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Character analysis for blanche dubois
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Oscar Wilde had once said, "Illusion is the first of all pleasures." This is ultimately true in the case of Blanche DuBois. Throughout the play of "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams, the illusion of Blanche DuBois creates the emotional, tragic, and often extreme circumstances of the play. Succumbed to grief, Blanche has lost touch with reality. Beneath her illusions of social arrogance and sexual propriety, Blanche DuBois is a deceptive and insecure individual. Williams' includes Blanche's greatest vulnerability, her inability to face reality, along with her haunting past and cruel, animalistic treatment to become the primary cause of her promiscuity, ill-minded behavior, and ultimate downfall. Blanche DuBois lives life through illusions to escape reality. People often hold the ability to alter past events into a better present life, but Blanche represents the failures of those who are incapable of putting the past behind them. Blanche begins her illusion when she falls in love at the young age of sixteen and marries her young lover, Allen Grey. This illusion of love had all shattered when Blanche caught Allan in bed with another man. After proclaiming her disgust towards the homosexual affair, Allan committed suicide. She could never quite overcome the guilt that that moment had left on her. Blanche often encountered flashbacks about Allan; she could hear the gun shot and the polka music that had been playing in the background. Following Allan's death, Blanche became overwhelmed in the death of her relatives that, fortunately, Stella was able to avoid because she had moved away and married. Blanche had to deal with the …show more content…
foreclosure of Belle Reve, the DuBois family home, due to the cost of the funeral arrangements. Younger men had soon become a fad for Blanche, possibly to reconnect her to the feeling of the young love she had shared with Allan. After pouring herself another drink, Blanche tells Mitch, "Yes, I had many intimacies with strangers. After the death of Allan -- intimacies with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with." (Williams 2349) Blanche lost her job as a high school teacher because of an affair with a young student, said to have reminded her of her husband. Escaping the affair and shame she faced in her old city, Blanche traveled to New Orleans to visit her sister, Stella and her cruel husband Stanley. Through her visit in New Orleans, Blanche saw a great opportunity to live out her illusion. She is described as delicate, sensitive, cultured, and beautiful. Her arrival into the city is described, "Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district." (Williams 2301) Blanche's choice of wardrobe, notably the white pieces, is symbolic of her desire to look sophisticated and seen as pure. Ironically, In scene 5, Blanche's white dress is stained, a symbol of the fact that Blanche is far from pure. She told many stories, not many of which were true. Pretending to be classy and cultured, Blanche's conversations with Mitch show that she deceives and tricks people and lies constantly. Blanche tells Stella, "I want to deceive him enough to make him want me." (Williams 2331) This quote offers major insight into Blanche's true ego and deceptive and flirtatious nature. Blanche had an alcohol problem and hid it well. While nobody was looking, she consumed a reasonable amount of alcohol while drinking with Stella. When Blanche was offered another shot, she turned it down, stating that one is her limit. Later, after Stan offers her liquor, she claims she "rarely touches it." Another way Blanche lives outside the realistic world is her compulsive bathing. Blanche bathes obsessively, giving the reader insight into her desire to purify herself from her past. Because she is unable to get rid of the dirtiness in her mind, Blanche attempts to get rid of it physically. Blanche's illusion that she is living a happy life and vacation in New Orleans does not last long under Stanley's malicious acts against her. Blanche had not felt welcome in their home; she felt almost as if she posed as a threat to Stanley or interfered with Stanley's and Stella's marriage. Stanley was clearly and obviously unhappy with Blanche's stay. His actions and words show reality in it's harshest, purist form. Implying that she had worn out her welcome, Stan bought her bus tickets back to her hometown as a gift. Stan went through Blanche's personal belongings and spread malicious gossip about her past, ruining any hopes she had for a future with Mitch. Unfavorable stories of Blanche's checkered past had filled Mitch's mind because of Stan, and Blanche's relationship with Mitch quickly turned sour. Mitch became heart-broken and enraged once he had received confirmation of the truth to Stan's accusations of Blanche. Confronting Blanche personally, Mitch accuses her of lying and being a prostitute. It is here where Mitch sees the illusion that Blanche had created for herself. He then states that Blanche is hiding something, as he has never seen her in the light. He then tears the paper lantern off of the bulb, tearing away Blanche's shield of reality. Blanche avoids light to escape reality and as an attempt to hide her true nature as well as her vanishing beauty and youth. She describes her love with Allan as "turned a blinding light on" and once Allan had committed suicide, Blanche's light also went out. Proving her inability to face reality, Blanche herself states, "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 truth, I tell what ought to be truth, And if that is sinful, then left me be damned for it!" (Williams 2349) Blanche acknowledges the way that she lives through a false image, an illusion.
