which can be seen in the quote “He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one!” (Scene four) inferring that she should not compromise Stanley’s bad behaviour. Nonetheless, Blanche’s dark past follows her to New Orleans as Stella finds it hard to believe Blanche after learning about her promiscuous past from her husband. The relationship between Blanche and Stella is broken due to misconceptions and so Blanche remains an outcast to society. Eventhorugh Blanche was grieving and needed some form of comfort as she had been completely isolated
She struggles with Stanley’s ideals and shields her past. The essential conflict of the story is between Blanche, and her brother-in-law Stanley. Stanley investigates Blanche’s life to find the truth of her promiscuity, ruining her relationships with Stella, and her possible future husband Mitch, which successfully obtain his goal of getting Blanche out of his house. Blanche attempts to convince Stella that she should leave Stanley because she witnessed a fight between the two. Despite these instances, there is an essence of sexual tension between the two, leading to a suspected rape scene in which one of their arguments ends with Stanley leading Blanche to the bed.
... ignorance; and this was the undeniable tragedy that caused her downfall in the end. Stanley was angry when Blanche told Stella that she did not like him, but he never gave her a chance. Stanley despised her from the beginning. Neither Stanley nor Mitch was intelligent enough to comprehend that not everything is black and white. They perceived her as a deceitful whore. Stella chose her violent husband over her sister. Also, Mitch could not overlook her mistakes. Mitch focused on her flaws which blinded him from seeing the beauty and love Blanche had to offer. Blanche wanted their love, but each of their individual flaws sunk her deeper into a hole. The people around Blanche were unwilling to change and develop an open-minded way of dealing with her situation. Blanche needed kindness and affection, but nobody was able to give it to her when she needed it the most.
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.
“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces” (Sigmund Freud). Illusion can be a part of our lives; however, if taken to the extreme, it can lead one to forget reality. Every individual has problems in life that must be faced with reality and not with illusion, even though it might throw one into flames of fires. Tennessee Williams' play of a family reveals the strength of resistance between reality and desire, judgment and imagination, and between male and female. The idea of reality versus illusion is demonstrated throughout the play. Blanche's world of delusion and fantastical philosophy is categorized by her playful relationships, attempts to revive her youth, and her unawareness in the direction of reality of life. In Tennessee William’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire, through the study of character and tropology, fantasy and illusion allow one to make life appear as it should be rather than as it is.
Tennessee Williams explores in his play” A Streetcar Named Desire”, suggests the main protagonist, Blanche, who has ruins her reputation due to her adversity. She is kick out of Laurel. She have no choice, but to move to her sister’s house. This place can allow her to create a new identity and new life. However when Blanche is revealed , it cause her to choose to live in her own fantasy world , because she cannot face the harsh reality. The Play” A Streetcar Named Desire”, by Tennessee Williams illustrates that sensitive people may succumb to fantasy to survive when they faced adversity, ,which forsake their identity to find an acceptable existence.
No one knows what or who to believe, because one minute a character is revealing the truth about someone else and the next minute he is telling a lie. Stella struggles the most with uncertainty because in the end, she makes an ultimatum for herself of either believing her sister or her husband. In the book Stella says, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley,” (Williams, 133). She tells Eunice this after Blanche tries to tell her about what Stanley did to her. The uncertainty Stella and the other characters have to live with often alters their decision making process because they need to rely on their gut rather than the rumor being
The themes of A streetcar Named Desire are mainly built on conflict, the conflicts between men and women, the conflicts of race, class and attitude to life, and these are especially embodied in Stanley and Blanche. Even in Blanche’s own mind there are conflicts of truth and lies, reality and illusion, and by the end of the play, most of these conflicts have been resolved.
She proceeds to break up the poker game that Stanley had going in the kitchen and he becomes enraged and beats Stella. She yells, “I want to go away, I want to go away!” (63). Blanche and Stella retreat to the upstairs apartment, however when Stanley cries for Stella to come back to him, she succumbs to his cries. The climax of tension between Stanley and Blanche is when he sexually assaults her. Stella refuses to believe Blanche’s accusations against Stanley stating, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (165). The play ends with Stanley and Stella admitting Blanche to a mental institution and Stella staying with Stanley. Throughout the play, Stella is presented with many opportunities to leave Stanley, however, she never considers leaving him. In scene one, Stella tells Blanche, “I can hardly stand it hen he is away for a night…When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!...And when he comes back I cry on his lap like a baby…” (19). Blanche disapproves of Stanley and in scene four she states, “You can get out”
Stella and Stanley’s relationship is one based purely on, as Blanche describes it, “brutal desire – just – Desire!” (81). They treat one another without respect, with Stella calling her husband offensive slurs like Pollack and him beating her. However, because of their deep desire for each other, Stella quickly forgives Stanley for his wrong doings, growing his power over her. When his desire for power builds and he is sure that Stella is dependent on him, he rapes Blanche. When Stella hears her sisters story she calls for Blanche to be institutionalized. While it is clear to the reader through her hesitation in sending Blanche away that Stella knows Stanley really did rape her sister, she cannot bring herself give up Stanley and acknowledge the truth. In this action, she has ruined any trust that Blanche had in her and forever destroyed their relationship because of her selfish desire for Stanley.