...Insanity of Blanche Dubois The movie “A Streetcar Named Desire” contains many elements of insanity. The character that displays the most tragic insanity is Blanche Dubois. Blanche is from Laurel, Mississippi were she loses her home Belle Reve, after the death of her relatives. She then travels to her sister’s home where her actions lead her to insanity. She goes to her sister home as a fallen woman of society. She has a difficult time distinguishing between what is real and what is fantasy. Blanche Dubois is a complex individual who provokes strong reactions from other characters. The main factors are her lying, drinking and infatuations with men. Unfortunately, these actions drive her to the final breaking point and lead her to an insane asylum. Upon her arrival to Elysian Fields, Blanche is unimpressed with the surroundings. Here she hopes to escape her poor life and bad reputation. As she enters the apartment, she meets Eunice who leads her to her sister’s apartment. Stella and her husband Stanley arrive home, and Stella greets her sister warmly. She leads her sister to believe she is one who has never lived indignantly. Blanche is not there long before she begins to lie to her sister to make herself seem better. She leads her to believe she is there on a leave of absence from her job as a school teacher. However, the reality is that she was fired for having relations with a seventeen year old boy. Blanche also reveals that her family home, Belle Reve, has been lost...
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...Many plays and books have been adapted into a movie. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, is one of the plays who have been made into a movie. It takes place in the 1940s in New Orleans. The main character in the movie is Blanche DuBois, a women with a questionable behavior. In A streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is described in detail through symbolism by drunkenness, light, and music. Drunkenness is one of the most obvious symbolisms in the movie. It represents escape for Blanche when things go wrong or she feels uncomfortable. When she firsts arrives to New Orleans, she finds herself at a bowling alley, and orders drinks so she can explain where she believes she has been. The same thing occurred when Mitch confronts Blanche...
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...code of behavior than men ever have”. Throughout history, women have often been viewed as the “weaker” gender and have been expected to behave a certain way. Women are seen as submissive and docile because of societal expectations, these expectations eventually became the societal norm. This “norm”, according to Sigmund Freud, is the repression of several archaic and primitive desires. Females have often had to repress these desires more than males. Males have been the dominating species throughout history and have expected women to repress their nature. For the most part, females kept their place in society and played their role but there were some who broke the norm. There have been serious consequences for females who have attempted to liberate themselves, especially when they attempt to do so sexually. Females have the ability to achieve their sexual liberation despite the patriarchal societies in which they live. Two females which have attempted to achieve sexual liberation are Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar named Desire. Both Hester Prynne and Blanche Dubois’s attempts to achieve sexual liberation were hindered by the patriarchal societies in which they lived in; making only one of them successful. The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850, takes place in the late 17th century in Massachusetts. At this time Massachusetts is a Puritan colony. A Puritan, according to Oxford Dictionaries, is a member of a group of English Protestants...
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...described as the New South where people are always intermingling in a diverse manner. People in the Old South speak exceptionally formal and precise, as opposed to the slang that has been picked up in the New South. There are many reasons that contrast just how different these two eras became. The decay of the old south is present in A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams. Blanche and Stella’s ancestors were wealthy plantation owners. In the old south majority of people were farmers. Although Blanche and Stella inherited everything from their ancestors, they didn’t have enough income to keep it all. They ended up selling all of it besides a small portion in which their ancestor’s graves laid. During the 1940’s in New Orleans, there is a constant theme of how society and class effects Americans in this era. A Streetcar Named Desire deals with these class differences in an abnormal way. At one point of view is a disappearing Southern belle that has outdated ideals about the upper class and those “beneath” her social class or rank. Neither Stanley nor Stella, put social class into concern when regarding their relationship. Both characters are exempt from their class boundaries all together. Since Stella is a southern belle and has qualities from the old South, its ideals almost seem as if it’s...
