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A Streetcar Named Desire Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life. (Elia Kazan). These are the Kazan's words that explains Williams and his works, because his family life and also all his works were full of tension and despair. For example his parents often argues terribly that frightened his older sister, Rose, so much that one evening she went running out of the house. His father, Cornelius, was a stern businessman who managed a shoe warehouse. Cornelius was always drinking and gambling. His mother, who was reflected as a controlling woman like; Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, allowed Rose s doctor to study on her daughter; this event that greatly disturbed Williams who cared for Rose throughout most of her adult life.
However, Tennessee, Rose and his brother Walter remained close to their mother, Edwina, often encouraging her to leave their abusive father. As we see there are lots of similarities between his personal life and one of his best play the The Glass Menagerie, especially characters are so close to each other, so we can easily say that his inspiration comes from his own family life. xn this essay although gave a brief explanation about The Glass Menagerie, prefer to talk about his most beautifull play A Streetcar Named Desire. In this play Williams themes concern isolation and loneliness; the difficulties of communication; the individuals solitary search for the values and meaning of the modern life, social and cultural changes that the new life style brings. His way of explanation is to protest the system that power determines, but he chose to use the individuals lives in his plays. Blanche represents the conservative, traditional side of America and Stanley is the new society; we will across with their struggle by the development of the story although, Blanche and Stanley are so related today, they cant they cant see it.
Stella is the mixture of the two culture, she is like a bridge between traditional side of America and the new One (between her brother and her husband) although she feels quick to loose her own identity she is afraid of loosing her husband and love. Dont holler at me like that. H, Mitch (1821) Although she feels like a special lady she had to catch the meat that Stanley threw that means she had to live the life that Stanley, the new society gives her. The hallmark of his plays is the lyricism of his dialogue n Tennesse Williams play.
In the A Streetcar Named Desire we are introduced to a character named Blanche DuBois who is shown pure, innocent, traditional, sensitive, dishonest, refined and educated and she is white. In the plot, Blanche is Stella's younger sister who comes to visit Stella and her husband Stanley who live in New Orleans. After their first meeting Stanley develops a strong dislike for Blanche and everything that she has. Stanley doesnt like Blanche because of her spoiled girl manner and her indirect conversing. Stanley also believes that Blanche did not tell the truth him and his wife about the family mansion because he is so honest and open. Stanley Dont play so dumb.
You know what? Blanche All right. Cards on the table. That suits me.
I know I fib a good deal. After all, a womans charm is fifty percent illusion, but when a thing is important I tell the truth, and this is the truth: I havent cheated my sister or you or anyone else as long as lived. Stanley -where is the papers? in the trunk? (1833) By these quotations we understand that Stanley doesnt believe Blanche and for this reason he questions her.
Blanche cant defence herself against Stanley because she doesnt believe herself she knows he is stronger than herself... Blanches lifelong habit of avoiding unpleasant realities leads to her break down as seen in her dependency, and her inability to defend herself from Stanley attacks. Blanche s situation with her husband is the key to her later behaviour. She married rather early at the age of sixteen to whom a boy she believed was a perfect gentleman.
He was sensitive, understanding, and civilized man much like herself coming from an aristocrat family. She was absolutely in love with Allen whom she thought perfect in every way. Unfortunately she understood that he was a homosexual so we see how the aristocracy was destroyed by the new social changes, nothing remind pure indeed in her past. As she caught him one evening in their house with an older man, she said nothing, permitting her disbelief to build up inside her. Blanche-He was a boy, just a boy, when was a very young girl. When was sixteen, made the discovery love.
All at once and much, much too completely. It was like you suddenly turned a blinding (1858) Sometime later that evening, while the two of them were dancing, she told him what she had seen and how he disgusted her. Immediately, he ran off the dance floor and shot himself, with the gunshot forever staying in Blanche s mind. After that day, Blanche believed that she was really guilty for his suicide. She became a kind of woman who always, seeks a new men to substitute, for her dead husband. Because she thought that she could not satisfy his sexual desires.
