A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire Analysis Essay
On Saturday, May 20th, I attended a production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.
This production, put on by the Scottish Ballet at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, offered a simmering
story of sexuality and betrayal. Prior to my viewing of the performance, I sat in on the pre lecture
where I was enlightened on the background of the story and choreographer. A Streetcar Named
Desire is one of the few works to be performed as a play, a movie, and a dance production. The
choreographer of this production, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, was discussed as being an accomplished
artist whose love of jazz and hip hop influenced her creative decisions. The lecturer also touched
upon how Williams' life affected the play.
The character Stanley was said to be modelled on his own father. The story of Streetcar is also
very much affected by the time in which it is set. Because the story takes place two years following
the end of World War II, there is a sense of newfound modernity and resistance to the old ways.
Immediately following the pre lecture, I settled into my seat and noticed how anticipatory the
audience seemed. All guests were obviously excited to attend and experience the production. The
lights dimmed and we were brought into the stately southern home where Blanche Dubois' story
begins. She is garbed in all white and warm, bright lights that gave us a sense of her innocence. We
witness her romance and marriage to Alan and his affair with a man who he met at his wedding.
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Passion In A Streetcar Named Desire
The passion between Stanley and Stella is palpable. That kind of passion that burns hot and intense,
makes people weak with desire. These emotions generate the friction that the couple uses to repeat
their bad behavior throughout the play. Stanley over indulges and becomes drunk, whereas Stella
becomes angry and loud. Stanley then punishes Stella violently, with his fists. Stella retreats to the
neighbor's apartment, only to return to Stanley, and thus, the cycle continues. Blanche is Stella's
sister who is visiting from Mississippi. Blanche has a mental condition that she is trying to hide from
Stanley and Stella. As the story unfolds, Stanley learns several hard truths about Blanche. After
investigating, Stanley tells Stella the truth of

A Streetcar Named Desire Analysis Essay
An outcome in the life of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire that is most obvious to the
audience is her psychological downfall and her subsequent admittance into a mental asylum;
however, the chain reaction of events that occur for her arrive at this outcome are very important to
Blanche's behavior in the story and must be examined in great detail. To begin with, Blanche grows
up as one of two daughters of a French settler living in the southern state of Louisiana, and happens
to be a wealthy plantation owner. Therefore, she was bought up in an aristocraticfamily and was
taught how to live with upper class manners, and as discussed previously, was expected to live
according to the Southern Belle figure. By the time she had reached 16 years of age, Blanche had
already fulfilled the main goal of a Southern Belle by marrying her young love, Allan Grey. However,
this marriage did not last long as through some unfortunate circumstances, she came to find out that
he was a homosexual man. Blanche did not take this news well and condemned his behavior and
sexual orientation, leading to Allan committing suicide, and leaving a psychological wound in her
mind. Following the suicide of Allan, Blanche had to deal with many more unfortunate events such
as the many deaths of relatives, including her parents, abandonment by her sister, and poor decisions
by her distant family which eventually caused her to lose ownership of the family plantation in the
town of Laurel. After all

The Use of Language in A Streetcar Named Desire
Analyse how Tennessee Williams uses language and dramatic techniques to explore attitudes to
identity in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Make close reference Analyse how Tennessee Williams uses
language and dramatic techniques to explore attitudes to identity in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Make
close reference to an extract in the play. Go on to show your understanding of the significance of
attitudes to identity in the play as a whole.
Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' has a full variety of attitudes to identity which are
demonstrated through the various characters. Attitudes to identity are important in the play as it
gives us a background to the character's lives...show more content...
Ideas around the identity of Stanley's character are explored in scene eight. The lexis used in this
scene explores how he sees himself and how he is seen by the other characters. The vocative used
by Blanche and Stella to address Stanley conveys their, especially Blanche's feelings towards him,
'Mr. Kowalski' they say. This vocative seems quite formal spoken in such an informal setting as
their house, and quite out of place, this could show that the women maybe see Stanley as superior,
in the way that he is a man and they feel that they should look up to him. As well as presenting
attitudes to identity, this could also show attitudes to gender and the differences between the roles of
males and females. In this scene, some of Stanley's utterances contain many exclamatories and
interrogatives which seem to make firm statements of what he is saying. For example he says 'that's
how I'll clear the table! Don't ever talk that way to me!', it seems as though he is shouting these
words and this could show his dominating and intimidating character perhaps. Phonology used in
Stanley's utterances could also show his dominating male authority that he feels he has over others,
he seems to shout at Blanche; 'QUIET
IN THERE!', this is intonation of his voice is shown by the use of capital letters.
Stella uses a metaphor to describe Stanley's undesirable behaviour and says that he is 'too busy
making a pig of himself'; this could show that he is not a

