"Whoever you are - I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
In so saying, does Blanche invest harsh, degrading reality with romantic dignity? How does Tennessee Williams wish us to see Blanche?.
Williams" character, Blanche Du Bois, is the protagonist in the play, "A Street Car Named Desire." She is an exaggerated character, and much like the majority of his main characters is "larger than life." Blanche is introduced to us as the quintessential "Southern Belle," but as the play progresses it is clear that Blanche Du Bois" undignified reality is degrading in the extreme. If there is one thing to be admired of Blanche Du Bois, it is her ability to retain her dignity even at her lowest point. When, at the end of the play, she is lead away to an asylum, she assertively takes the arm of the doctor and declares, "Who ever you are -I've always depended on the kindness of strangers.".
Blanche's problems begin when her marriage at the tender age of only sixteen ends in the tragic suicide of her husband, Allan Grey. She was betrayed by her homosexual husband and yet felt she was the one who had "failed" and betrayed him. In dealing with these issues Blanche turns to alcohol and becomes promiscuous, having many "intimacies with strangers" in order to "fill her empty heart." (Blanche Sc9) .
Adding to Blanche's distress is the loss of Belle Reve, the family home and dealing with the deaths of many family members, all of which she had to cope with on her own. Blanche is driven to the brink of madness. "I stayed at Belle Reve and tried to hold it together I took the blows" (Blanche sc 1) .
On her arrival at her sister's place in New Orleans, Blanche is faced with yet another difficulty. She is faced with accusations from Stanley concerning Belle Reve when he insists on seeing the legal papers. Blanches deals with this situation as she has dealt with problems in the past. She uses her sexuality and flirts with him in order to distract him and make light of the circumstances.
In the Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stanley Kowalski displays his brutality in many ways. ... Stanley's brutality is shown in several places during the duration of The Street Car Named Desire . ... In Conclusion, in The Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stanley's brutality is evident throughout the entire course of the play. ...
The most obvious symbol used in A Streetcar Named Desire is its title and the actual reference, in the play, to the streetcars named Desire and Cemeteries. They not only are the means by which Blanche was brought to the home of Stanley and Stella; as the play unfolds, we realize the names of the streetcars have a greater significance. [Blanche says, " They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields"] (s.1, 6). Williams seems to be alluding to a belief that desire leads to death, even though it is not ...
Falsehood in A Street Car Named Desire Throughout life, people use false information to either hide or protect other information for their own benefit or maybe someone else's. ... In Tennessee William's book A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanch Dubois uses lies, fantasies and symbolic actions to escape the harsh reality of her life. ... Throughout the play a streetcar named desire by Tennessee Williams, Blanch uses lies, fantasies and symbolic actions to show her desperation to escape her harsh reality. ...
The characters make A Streetcar Named Desire an undeniable landmark in both American literature and film. ... A line could be straight, or a street, but the heart of a human being never." ... Although not as explicit, Stella also suffers from desire. ... Blanche: What you are talking about is brutal desire-just- Desire! - the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street ...
The characters make A Streetcar Named Desire an undeniable landmark in both American literature and film. ... A line could be straight, or a street, but the heart of a human being never." ... Although not as explicit, Stella also suffers from desire. ... Blanche: What you are talking about is brutal desire-just- Desire! - the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street ...
A Streetcar Named Desire - Complexity of the Characters It is the complexity of the main characters and their interactions that make A Streetcar Named Desire such a successful and challenging play. The play A Streetcar Named Desire made playwright Tennessee William's name and has deservedly since had over half a century of success. ... As the name suggests Stella and Blanche's time at "Belle Reve" was near perfect. ... A Streetcar Named Desire would hardly have a story if the characters weren't so complex and didn't interact with each other in the way in which they do....
In A Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stanley Kowalski displays his brutality in many ways. ... Stanley's brutality is shown in several places during the duration of A Street Car Named Desire; at the poker night when he gets so angry and throws the radio out the window, when he beats his wife, Stella, and his arrogant actions are most apparent when he rapes Blanche, while his wife is in labor at the hospital. ... I've discussed the aspect of brutality in A Streetcar Named Desire and now I want to compare it briefly to brutality in The Program, A book turned scree...
"A Street Car Named Desire" was one of his most successful and most performed plays. The title of the play has relations with the specific location; New Orleans is actually served by streetcars named "Desire" and "Cemetery". The action might be summed up as Blanche's (the main character of the play) emotional journey from desire to madness. ...
