In Scene IX, it shows Blanche always hearing the Varsouviana polka tune (to which Mitch does not hear at all) when she is tensed. Blanche tells Mitch, "There now, the shot! It always stops after that " (Williams 114). The sound of the gunshot that killed her husband stops the polka music that she last heard with her husband, which indicates her difficulty coping with reality. Blanche's past did lead to her downfall in the end but her fantasies and imagination also contributed to it.
Another intriguing characteristic of Blanche that leads to her downfall is her way of looking at the world through fantasies and imagination. Blanche's attempt to hide her past through such examples like lies, bathing, light, leads to nowhere good - but bad. In Scene I, Blanche deliberately lies to Stella about why she left Laurel, Mississippi. Blanche says, "So Mr. Graves " Mr. Graves is the high school superintendent " he suggested I take a leave of absence " (Williams 21). The reason why she left was because she was caught having a sexual interaction with a seventeen-year-old boy. This incident connects to Blanche's dependence on men to where Blanche depends on men to fill a void inside her. Also, in Scene IV, Blanche gets a crazy idea to contact Shep Huntleigh, a millionaire who struck black gold in Texas, to help her and Stella out of their situation in New Orleans; though Stella says she is not "in something [she] wants to get out of " (Williams 69). The readers later finds out that Shep Huntleigh did not even exist when in Scene X, Blanche slips out that there was no telegram from Shep when Stanley asks her about it. In Scene VII, Blanche was singing the lyrics of the song its Only A Paper Moon: "It's only a paper moon, just as phony as it can be " but it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me " (Williams 100)! These lyrics sums up Blanche's fantasy world as it is what makes her happy and she believes that it does not harm anyone, but ironically harms Mitch " who believed in her lies (when she lies about being "old-fashion ").
Tennesee Williams' Use Of Stage Effects And How They Change A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is mastery of the use of lighting, setting, and sound to add to emotion and meaning to a play. ... It seems that the minor details of music, sound effects, lighting, and setting were actually some of the most important points of A Streetcar Named Desire. ...
The purest language of plays" - just by studying 'A streetcar named Desire" the reader can identity the numerous symbols Williams' uses to add depth to the plot as well as unveil his characters' personalities, strengths and weaknesses. ... "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian fields" (pg 117). ... The symbolism lies in the names of the streetcars and how they're represented in Blanche's life. The streetcar Desire describes her relationship with her young husband, her liaison...
In his essay "The Tragic Downfall of Blanche DuBois," Leonard Berkman determines the catalyst of Blanche DuBois's eventual psychological downfall to the asylum as her constant desire for sex while trying to preserve her dignity, self-regard, and upper class image. ... The essay then blames Blanche's troubles on her fear that eventually having sex will prevent future intimacy. ... It is because of her cultured, old-fashioned ways she treks not from "a streetcar named desire to Elysian Fields", but from desire to dementia. Blanche DuBois's collapse in A Streetcar Named Desire t...
Streetcar Named Desire: Blanche DuBois Throughout the play, Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, I discovered much symbolism. I have decided to focus on one character, in effort to shy away from a lengthy essay. ... Later in the same scene, she describes her trip to New Orleans: "They told me to take a streetcar named desire and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields."" ... When the man in charge, named "Mr. ... Her final destination was "Elysian Fields-. ...
In the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams, there are several prevalent themes. ... This is allegorically represented through Blanche DuBois's riding of the streetcars named Desire and Cemeteries. ... In "A Streetcar Named Desire", Tennessee Williams states that one can not shield himself from the harshness of reality by creating a fantasy alternative. ... Stanley's ability to uncover the truth of Blanche leads to her final downfall. ... Tennessee Williams uses his play "A Streetcar Named Desire" to demonstrate the problem one faces with creating a fantasy. ...
In A Streetcar Named Desire the part that Tennessee Williams' life plays in the text is fairly large. ... His father withdrew him from university to work at the International Shoe Company, where he met Stanley Kowalski, who Tennessee Williams' has plastered all over A Streetcar Named Desire. ... Quoting A Streetcar Named Desire: The Playwright (http://hipp.gator.net/scarplaywright.html): 'He was noted for bringing to his audiences a slice of his own life and the feel of the southern culture. ... A personal interest/experience in the themes/issues and characters would not have...
Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire shows the tensions between reality and fantasy, common sense and imagination, and between male and female. ... In what is Blanche's final line in the play, she says, "Whoever you are-I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" (142). ... She says," They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, then transfer to one called Cemeteries[]get off at Elysian Fields!... Blanche got on Desire, the streetcar and rode it to get to where she wanted to go. ... After the analysis of major characters, it has been determined ...
Streetcar Essay At a glance, the streetcar may appear to be ordinary part of everyday life in New Orleans. ... As stated in the short film Streetcar Stories, "There were friends that you had first met on the streetcar, and there were friends that you only saw on the streetcar." ... While riding the streetcar an elderly man sat next to me and shared with me some of his thoughts about the streetcar. ... When I asked him how the streetcar had affected his life as an individual he stated "the streetcar has made my life easier. ... The streetcar definitely makes New Orleans a unique city. ...
Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire- Tennesse Williams is known as one of the greatest American playwrights. ... Among his most notable and successful plays were "The Glass Menagerie-, which he refers to as "memory play-, "A Streetcar Named Desire-, "The Rose Tatoo- and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof- for which he was appreciated winning the Pulitzer Prize. ... "Streetcar Named Desire- which was firstly entitled "The Poker Night- emerged right after the theatrical success of "The Glass Menagerie- when the authour learned to play poker game. ... The moment Blanche appea...