Characterization in A Streetcar named Desire
A Street Car Named Desire is a profound play. The play sparks thought and emotion within its
audience and is intensely character driven. There are many characters present throughout the play
both dynamic and static. In this essay I intend to analyze the main character Blanche DuBois and
Stanley Kowalski, how their personalities differ, discuss which of them is the dynamic character and
the static character and how the two character personalities clash over who holds status in the
household and of the other characters in the play. How the struggle for status between them affects
their relationship and brings about the crumbling of Blanche DuBois sanity.
At the beginning of the play, Blanche is already a damaged woman in the eyes of society. She is
socially looked down upon due to her indiscrete sexual behavior, she has lost her husband to
suicide years earlier to which she blames herself and her family estate and money are gone.
Blanche is very insecure and seems to live in a state of constant panic about her fading beauty. Her
insecurities show often through her behavior, displayed through her actions of never wanting to be
in full light, "and put a paper lantern over the light...it isn't enough to be soft. You have to be soft
and attractive" (Williams 113). Blanch steadily brings attention to superficial things such as how she
looks, she often puts down her sister Stella to compensate for her insecurities, for example she

"Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure
instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of
reality against which they are dashed to pieces" (Sigmund Freud). Illusion can be a part of our
lives; however, if taken to the extreme, it can lead one to forget reality. Every individual has
problems in life that must be faced with reality and not with illusion, even though it might throw one
into flames of fires. Tennessee Williams' play of a family reveals the strength of resistance between
reality and desire, judgment and imagination, and between male and female. The idea of reality
versus illusion is demonstrated throughout the play. Blanche's...show more content...
Stella, too, is a major character who lives in a world of hopes and fantasies. Stella's tears over her
sister as Blanche was taken away at the end of play reveals that Stella's fantasies have been crushed
by Stanley's brutality. Stella calls her sister, "Blanche! Blanche! Blanche!"(142) , as if she does not
want to let go of her sister. In spite of the fact that Stanley tried to justify and to relief her, Stella
knows that something acquitted and abandoned had banished. She knows that her happy and humble
world and her sister's hopes had gone. Through her fantasy world, she thinks she could keep her
sister for ever, but fantasy does not always work and makes life appear as it should be rather than
what reality is. Also, Blanche imagines the doctor as a gentleman who is going to rescue her from
a life that she imagines it as a life that does not want to accept her. Blanche finishes the play by
saying, "Whoever you are–I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" (142). Blanche's
irony is demonstrated for two reasons. First of all, the doctor is not a gentleman; he came to take
her to a mental health care. Second of all, strangers are not kind to her; they are kind only for trade
of sex. Instead, they feel sympathy for her for creating a world where she is the victim. Blanche
never perceives stranger's kindness as something that people take advantage of. Instead, she thinks
that Stanley is the one who does not treat her well, although he wanted