This is Blanches first statement regarding her true intention and nature. It is probably the only time where Blanche ever confesses that she builds up an illusory image of herself. Blanche lives in her own world, believing what she wants to be
true. Blanche's illusory life soon had a hard reality check. After losing Mitch over a discussion about her past, Stanley returns home to an intoxicated Blanche after Stella had given birth at the hospital. Stanley destroys the final pieces of Blanche's sexual and mental esteem by his brutal act. In a final act to ensure he had won, Stanley raped Blanche. Stanley symbolizes everything unacceptable to Blanche, so it was not only the actual rape that causes her following madness. Blanche can give herself to a stranger with her own free will, but when taken forcefully by Stanley, the brutality of the act totally destroys her fragile nature. Stanley lives on normally and feels no guilt for his ruthless acts that led to the mental destruction of Blanche. Stanley emerges the survivor of the encounter while Blanche is more mentally and emotionally crippled than before. When Blanche tells Stella about the rape, one of the few times she tells the truth throughout the play, her sister does not believe her. It is ironic in which Stella uses this truth against Blanche and decides that she has truly slipped into insanity. Justifying her decision, Stella says "I couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley." (Williams 2356) Stella chooses to believe that Blanche is lying so that her life would not be interrupted. To avoid the stress and with hopes of improving their marriage, Blanche is sent off to a mental institute by Stella and Stanley. They decide that she can't seem to deal with reality and often retreats into illusion. As she is being led out by doctors, Blanche's final descent into madness is complete. Blanche's tragedy is one of an individual caught between two worlds, the past and the present. Blanche cannot seem to face the present or the future, and hides in a dream world that eventually destroys her. Once intelligent and sensitive, Blanche, a woman who had valued the creativity of the human imagination, becomes emotionally traumatized and repressed. Blanche's imagination becomes a haven for her pain. Ultimately, Blanche proves to be too kind, delicate, and weak to live in the realistic world.
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.
Stella states that Blanche’s life has been heavily affected by the death of her husband, Allan. Blanche’s marriage “killed her illusions” which can be interpreted literally. Blanche states that she fell in love “all at once and much, much too completely,” however, her love was unrequited since instead of returning the love Blan... ... middle of paper ... ... o have experienced some sorrow,” which Mitch agrees with, thus revealing that he has been affected by the loss of this girl.
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...
which, as Williams suggests, "was too great for her to contain". As to whether her escape was "madness" can be debatable - although Blanche is clearly unstable at many points, some believe that Blanche is not. actually insane, suggested by Stella's comment in Scene 11 - "I. couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley. " From her first appearance on stage, Blanche is presented as being.
Blanche’s developmental history or character development points to her diagnosis. Blanche comes to New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella after being fired from her job as a schoolteacher due to having an inappropriate affair with a teenage student. When she arrives to see her sister, she is consumed with insecurities regarding her appearance and is condescending to her sister’s humble lifestyle. Stella’s husband Stanley immediately has distrust and dislike for Blanche and treats her
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.
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.
However Blanche is unable to get attention or protection throughout the story be cause of all the lies she's told. She also ends up hurting the people who are closest to her when she tries to hide who she really is. For example when she says " I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes magic!
...ene 11, pg 144) While Blanche is characterize as the weak sister, Stella displayed much more cowardly actions. Her absence in sister’s tough times and her inability to do the right thing in the end is the ultimate cause of Blanche’s incarceration.
Throughout Tennessee Williams’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. Blanche could not accept her past and overcome it.
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.
One cant imagine how it must feel to lose the ones they love and hold dear, but to stay afterwards and mourn the loss of the many is unbearable. Blanche has had a streak of horrible luck. Her husband killing himself after she exposed her knowledge about his homosexuality, her advances on young men that led to her exile and finally her alcoholism that drew her life to pieces contemplated this sorrow that we could not help but feel for Blanche throughout the drama. Blanche’s desire to escape from this situation is fulfilled when she is taken away to the insane asylum. There she will have peace when in the real world she only faces pain.
This can be symbolized by light. Blanche hates to be seen by Mitch, her significant other, in the light because it exposes her true identity. Instead, she only plans to meet him at night or in dark places. Also, she covers the lone light in Stella and Stanley’s apartment with a Chinese paper lantern. After Blanche and Mitch get into a fight, Mitch rips off the lantern to see what Blanche really looks like. Blanche angrily replies that she’s sorry for wanting magic. In the play, Blanche states “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. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it!”(Williams 117). Blanche wants to escape reality, but this only leads to her self-destruction. It is the men in her life and past experiences that is the main cause of her self - destruction. One of these being the death of her young love, Allen Grey. During their marriage, Blanche, attached to the hip to this man, walked in on him with another man. She then brought the incident up at a bad time; soon after, Allen took his own life, which I believe was the first step to this so called “self-destruction. Blanche could never forgive herself of this. This is the truth of her past, therefore,
In 'A Streetcar Named Desire' we focus on three main characters. One of these characters is a lady called Blanche. As the play progresses, we gradually get to know more about Blanche and the type of person she really is in contrast to the type of person that she would like everybody else to think she is. Using four main mediums, symbolism and imagery, Blanche's action when by herself, Blanche's past and her dialogue with others such as Mitch, Stanley and the paperboy, we can draw a number of conclusions about Blanche until the end of Scene Five. Using the fore mentioned mediums we can deter that Blanche is deceptive, egotistical and seductive.