Scenes 5-8 of A Streetcar Named Desire are reminiscent of William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” because both texts demonstrate a frantic desire to keep something and the disastrous yet inevitable consequences of the misguided actions one takes for that desire as one relentlessly pursues them regardless of their futile attempts to escape retribution. When Sarty, the ten-year-old protagonist of “Barn Burning,” is first introduced sitting in the convenience store about to commit perjury, he notes that the one reason for his being there is the “old fierce pull of blood” (Faulkner 1). The idea that blood has the ability to influence one’s decisions as far as being the sole reason for the corruption and manipulation of an innocent boy demonstrates the …show more content…
Any human has only those experiences and opinions which have been so deeply instilled into their blood that they make desperate choices to keep those things. For instance, in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche searches for meaning after the death of Allan, her dead love, continually throwing herself into encounters looking to turn on again the “searchlight which had been turned on the world” when she had been with Allan (Williams 115). The searchlight over the world is compared to the intense love she felt in order to highlight their shared brilliance and all-encompassing nature. Blanche feels nothing but love - bewitching, illuminating love. When that love is lost, she tries desperately to find it and bounces to and from the men around her to, as she admits, find rest and comfort in a love she has no hope of finding (Williams 95). In taking these actions counter to societal expectation, however, Blanche - similarly to Sarty - sets in motion her own
The bildungsroman ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D Salinger and the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams are both post-World War Two narratives which incorporate protagonists that challenge contemporary American attitudes. Blanche DuBois and Holden Caufield are quintessential examples of characters who subvert societal expectations, impositions and hegemony of America in the late 1940s and early 50s, the author and playwright have the plot revolve around these characters and their itinerant lifestyles as they literally and socially move from one milieu to another. Both Salinger and Williams use a plethora of literary devices such as symbolism, juxtaposition and imagery whether it is visual, auditory or olfactory to highlight
Comparing the two characters from the novel The Awakening and the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Edna Pontellier and Blanche Dubois, there are clearly inherent differences between the two. Some differences being: Edna is an artist and Blanche is a teacher, Edna has two children and Blanche has none, Edna is married and Blanche is a widow. But, despite the differences the between the two characters there are also many similarities. The three most important similarities between the two characters are: both women are free spirited characters that give life to the novels they star in, they both have best friends that do not really understand them, and they both meet tragic ends at the end of their respective stories caused by men.
Comparing A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof In the game of life, a man is given the option to bluff, raise, or fold. He is dealt a hand created by the consequences of his choices or by outside forces beyond his control. It is a never ending cycle: choices made create more choices. Using diverse, complex characters simmering with passion and often a contradiction within themselves, Tennessee Williams examines the link between past and present created by man's choices in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. "
Identity in Contemporary American Drama – Between Reality and Illusion Tennessee Williams was one of the most important playwrights in the American literature. He is famous for works such as “The Glass Menagerie” (1944), “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1947) or “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955)”. As John S. Bak claims: “Streetcar remains the most intriguing and the most frequently analyzed of Williams’ plays.” In the lines that follow I am going to analyze how the identity of Blanche DuBois, the female character of his play, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, is shaped. Firstly, we learn from an interview he gave, that the character of Blanche has been inspired from a member of his family.
In the beginning Tennessee Williams formed Stanley and Blanche from the soil of repression and indulgence; he breathes desire into their nostrils causing them to become living souls. In the mist of the Elysian Fields garden was the tree of knowledge of death and redemption. Stanley the merciless predator of Blanche used the knowledge of the death of Belle Reve to expose Blanche’s nakedness. Blanche covers herself with puritanical fig leaves inadvertently exposing the primitive beast like qualities in Stanley. Tennessee Williams infuses Stanley and Blanche with contradictions of opposing class, differing attitudes about sex and the incongruent perspective on reality. Effortlessly these expressions of desire moves like a pendulum back and forth between Blanche and Stanley, the clock stops, ultimately exposing the neurosis of their souls. The author’s emancipation proclamation reveals how their contradictions became complementaries thus transcending the imagery of death into a pious redemption. Emphatically the author’s soul cries out from the grave, “Out beyond right-doing and wrong-doings there is a field I’ll meet you there,” (Rumi).
6). Williams’s sister Rose is the real-life parallel of Blanche – Blanche’s illusions about life mirror Rose’s after her forced lobotomy*. However, unlike Rose Blanche is presented as knwing that she is “on the verge of - lunacy” (p.7). Similarly, Williams declared that after the events of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Blanche left the asylum and lived a fulfilling life with a young gentleman – he was perhaps deluding himself, pushing his hopes for Rose onto Blanche, the fictional character believed to have been inspired by his
In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, main character Blanche Dubois to begin with seems to be a nearly perfect model of a classy woman whose social interaction, life and behavior are based upon her sophistication. The play revolves around her, therefore the main theme of drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the misfortune of a person caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present.