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...Characters Blanche DeBois: * Around the age of 30 * from Mississippi, an aging southern belle(panics about her fading beauty) * lost Belle Reve(DeBpis family home) and her young husband(gay, she announced her disgust at his homosexuality suicide marks the end of Blanche’s sexual innocence) * drinking problem * Stella’s older sister * moves into the Kowalski home in New Orleans * destitute * has had many lovers (strong sexual urges) self-esteem depends on many for happiness * avoids reality(snobbery hide her poverty and indignity) * throughout the play her self-image and sanity crumble End: Stanley rapes her(destroys rest of mental and sexual esteem) and commits her to an asylum Stella Kowalski: * Around the age of 25 * Blanche’s younger sister * Mild character * Married to Stanley Kowalski (robust sexual relationship violent and renewing) and pregnant * Torn between her sister and her husband (stands by Stanley in the end) Stanley Kowalski: * Stella’s husband * Working-class * Example of vital force * Loyal to friends (Steve, Pablo, Mitch), passionate to Stella, cruel to Blanche * Polish ancestry( represents new heterogeneous America Blanche doesn’t belong to them, she is from an old social hierachy) * Fought in WW2 * Wishes to destroy Blanche’s social life * Beats his wife and rapes Blanche (BUT no remorse and still the proud family man) * Doesn’t like Blanche because...
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...one character in it for whom I have a physical dewire." In the light of this comment, discuss the role of desire in the play. There are many moments in the play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' where Blanche DuBois and desire are inextricably linked. Indeed, she arrives in Elysian Fields after taking a streetcar named desire. One critic has said that the journey which Blanche takes to get to her sisters apartment on a streetcar named Desire and and then changing to a streetcar named Cemetries reflects her overall journey through life. For example, in her youth she rode on her desires and during as well as after the play takes place, she changes to a morbid route, described as "Cemetries". In some sense, her quest for desire was as short lived as her tram ride. Another moment where the idea of desire is evident is when Stanley tells Stella that "I (he) am the king around here, so don't forget it." which reflecs his desire to have power and control over everyone in his 'domain'. This is one moment in the play where Stanley's true controlling ideas are shown to the audience. Through Stanley, Williams presents us with the idea that he is one who has achieved his desrie of being unnapposed in his society. An example of this is at the end of the play where Stanley isn't held accountable for a crime he has committed (the rape of Blanche) and his life goes back to how it was at the beginning of the story with him keeping control of his life and the lives of the surrounding characters. This...
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...is a successful adaptation of the play “Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams. Blue Jasmine presents Jasmine, main character, living in an entitled world who falls into nothingness due to the affair and the investment scheme of her husband. She, therefore, moves into her adopted sister, Ginger’s apartment situated in the downscale San Francisco. In hopes of starting a fresh life, Jasmine enters a job in a Dentist Office; however, she encounters frustration from the patients and harassment from her boss, Dr. Flickr. Jasmine finally quits the job, and instead seeks to find a man for a peace in her life. Although she finds a man, Dwight, she loses him due to her false reality and lies just like Blanche,...
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...addition, at this time, women had to keep their virginity to have a chance to get married. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is placed in the picturesque French Quarter in New Orleans. The play starts when Blanche DuBois comes in New Orleans to visit her sister Stella after she lost the family plantation Belle-Reve because of money problems. She then meets her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, a World War II veteran. As soon as they meet each other, a mistrustful rivalry starts between them. A Streetcar Named Desire depicts the conflict between two opposing views as a poker game between Blanche and Stanley for control. From the beginning of the play, Williams starts distinguishing Stanley and Blanche by their mentalities. In fact, Blanche has the Old South mentality. She grew up in a plantation where she learnt how to behave as an aristocrat whereas her brother-in-law is an industrial and a Polish immigrant representing the New South. Blanche is described as delicate and fragile whereas Stanley is rude and violent. Blanche lives in a world of illusion. She acts as a queen and wants the men to treat her like it. Unlike Blanche, Stanley lives in a rude world, a world where if a person are strong enough physically and mentally, he or she can succeed. In addition, Williams opposes Stanley and Blanche by their description. First of all, he opposes their names. While Blanche means “white” in French and seems to represent innocence, Kowalski means “blacksmith” and represents...