After all these terrible events Blanche and all his done was heard by the people who live in her own hometown. Her sexual relations wasnt the only problem she had. Many of the aged family members died and the funeral costs had to be covered by Blanches modest salary. Blanche -I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body! All of those deaths! The long parade to the graveyard!
father, mother, Margaret, that dreadful way! Death is expensive, Miss stella! (1827). The deaths were long, disparaging and horrible on someone like Blanche. She was forced to mortgage the mansion, and soon the bank repossessed it. At school, where Blanche taught English, she was dismissed because of an incident she had with a seventeen year old student that reminded her of her late husband. Stanley -She is not going back to teach school!
in fact I hate to tell you the reason that step was taken! A seventeen -year -old boy shed gotten mixed up with! (1860). Even the management of the hotel Blanche stayed in during her final days in Laurel, asked her to leave because of the all the different men that had been seeing there. All of these, terrible things that she lived, weakened Blanche, turned her into an alcoholic, and lowered her mental stability slowly.
Her husbands death affects her greatly and determines her behavior from then on. Having lost Allan, who meant so much to her, she is blinded by the light and from then on never lights anything stronger than a dim candle. This behavior is evident when she first comes to Stella's and puts a paper lantern over the light bulb, because she is afraid of the truth light is the mirror that reflects her inner world in this play, when the lights on, all her lies, all her sins, and deeds will come up. Towards the end, when the doctor comes for Blanche and she says she forgot something, Stanley hands her her paper lantern. Even Mitch notices that she cannot stand the pure light, and therefore refuses to go out with him during the daytime or to well lit places. Mitch -Not sunday afternoon.
I have asked you to go out with me sometimes on sundays but you always make an excuse. You never want to go out till after six and then its always some place that is not listed much (1867). Blanche herself says I cant stand a naked light bulb any more than. A hate for bright light isnt the only affect on Blanche after Allan's death she needs to fill her empty heart, and so she turns to a lifestyle of one-night-stands with strangers. She tries to comfort herself from not being able to satisfy Allan, and so Blanche makes an effort to satisfy strangers, thinking that they need her and that she cant fail them like she failed Allan.
At the same time she turns to alcohol to avoid the violence of death. The alcohol seems to clean her through the memories of the night of Allan's death. All of these unbearable things that she lived in her past disturbed her so much and made Blanches mind is unstable, and for this reason she tries to seem as an educated, well-mannered, and attractive person to Mitch. She tries to keep herself from the reality because she was disturbed by reality so far. She wants an illusive and magical world instead. Blanche-I dont want realism.
I want magic 1 Yes, yes, yes magic! (1867) The life she desires is not what she has. Blanche is very dependent coming to Stella from Belle Reve with less than a dollar in change. Having been dismissed from the school, she resorts to prostitution for finances, and even that does not satisfy her needs. She has no choice but to come and live with her sister; Blanche is homeless, out of money, and cannot get a job because of her bad story is heard in Laurel. Already in New Orleans, once she meets Stanley, Blanche is driven to get out of the house. She needs get away from Stanley for she feels that a Kowalski and a DuBois cannot coexist in the same household.
Her only resort to get out, though, is Mitch. She then realizes how much she needs Mitch. When asked by Stella, Whether Blanche wants Mitch, Blanche answers I want to rest breathe quietly again! Yes I want Mitch if it happens I can leave here and not be anyones problem. This shows how she is dependent on Mitch, and consequently Blanche tries to get him to marry her. There is though Stanley who stands between her and Mitch.
Stanley is a realist and cannot stand Blanche and, eventually destroying her along with her illusions. Blanche cannot bare his attacks. Before her, Stanley's household was exactly how he wanted it to be. When Blanche came around and drunk his liquor, bathed in his bathtub, and posed a threat to his marriage, he acted like a primitive animal that he was, going by the principle of the survival of the fittest.
