Light And Darkness In A Streetcar Named Desire

The central theme of light and darkness through the character Blanche conveys her illogical thoughts of ugly reflections versus beautiful dreams. In Act IX, Williams exaggerates Blanche desperation for wanting illusion in her life and needs to remind herself of who she is as a person clearing her head of hallucinations: “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 let me be damned for it!-Don’t turn the light on!” (1165). Simplicity and elegance of Blanche’s attitude creates a powerful dynamic force with her sister Stella. Her past haunts her creative inspirations to help other people in her life.

Blanche’s unforgivable actions are devastating consequences which lead her to suffer. Her fear of the light is the work of the soul describing emotions that are desperate for freedom. Blanche is isolated upon dishonest reactions in a luminous light that freezes her unnatural appearance. Her sense of humor is boring and develops a sense of distraction towards her apprehension of light.
Blanche desperately needs darkness to hide her atrocious behavior. She seems to portray the possibility of guilt for her lies and accept the destiny that is written for her life. Why are Blanche’s nerves relevant to her motivational goals of deception? Blanche realizes she does not have a purpose in her life when Belle Reve is lost and Stella leaves the responsibility to Blanche. This personal failure is too much for Blanche after losing her husband and that is why she loses her mind, not caring about the surroundings of the world. In “A Review: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams,” Linda Dorff states, “Blanche is usually played as a fragile belle madly clinging to the vanished ’belle reve’ of the old South” (227). Her strengths and weaknesses fade in the face of darkness and her anger shows in the light. The only way for Blanche to defeat her fear is to accept life as a roller coaster going around in circles.
Blanche discovers that she has the opportunity to appreciate the good and bad of the universe. She cannot have magic in this harsh world without the transformation of realism. Her own cause of fear is blame and repetition of denial. The characters are at fault for her chaotic lifestyle assuming that she acknowledges the situation. Imagination, fantasy, and memories are characteristics for Blanche’s complex style. Blanche’s shamefulness and the essence of accepting her own insignificance is no more than an empty mask behind creative accomplishments. In Act I, Williams highlight Blanche’s observation of light by cause and effect relationships with analyzing stressful events to take control of her appearance: “It’s mine, too. It’s hard to stay looking fresh. I haven’t washed or even powdered my face and-here you are!” (1124). The qualities of culture features in social order enhances insanity of Blanche’s fear in the neon lights. The sacrifices Blanche chooses for leaving Stella’s home are a rewarding attribute which represents a psychological illustration of her fear being in the light.
The inevitable demise of light that Blanche confronts exposes her true identity with a prevalent notion of significant inner dimensions. For instance, she wants to regain her innocence and provide an energetic transitional state of authority. How can she have discipline in her life when she deceives the people who are a precious treasure to her own spirit? In addition, Blanche respects the natural beauty of life which captivates her spiritually throughout the play. Commitment is a priority encouraging flattery, pride, and relevance to unfold the truthfulness of secrecy. Blanche’s phobia of the light exaggerates a versatility of effective harmony to elaborate her charisma.
Williams represents violence towards Blanche a necessary evolution from past to present mannerism in the play.

The light that Blanche avoids is an evil demon that destroys her ability to live a normal life. In “Authorizing History: Victimization in A Streetcar Named Desire,” Anca Vlasopolos discusses, “Academic criticism of A Streetcar Named Desire has been directed primarily toward the ethical and generic aspects of the play, and has focused whether the play can be classified as a tragedy” (322). Respect and power represents Blanche dedication for her virtuous goals. Scholars will analyze Blanche’s individuality who suffers from misfortune. She always demonstrates a compelling structure of fiery, impetuous, and judicious traits of herself in reference to her fear of the

light.
Ingenious language, bravery, and willpower for Blanche is what her sister Stella admires. Blanche cannot avoid the ideals of perfectionism and knowledge. Her fear of the light portrays a sense of infatuation between her affairs with men. She dislikes the process of aging and wants to stop maturing. Ambiguous words incorporate more motivational ideas for the purpose of misleading Blanche in the opposite direction of her inevitable destiny. She has an agonizing isolation with providing moments of impressive pathos for her dismay. The corruption is taken within a concept of flattering the audience which always has the awareness to relinquish her bad conscience over responsibility. There is a moral lesson Blanche learns in talking with Stanley as she understands how important it is to trust herself and use her best judgment. In Act XI, Williams exposes the argument between Stanley and Blanche with Stanley revealing her outrageous lies: “I warn you, don’t, I’m in danger!” (1171). In the play, Blanche’s personality integrates her emotions into another aspect within heroism. Connotations illuminates the phobia that observes her confessions efficiently.
The development of Blanche’s character is necessary for scholars to determine her intelligence of divine exuberance. Her energetic persuasion and creativeness is relevant in order to bring the destruction of chaos in the play. Blanche’s distress of light can cause anxiety in her peace of mind. She believes that the brightness will take away her youth and betray her innocence. Moreover, Blanche worries about other people’s opinion regarding her appearance. The symptoms of her phobia examines averting eyes from direct light, breathing rapidly, and trying to run away from her problems. Her panic attacks experiences the sight or thought of light during the day. Why is supernatural power so captivating to Blanche and refuses modernism? She wants to have change in her life a distinctive way rather than overcoming her circumstances in the real world.
A survival strategy for learning how to overcome the phobia of light for Blanche is to discover the environment influences that triggers her responses.

Color, form, texture, and motion are pervasive features of light for basic psychological functions. In “Light Enhances Learned Fear,” Daniel Warthen, Brian Wiltgen, and Ignacio Provencio argues, “On the basis of the known role of light in modulating cognitive function and the suggestive anatomical evidence, we hypothesized that light may influence learning, memory, and the expression of fear” (13,788). The aspects of Blanche’s past is gone which leads the audience to believe that most of the bright light from her heart vanishes. The comforting of darkness are expressions of fatal insecurity for Blanche’s protection around other

people.
The motifs of light and shadow are significant to hide Blanche’s true intentions and malicious methods. She prefers hurting on the inside to showing her feelings on the outside at least to Stella. Blanche’s soul illustrates torture which is responsible for committing her own sins. Her manipulative tendencies towards others are disgusting which expresses her desperation for a relationship. This is all about self-satisfaction for Blanche and her deceitful tears hurt the hearts of who she loves, such as Mitch and Stella. The depths of the underworld are waiting for her greed and sorrow. Blanche realizes that her phobia of light ruins her self-confidence without having a chance to escape and believes happiness is a joke in life. Her mysterious phobia of the light will forever hide herself from the world left to wander in pain and agony with no one to save her from this inevitable suffering.