A Streetcar Named Desire Essay
Lovedeep Ghotra
ENG4U
Mrs. Valdez
Monday January 5th, 2014
Desire, Death, and the Afterlife The 1951 play A Streetcar Named Desire explores the fate of the
principle characters to which desire leads, as indicated in the title. Desire, in reference to sex is
displayed as a destructive force by the author Tennessee Williams, which leads to a series of tragic
events in the life of Blanche Dubois, the protagonist. She is the character of focus in this play and
has an interesting personality as she uses sex as a means to get away from her haunting past and
keep her sane in terms of suppressing her guilt about her late husband. In addition to the tragic
events that occur in Blanche 's life as a result of her sexual relations, Stanley and Stella Kowalski is a
married couple that share a very sexual relationship and is displayed as the root of success in
maintaining their healthy relationship. Tennessee Williams uses the sexual relationship of Stanley
and Stella Kowalski in comparison to Blanche Dubois to show the duality of sex in the characters
lives. Blanche, a character whose personality is driven by desire is a victim of destruction through
her own sanity and sexual relations; however, Stanley and Stella's relationship explores the likeness
and pleasures of engaging in sex. Their sexual relationship comes into conflict when Blanche,
Stella's sister goes to visit her, ultimately disrupting their relationship in terms of their sex life. Early
on in the play sex is portrayed

Themes in A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire is a pessimistic work that is the "culmination of a view of life in which
evil, or at least undiminished insensitivity, conquers throughout no matter what the protagonistic
forces do"(Szeliski 69). In other words, sensitive individuals all meet a similar fate–crushed under the
heels of those who lack sensitivity.
This play is about Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main themes of the drama concern her directly. In
Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds–the past world of the
Southern gentlewoman and the present world of crudeness and decay–unwilling to let go of the past
and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with...show more content...
She knows she is an anachronism in an alien world and yet she will not compromise. She cannot
and will not surrender the dream she has of herself, and even though she wants desperately not to
be lonely, it is precisely the clinging to this dream, the airs, mannerisms and sense of herself,
which alienate her further. She is trapped in a terrifying contradiction. Her need to be special, to
adhere to codes and a tradition no longer valid, creates an intense isolation, while simultaneously
her desire to not be alone, to be loved, threatens to break through this isolation. It not only threatens,
but does break through. Betrayed by love once in her life, she nevertheless seeks it in the effort to
fill the lonely void; thus, her promiscuity. But to adhere to her tradition and her sense of herself as a
lady, she cannot face this sensual part of herself. She associates it with the animalism of Stanley's
love–making and terms it "brutal desire". She feels guilt and a sense of sinfulness when she does
surrender to it, and yet she does, out of intense loneliness. By viewing sensuality as brutal desire
she is able to disassociate it from what she feels is her true self, but only at the price of an intense
inner conflict. Since she cannot integrate these conflicting elements of desire and gentility, she tries
to reject the one, desire, and live solely by the other. Desperately seeking a haven she looks
increasingly to fantasy. Taking refuge in tinsel, fine

Film Analysis Of A Streetcar Named Desire
Gustavo Martinez
10/3/17
Period 3
Streetcar Film Analysis Elia Kazan directed the film A Streetcar Named Desire and produce by
Warner Brothers in 1951. The novel was originally written by Tennessee Williams and promoted
as a play in 1947 and turned into a film later through out its success . The awards received were
the Pulitzer price award in 1948 and was nominated for best motion picture, best writing and screen
play. The novel was basically about a former English school teacher named Blanche Dubois (played
by Vivien Leigh), who decided to join her sister at her house, Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter) and her
husband Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) in New Orleans. During Blanche is at Stanley's and
Stella's home, Blanche is trying to...show more content...
Movie acting is different than stage acting because they have to be prepared to cut scenes out and
from couple different angles and voice directly into the camera. The actors only learn the lines
from the scene they are doing at the time instead of knowing them all. It is also not shot in the
order it is seen in because they don't want to be going back and forth from location to location, so
they shoot all the scenes that is needed at a certain location. They also have to take more than one
shot per scene because maybe they want different angles or someone may have messed up. A
perfect example of movie vs. stage acting is the scene where Stanley yells out STELLA! Because
he harmed her so she left with Eunice and he goes after her to apologize but has to get her attention
by screaming her name out until she came out to talk to him. This scene must have been much
easier for the film because the director and actors don't have to worry about messing up they can
just retake a scene and they can adjust it to their desire. While stage acting the actors have to deal
with an audience watching their every move and if they mess up they don't have another chance.
Maybe the actor didn't project their voice enough for everyone to hear them. They also might lose
their voice from the very intense screaming. As well as forgetting a line on stage and embarrassing