Blanche already weakened by her disturbing past did not have much of a chance against him. From their first meeting when he realized she lied to him about drinking his liquor, he dislikes her. He attacked her fantasies about the rich boyfriend at a time when she was most emotionally unstable. He also attacked all her dreams and marriage plans with Mitch. He destroyed her magic world I have been on to you from the start! Not once did you pull any wool over this boys eyes! , and o and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile! (1872).
This wild rebuttal by Stanley she could not possibly take, just as she could not face a naked light bulb. Further when Stanley went on to rape her, he completely lost her mental stability. It was not the actual rape that represents the causes for her following madness, but the fact that she was raped by a man who represented everything unacceptable to her. She couldnt handle being so closely to the things that she ignores to live with in all her life reality, realism, and rape by a man who knew her, destroyed her, and in the end made her something that belongs to himself. After all she even could not make her own sister believe in herself and lost her place in Stella's eyes.
All of Blanches troubles with Stanley that in the end left her in a mental institution. Stanley and she would have gotten along better if she would have been honest to him during their first meeting. Blanche made a grave mistake by trying to act like a lady, or trying to be what she thought a lady ought to be. Stanley, being as primitive as he was, would have liked her better if she was honest with him about drinking his liquor. Blanche always felt she could give herself to strangers, and so she did try to flirt with Stanley at first. After all like she said to Stella Honey, would I be here if the man werent married? , Stanley did catch her eyes at first.
But being brutally raped by him in the end destroyed her because he was not a stranger, he knew her, he made her face reality, and in a way he exposed her to the bright luminous light she could not stand all her life. A Streetcar Named Desire is the story of The dichotomy of American society. Stanley and Blanche are against eachother; they represent north side and south side of America. Stanley represents New America and xt is strong.
He is the symbol of the future because his child took Blanches place. He gave a new life to the earth and made Blanche leave her place to the new born. Blanche -you ought to save them (candles) for babys birthdays (1862). Also Stanley represents the reality he ignores magic or tradition, the only important thing for new America or in an other words; for Stanley is realism. He even cant stand Blanche to see herself as a real lady, because it is not important to be a lady anymore.
And he knows that she lies about her life and made her face the truth There isnt no millionaire! and Mitch did not come back with roses cause I know where he is there isnt a goddam thing but imagination! and lies and conceit and tricks! (1872). Stanley is a very self confident man and by believing himself overcomes Blanche.
This is American dream, if you believe yourself you can do it! ! ! So he overcame Blanche. Also Stanley is the representation of the new American movement to coloured people, Blanche; the traditional women, ignores to speak Eunice because they are not in the same class but Stanley and Stella doesnt care about it so the new America Blanche-xf you will excuse me, I am just about to drop Eunice okey, honey. Why dont you set down? Blanche- What meant was Id like to be left alone Although Blanche is an English American person she was defeated by a Polish, so it demonstrates that Americans are not superior then the others like Europeans. In this play we see men dominates women and world.
Tennesse Williams hates this situation and develope's the character of Stanley as a rude, sociable, anomalistic working class man. Against to Stanley Blanche is demonstrated as a well-mannered, polite, spiritual, alone and middle class women. By all these changes in society, spiritual love looses its importance and its magic; all their relations is based on sexual interactions. Now, honey.
Now, love. Now, now now, love. (He kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her blouse. ) (1879) The most important point is the reason of Blanches fail. She becomes the victim of social changes. She cant fiction social standart's, like Stella could, which are dominated by power; and the power is represented by the doctor and the matron.
At the end she was taken to hospital to be changed by them. Although we think that Williams is by Blanches side, he cant ignore the power of the new society. Lastly, Blanches fall was inevitable because no one can live by running away from the realities, light is the meaning of life and we are the human beings with our deeds and sins
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