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...Allan Grey JQ Excelsior Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and Kazan’s film adaptation shared not only the same characters, but also the same themes, reactions and other literary techniques Williams had created throughout his play. However, for Elia Kazan to have produced the film, some scenes were eliminated or changed to fit what was known as the Hay’s Code. One of the scenes that was not so much vital to the play, was when Blanche DuBois explains to Mitch about her ex-husband. Allan Grey, Blanche’s ex husband, was found in bed with another man and by no other than his wife, Blanche herself. In the play both Blanche and Allan pretended that nothing happened after that night. Allan was probably being tortured and was already fragile as Blanche describes him, “There was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and tenderness which wasn’t like a man’s, although he wasn’t the least bit effeminate looking- still- that thing was there…” (Williams 95). That along with a deadly silence put upon him was more than Allan could bare. After, one night, they all three went out and were conveniently drunk. In the middle of dancing at a casino, Blanche had brought up what had happened. She expressed herself about Allan’s doings and how she felt about them to him. Allan had then ran out on her and a bit after, a shot was heard. This was told to our readers towards the end of scene six of Williams play. Blanche had not taken into consideration the way Allan was feeling...
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...Blanche: A sympathetic Character she is Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire" is a character that throughout the play stirs all type of emotions. It can be difficult when trying to figure out if someone is a sympathetic character or not. With that being said despite the flaws that Blanche possesses she is still a sympathetic character. This can be supported examining the play. The beginning of the play Blanche automatically generates sympathy, as she is portrayed as the Southern wealthy woman who has a problem speaking to a black person in a normal manner. She has lost the family home Belle Reve and all the family members have died. She has come to stay with her sister Stella and brother in law Stanley (Williams 2191). This quote generates much sympathy for the character that have watched everyone die alone. “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! So big with it, it couldn't be put in a coffin! But had to be burned like rubbish! You just come home in time for the funerals, Stella. And funerals are pretty compared to deaths. Funerals are quiet, but deaths–not always( )” Blanche goes on a spree trying to turn Stella against Stanley throughout the play. During Scene 4 Blanche is desperate to turn them against each other. She says to Stella: "He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits. Stella cruelly rejects Blanche, in favor of Stanley. Stella ignores Blanche...
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...of Blanche tragic life Abstract : As one of the most important play writers of America after the World War Ⅱ, Tennessee Williams won lots of theatrical awards for his masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire. As a result, Blanche, the heroine in the play, had been the focus point of the critics. This thesis tries to analyze profoundly the cause of the tragedy of Blanche from several aspects .As Williams T concluded, ‘The heroine Blanche was struggling between reality and fantasy, finally, her spirit was broken drastically under the beat of ruthless reality. She was the typical weak woman and victim in the patriarchal society. Her tragedy shows that the woman can’t escape the control of the typical patriarchal society in any case of resistances.’(Williams, 2).Some of William’s points will be elaborated in this paper which includes four parts. Chapter one serves as an “introduction”, which gives a general review of main characters in the novel. Chapter two, “Character of Blanche” ,Blanche’s being trapped by the conventionality; Blanche’s illusion about men; Blanche’s illusion about herself; her husband’s suicide; Stanley’s rude behavior and sense of dominance; Stella’s betrayal; Mitch’s desertion and the cold realistic world. In conclusion, it is the Blanche’s illusion about men ,herself and cruelty of Stanley that mainly causes her tragedy. Keywords: tragedy conventionality illusion 1．Introduction 1.1 Review of the protagonist In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named...
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...superficial facade. Since the beginning of time, humans have always stumbled on a boarder between appearance and reality, using deception to mask weaknesses and obscure the harsh eye of society. By examining A Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath the deception humans use in order to appear stronger in society are revealed. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, there is a dominant theme of deception portrayed by the three main characters in the play. Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski, and Blanche DuBois all have simple personalities that are extremely skewed by the end of the book. Stella states "I'm not in anything I want to get out of," (Williams, 74). This gives Blanche a huge reality check, because someone she adores has accepted such an average life, and has given up in her pursue for perfection, even if most of it is imaginary. This deception also plays a huge role in Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, through a continuos series of twists throughout the book and hidden motifs, that cannot be seen by the reader until the characters themselves accept the truth or the meaning behind it. The character traits that seem to define the characters in this play, are also their largest deceptions. "CLAUDIO -Can...