A Streetcar Named Desire: A Short Story
"No," he said, a calm to his voice not unlike that at the centre of a storm. Desire, akin to a howling,
vengeful wind, raged at the periphery, threatening to break in, eager to corrupt. But his mind, for
some reason, wouldn't allow it. And so, bestowed with a remarkably even temper, Marco saw
through the trick that had duped him before. The disapproval she wanted to batter him with,
thorough as it was, did not exist in the one place where it could have made the most impact. Eva
might have wrenched the heat of her core away and lashed at him with unkind sentiments but she
had forgotten to let her eyes be apprised of her plans. And so they were excellent mirrors, reflecting
an impure, seething intent. With distance now between them, Marco set out to exploit it. He didn't
particularly like it, couldn't help but feel it, even though it was truly small enough that most might
not even have registered, and so decided to do something about it. And besides, he had just received
instruction that his hand needed to go. Fortunately, it didn't include the specifics of where....show
more content...
She can savour freedom, though secretly he hoped it was despised with unmatched fervour. After
all, the entire point behind sending him a country or two away was to test his resolve, and upon
his return, it had seemed like he had learnt his lesson. He'd defied, and defiled, authority oh so very
well. Right up to this very point where his cock had been foraging for the entrance to the most
forbidden pussy. And that is where he placed his unwelcome touch now. On her pretty, bare flesh. "Is
that better, mummy?" he asked, with a bit of a crude little

A Streetcar Named Desire
In "A Streetcar Named Desire", Tennessee Williams leaves a large amount of stage direction to the
actor and the director. The choices in the performance made by the latter can neither be right nor
wrong, as there are so many options open for artistic interpretation. The extract from Scene three is
no exception and within the dialogue there are numerous suggestions for explanation of characters,
music, setting and forewarning for the audience.
"The game is still going on" (page 144). The opening quote of this extract is key in foreshadowing
the events of the poker night scene. It refers not only to the game Blanche plays with Stanley by
belittling and flirting with him but also makes reference to Scene two ..."Lay...her cards on...show
more content...
These differing personalities haul the two characters into a combat of determination, and should be
captured by the highly conflicting styles of the two actors.
The self–interested and pretentious discussion prior to Stella and Blanche's entry, too foreshadows
cultural conflict and chaos. Stella's entrance into her house is done with a new found confidence,
one essentially derived from her outing with Blanche, and her time away from Stanley. Immediately
as Blanche and Stella enter the room, a gruff atmosphere is imminent, and it feels as though Stella is
not welcome, even in her own home.
Blanche's comment "Please don't get up" (page 145) is laughable. It is such a prima donna
statement to make. If she was in fact as superior to the rest as she insinuates, she would not even
bother to be so high and mighty considering the type of people she is dealing with.
More often than not, Stanley is the one in total control of the space and the situation. I see him as
both taller and stronger than Blanche and Stella. In terms of physicality of the characters, the power
arrangement and spatial relationship has switched, and explains some of the confidence that Stella
discharged. Blanche and Stella are outnumbered by the men, but it is only Stanley who is involved
in the conversation, and he becomes increasingly aggressive. He is seated and involved in his poker
game, his dominance is not

The Voice In A Streetcar Named Desire
Voices: The voices heard at the beginning of the scene are very calm. The actors are enjoying
themselves, but are unaware of the shocking events that are about to take place. As soon as the car
lands in their path, there is a sudden change in the actors' voices. The voices go from being calm
and relaxed, to panicked and terrified. This is amplified even more when one of the girls get shot by
the motorcyclist.