This statement also emphasises much of Blanche’s own views on sorrow and explains how it has affected her life since she has made the comment from personal experience. To conclude, Tennessee Williams’ dramatic use of death and dying is an overarching theme in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ from which everything about Blanche’s character has formed from. Without the death of Allan, Blanche would not have resorted to prostitution and the brief affairs with strangers, also the deaths of her family have driven Blanche to Stella’s where she is “not wanted” and “ashamed to be”. Therefore these dramatic deaths have lead to the past which comes back to haunt
During early times men were regarded as superior to women. In Tennessee William’s play, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Stanley Kowalski, the work’s imposing antagonist, thrives on power. He embodies the traits found in a world of old fashioned ideals where men were meant to be dominant figures. This is evident in Stanley’s relationship with Stella, his behavior towards Blanche, and his attitude towards women in general. He enjoys judging women and playing with their feelings as well.
Our lives are consumed by the past. The past of what we once did, what we once accomplished, and what we once could call our own. As we look back on these past memories we seldom realize the impact these events have on our present lives. The loss of a past love mars are future relationships, the loss of our family influences the choices we make today, and the loss of our dignity can confuse the life we live in the present. These losses or deaths require healing from which you need to recover. The effects of not healing can cause devastation as apparent in the play A Streetcar Named Desire. The theme of A Streetcar Named Desire is death. We encounter this idea first with the death of Blanche and Stella's relationship as sisters. Blanche and Stella had a life together once in Bel Reve and when Stella decided to move on in her life and leave, Blanche never could forgive her. This apparent in the scene when Blanche first arrives in New Orleans and meets Stella at the bowling alley. Stella and Blanche sit down for a drink and we immediately see Blanche's animosity towards Stella. Blanche blames Stella for abandoning her at Bel Reve, leaving Blanche to handle the division of the estate after their parents die. As result of Stella's lack of support, we see Blanche become dependent on alcohol and lose her mental state. Blanche comes to be a a terrible reck through out the play as we learn of the details of her life at Bel Reve. Her loss of the entire estate and her struggle to get through an affair with a seventeen year old student. This baggage that Blanche carries on her shoulders nips at Stella through out eventually causing the demise of her relationship. As Blanche's visit goes on with Stella, the nips become too great and with the help of Stanley, Stella has Blanche committed to a mental hospital, thus symbolizing the death of the realtionship they once had. The next death we encounter in the film is the death of Stella and Stanley's marriage. Our first view of Stanley is of an eccentric man, but decent husband who cares deeply for his wife. However, as as Blanche's visit wears on, we come to see the true Stanley, violent and abusive.
In Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams uses the suicide of Blanche's husband to illuminate Blanche's insecurities and immoral behavior. When something terrible happens to someone, it often reveals who he or she truly is. Blanche falls victim to this behavior, and she fails to face her demons. This displays how the play links a character’s illogical choices and their inner struggles.
The characters in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, most notably Blanche, demonstrates the quality of “being misplaced” and “being torn away from out chosen image of what and who we are” throughout the entirety of the play.
Written in 1947, by playwright Tennessee Williams, the play A Streetcar Named Desire opens in the 1940s in the well-known city of New Orleans. Readers are presented with the young couple Stan and Stella Kowalski who live below another young couple, Eunice and Steve. While Stan and Stella manage to maintain a relationship, it is abusive. Stella reunites with her alcoholic sister Blanche, after learning that the family plantation had been lost due to bankruptcy. Blanche, a widow often finds herself in difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Blanche’s poor choices and vulnerability leads to an affair with Stan’s poker buddy Mitch. Coinciding with his abusive nature, Stanley rapes Blanche. No one believes her until the very end, causing her to get sent away to a mental institution. While the play and film were smashing, each had their similarities overall, in regards to setting, plot, and characters while differences concerned narrative technique.
Significant events will have drastically different effects on each of us. When faced with challenges, some individuals are inclined enough to adapt in order to overcome these obstacles, whereas others will find themselves unable to do so, and ultimately stumble along the road leading to their destiny. Tennessee Williams explores a female protagonist’s reaction to the cataclysmic events that befall her throughout the modern drama, A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche Dubois suffered from a lack of financial security, and a tarnished reputation that continued to befall her. Nonetheless, her resourcefulness never faltered. Blanche’s life is impacted by several significant events which ultimately alters the course of her destiny. Through Blanche, Tennessee Williams develops the idea that we are all faced with challenges that impact our lives, but in the end, it’s how we deal with those circumstances that truly determine our destiny.
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.