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...Character comparisons; Comparing two characters, one from Streetcar Named Desire and another from Death of a Salesman Streetcar Named Desire Blanche Du Bois In the Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois is first introduced having dressed in white and symbolizing chastity and innocence. As sensitive, aristocratic, and refined as it is, the beauty depicts an appearance resembling a moth. Blanche comes from a background that is aristocratic. Her job, as an English teacher, as well as her home are all lost and in turn, she comes to stay in her sister’s house for a while, Stella, who stays with her husband Stanley, a coarse polish. Her lover passed away and since then she has changed her life completely. Blanche is seen to be a misfit in the apartment of Kowalski due to her nervous and refined nature. Blanche has spent the rest of her life in Laurel with her family that had aristocratic roots and from which she learned the finer things and issues in life. She is incapable of coping with the life outside Laurel, a life that gives her a lesson on how a tragic event can participate in ruining the future. She is flighty and unrealistic because she refuses to move out of the time warp and hence get used to the real world. As young as sixteen, she slobbers in love with a sensitive boy, whom she worships and elopes with. According to her understanding and believe, life with Allan had turned sheer bliss. However, her faith turns fully shattered as she realizes that he was bisexual degenerate...
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...A Streetcar Named Desire I strongly agree with Brown’s assertion that Williams’ text A Streetcar Named Desire is relevant to study in 2013. In this essay I will explore some important issues that are seen in the text and today in 2013 in order to prove my stand. To begin, I will address the issue of domestic violence, which permeates all the relationships in the play. Secondly I will discuss the issue of loneliness and a need for love. I will also analyse the life of illusion that Blanche leads and the issue of alcohol as it pertains to Blanche and the men. A major issue in the play is that of domestic violence, a fact that makes the play relevant to modern audiences. There are a number of incidents involving domestic violence throughout the play. It is Stanley who states that “every man is a king and I am the king around here.” It is his need for dominance that makes him believe that he can throw the radio out of the window because Blanche refuses to switch it off. Williams takes great pains to describe Stanley’s sense of dominance as seen in the words “richly feathered male bird among hens.” Stanley represents the violence of the real world. He is physical and is often associated with animalistic imagery. He is described, “Baying like a hound, bellows his wife’s name.” Blanche also associates Stanley with the brutes, “don’t hang with the brutes.” But violence is not limited to the Kowalski’s alone. Eunice threatens Steve saying, “You hit me! I’m gonna call the police.” Stanley...
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...A street The character of Blanche Dubois in the story of A Streetcar Named Desire is considered a tragic protagonist for the various conflicts she is suffering both internally and externally. It is mainly her self-delusion that ultimately leads to her destruction and the reason she is committed to an insane asylum. From the very beginning of the play we can tell that Blanche is being standoffish and not revealing everything. For instance, Blanche tells her sister in scene one that she’s simply taking a leave of absence from her job as a schoolteacher. In reality Blanche has been fired from her position and was basically run out of the town she is from because of her scandalous behavior. Blanche has been lying to so many people for so long, she can no longer can see the delineation between fantasy and reality. Blanche’s husband’s death at his own hands causes her a great deal of anxiety and guilt. We realize she is most haunted by that scene of her husband’s suicide, and that the memory is present by the sound of the polka music and then the sound of a gunshot. The death of all her older relatives and the loss of the family mansion Belle Reve contribute further to her mental instability. The struggle between Blanche and her brother in law Stanley Kowalski are a major focal point of A Streetcar Named Desire; almost immediately after meeting Blanche, Stanly has formed an opinion of her and doesn’t hold back from letting it be known how he feels about her. Stanley is a workingman...
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