Scene One of A Streetcar Named Desire Essay
Scene One of A Streetcar Named Desire
What is the dramatic significance of scene one of the play A Streetcar named Desire?
Scene 1 of this play has great dramatic significance. In this essay, I will be looking at key points
throughout the scene that reveal the key features of the plot, characters, theme and imagery plus
how it is used to give the audience a taster for what is to come.
Scene one is set in New Orleans, I feel this is used because in peoples mind beforehand it has a
strong emotional presence and is often associated with many types of genres such as music. Sight
and smell are often used in plays to help people get a sense of atmosphere and this is no exception.
Cleverly as always to make something stand
out...show more content...
Stanley does not fall for her intimidating and self – pitying ways from the death of her husband and
the lies of her wealth, the use of polka is premeditated to knowingly be brought to the audience that
only they and Blanche hear it due to her change in mood and actions. The contrast between Stanley
and Blanche is immediate, due to their opposition of childhood backgrounds, Blanche coming from
an aristocratic background to the less well off Stanley who is a relaxed man with strong beliefs and
up until the arrival of
Blanche he knew the true meaning of living(loving and caring for those you love) which when
Blanche arrived made him take out his stress on
Stella.
There is already a lot of things to take in for the audience, even though it can be broken down quite
simply, they soon realise the contrasting opposites of Blanche and Stanley and the current and future
rifts it is likely to cause between Stanley and Stella. We see that Stella is becoming the middle–link
between these two characters.
On top of the contrast between Stanley and Stella there is now an extra aspect of Blanche's true
deception. This is first shown when
Blanche, who is offered whiskey from Stanley, comments that she does not like to touch a glass,
even though the audience have clearly seen her drink a glass alone while Stanley is not in the room.
They realise her misleading self – I say this

Themes in A Streetcar Named Desire Essay
The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of
the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two
worlds–the world of the past and the world of the present–unwilling to let go of the past and unable,
because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her
destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death
of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with
her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she
had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe...show more content...
It not only threatens, but also breaks through. Betrayed by love once in her life, she nevertheless
seeks it in the effort to fill the lonely void; thus, her promiscuity. But to adhere to her tradition and
her sense of herself as a lady, she cannot face this sensual part of herself. She associates it with the
animalism of Stanley's lovemaking and terms it "brutal desire". She feels guilt and a sense of sin
when she does surrender to it, and yet she does, out of intense loneliness. By viewing sensuality as
brutal desire she is able to disassociate it from what she feels is her true self, but only at the price
of an intense inner conflict. Since she cannot integrate these conflicting elements of desire and
gentility, she tries to reject the one, desire, and live solely by the other. Desperately seeking a haven
she looks increasingly to fantasy. Taking refuge in tinsel, fine clothes, and rhinestones, and the
illusion that a beau is available whenever she wants him, she seeks tenderness and beauty in a world
of her own making.
Blanche is not really lost in illusions; rather she uses them as camouflage. She wears them as she
wears her clothes and her glass necklaces, as protection from a reality that she finds horrifying.
One must not think of Blanche as just a fragile, delicate blossom. There is a fierce desire in her for
life at any cost. Her masquerade may

Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar named Desire is a play written by Tennessee Williams in which there are many
symbols that point the reader towards a character's true nature. The play is about Blanche
DuBois, who is an individual trapped between the world of the past and the world of the present.
She cannot face the realities of her life and eventually her desire drives her to insanity. In this play
Williams shows where desire can drive a person and explains that desire fills a person's emptiness
when no one is affectionate towards them. In the beginning of the play, Blanche is seen speaking to
Eunice and a Negro woman as she arrives to Elysian Fields. She took a streetcar and states "They
told me to take a street–car named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries,...show more
content...
Blanche tries to explain to Stella that after all the violence she has suffered from Stanley she
should not be with him. Blanche would always find negative aspects in Stella's life because she
was in denial of her own life. By finding negative aspects in others lives, she believed that the life
she wanted was better. Stella was happy in her relationship with Stanly and says to Blanche "I am
not in anything that I have a desire to get out of" (65). Throughout the play Stanley has been seen
as an abusive man towards Stella, but Stella acts as if he is the perfect man. Their relationship is
mainly based on sexual desire instead of love. Stella is drawn to Stanley's brute sexuality and he is
drawn to her traditional sexuality. Even though Stanley is violent towards Stella, their sexual
relationship keeps them together which happens when there is no love in the heart. Many
relationships during that time period were based on physical desire and Williams shows that sexual
fulfillment was the center of life. While describing their relationship, Williams uses different
language choices; for example he uses discourse when Stanley speaks to Stella to show that he is
always in control. Williams also uses dramatic techniques to explain their relationship and he uses
specific adjectives to show the characters state of mind. The relationship depicted by Tennessee
Williams is showing a male dominating over the female, which was common in society back then.
Stella's submission and obedience to Stanley explains the treatment of woman back then in the
South. Back then when a husband abused their wife, they would get back together, have sex, and act
as if nothing had happened. With Stanley's and Stella's relationship, Williams shows that sex is the
answer to all

The play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams examines the theme of both death and
desire. Williams presents the only options of life as being one of these two options. Either you
choose to figuratively die or you succumb to your desires. You must make to choice and life and
battle death and go towards desire. These themes are antitheses of one another and are often times
intertwined together. Williams uses the characters actions and thoughts as well as contrasts between
them to develop this central theme. The theme of death vs desire can clearly be seen in several
quotes throughout the play. Early on in scene one is where the theme of death and desire is first
presented. When Blanche first arrives she says that she took, "a street–car named Desire,...show more
content...
1). The meaning of this quote is that the streetcar which is named desire led her to Elysian Fields
which is the heaven after death. We can see that this quote is explaining that desire led brought
her to death. It represents Blanche following her desires sexually to this point in life and was then
exiled from her hometown because of it which will now cause her to live in a pagan heaven with
Stanley and Stella where she must reflect on her life and view the repercussions of her actions
back in Laurel. Another example of desire leading to death in this play is when Blanche is
explaining what happened to Belle Reve. She explains that, "improvident grandfathers and father
and uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their epic fornications," which eventually led to the
loss of the plantation (44; sc. 2). Again we can see the sexual desires of her ancestors was the cause
of the loss or death of their plantation. A large driving force for Blanche's actions was the death of
her husband which can also be related back to this theme. When Blanche found her husband with
another man, her husband, "stuck the revolver into his mouth, and fired–so that the back of his head
had been–blown away!" (115; sc.

A Streetcar Named Desire Extract Essay
The extract I have chosen is from the play – "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. It
was published in 1947 and is based in New Orleans, LA. Blanche DuBois is the protagonist and
Stanley Kowalski is the antagonist. The genre of the play is Psychological Drama. I will be
analyzing the opening scene, and present how the characters and their relationships have a social or
aesthetic significance. Scene one is vital as it brings the entire play into context and introduces us to
the characters, hence giving us an initial impression of them. It also provides a vivid description of
the setting that helps the audience understand the lifestyle of the characters. 1947, the time period
where women were expected to have delicate angel like...show more content...
Blanche and Stella's exchange in scene one shows Blanche's disapproval for Stella's living choices.
Her first comment on the house – "This – can this be – her home?" instantly shows her disbelief and
shock. She considers herself to be of a higher standard than Stella's modest accommodation.
Although, the situation is ironic since Blanche herself is now broke and living off of promiscuity,
but in order to increase her superiority and self–confidence, Blanche constantly puts Stella down.
When she says – "Why didn't you let me know", "Why, that you had to live in these conditions!"
she assumes Stella is unhappy with her life just because she isn't living a materialistic life like
herself. All her life, Blanche has been living an upper–class life, and hence finds the idea of having
something even a little less posh as appalling. She also creates the idea of difference in class
while interacting with Eunice. She replies to her in a very clipped and impolite manner in order
to get rid of her. She could consider herself to be superior to Eunice due to their difference in
upbringing. We also see this difference when Eunice describes Belle Reve (The plantation Stella
and Blanche grew up at) as ' A great big place with big white columns'– her awe and admiration
brings out the class

