Shattering the Veil

Lies litter the halls of everyone’s mind. Deception scatters itself among the truth, blending in like a chameleon in the desert. Trickery is swept under the carpet, pushed from the forefront of the beholder’s thoughts. Tales of fiction escape the deceiver’s mouth with an intent to present himself or herself in a certain fashion. Dishonesty works like a sprinkler, drenching relationships in a thick cloud of pure deceit when the speaker wishes to. Some acts of deception affect the audience in different manners. A small falsehood goes unnoticed, causing no harm, just another chip in the liar’s conscious. Other purposeful inaccuracies rip and tear relationships apart. The final unveiling of the truth, however small or simplistic the mendacity is, is explosive; this finale could terminate a connection. Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams learns this treacherous lesson in her attempt to conquer her insecurities. Blanche was caught in a web of lies she and her family told; she was beyond the point of no return and received a backlash most would not wish upon their greatest enemy. These lies, although present in the written play, are emphasized in the film adaptation of the play. In the film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, deception is enhanced through the film crew’s choice of lighting, sound, and the portrayal of characters in the film.

The film crew enhanced the theme of lying through their lighting choices. Specifically found in the written play, when Stanley confronts Blanche about losing a “piece of property” (Williams 32) named Belle Reve. In the film adaptation, Blanche pulls Stanley into the darkness to study the papers. On more than one occasion Blanche exclaims she takes comfort in the da...

... middle of paper ...

...he theme of lies is brought to life more so in the film than in the book because of the lighting, sound, and character portrayals the film crew made. When has a lie gone too far? Blanche never meant any harm with her lie. She acted in such an absurd manner because it made her feel secure with who she was. Lying about age is completely insignificant compared to the lies other characters told. Blanche created a fantasy, a world she thought she had control over to overcome what she did in the past to survive. Stanley took advantage of a helpless, mentally unstable Blanche to fulfill his disgusting sexual desires, but receives virtually no backlash in the book. Ultimately, the theme of lies centers around believability; no one believed Blanche because of her previous series of white lies, but everyone believes Stanley when he placed the straw that broke the camel’s back.