Streetcar and Students A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is an appropriate study
for grade 12 students as it highlights one's need to face reality. In addition, the play shows that the
need to face reality inherently affects one's relationship with the world. It also exemplifies how the
past has a way of coming back with more fight and fury. For instance, and perhaps most powerfully,
this play addresses heavy topics such as abuse and trauma, though most interestingly how the
characters cope with such issues. As already alluded to, one's view of the world inherently affects
one's relationship with it. The character Stella has seen the world for what it is, she is no longer a
sheltered southern belle. Hence, she is aware of what

In the decades after the WWI there was this concept of the 'American Dream' that most people
tried to achieve; having a career, owning your own home, and having a lot of money. The social
norms consisted of a family with two parents and a child. Moreover, the father had to be the
breadwinner and the mother was a stay–at–home mom. Because of the concept of the 'American
Dream' both Tennessee Williams andEdward Albee's plays criticize the American ideals about
relationships and family life.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams criticizes theAmerican way of life. The story is
about Blanche who flies her hometown in Laurel, Mississippi to go and live with her sister in New
Orleans. There Blanche finds out that her live is far from perfect. One of the critical points is the
fact that there was a homosexual character that killed himself, Blanche's late husband. In this period
in time homosexuality was a taboo. Blanche was a widow because her husband committed suicide
and that is not an ideal of family life....show more content...
In Tennessee Williams' play it is clear that Blanche is represented as a woman who wants to fit in.
She and her late husband did not fit in society and Blanche lost her way when Allan committed
suicide. Williams is trying to say that there is a whole hidden world with people who do not fit
in, and he is bringing these people forward. On the other hand there is the family of George and
Martha, who try to be the perfect family for outsiders but inside they are not so perfect, beginning
with the fact that Martha cannot have children. So they can never live up to the dream of the
'perfect family.' There are problems with the 'American Dream,' and both Williams and Albee
criticize on the 'real' families. But the difference between the plays is that Williams is criticizing the
relationships between individual persons while Albee is more focused on the idea of

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois
who is in misplaced circumstances. Her life is lived through fantasies, the remembrance of her lost
husband and the resentment that she feels for her brother–in–law, Stanley Kowalski. Various moral
and ethical lessons arise in this play such as: Lying ultimately gets you nowhere, Abuse is never
good, Treat people how you want to be treated, Stay true to yourself and Don't judge a book by its
cover. A very important moral lesson that I gained fromA Streetcar Named Desire is to always tell
the truth. Telling lies ultimately got Blanche Dubois nowhere. She was lonelier than ever at the end
of the play. She starts off lying intentionally. For...show more content...
She even tells Mitch that she doesn't tell the truth, she tells what ought to be truth. So Blanche is
aware that she is lying and continues to do it, which end the end causes grief for her.
Never abuse anyone is another moral and ethical lesson that I discovered in this play. Stanley is
very abusive towards Stella. Stella forgives Stanley and she feels as if nothing is wrong with
going back to an abusive man. During one of Stanley's poker nights, he is so drunk that when he
becomes mad, he charges after Stella. She makes excuses for this act by saying, "He didn't know
what he was doing... He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he's really very, very
ashamed of himself" (Williams 72). By Stella going back to Stanley every time he abuses her, she
will never grow as a person. We learn that this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened
when Eunice, their neighbor yells to Stanley, "I hope they do haul you in and turn the fire hose
on you, same as the last time" (Williams 66). Stanley is also abusive towards Blanche when he
rapes her. Stanley's abusiveness and alcoholism is a major problem, yet it is never cured. Blanche
tries to talk to Stella about it the night after he beats her by saying "You're married to a madman",
but she just brushes it off (Williams 73). Stella tells Blanche, "I am not in anything that I have a
desire to get out of" (Williams 74). The fact that nobody wants to

A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

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