In spite of Blanche’s past life, her deceit, and her artificiality, most readers tend to sympathize with and align themselves with her. How can this emotional reaction (or attachment) toward Blanche be explained?
Where do you consider Williams' final view toward illusion and reality lie? Does he align himself with Stanley's reality and brutal honesty, or with Blanche's illusion and deceit?
Stanley represents the American Dream that all men are born equal and can succeed equally, whilst Blanche represent the old world, where class and race are still important issues. The tensions in the play come partly from this cultural conflict--the worlds of Stanley and Blanche are so opposed that neither can understand each other. Where do Williams’ sympathies lie? Are either of the characters fully endorsed? If not, why not?
“His plays deal consistently with a serious theme—self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its grip and will not let them get on with their lives.” Do you think this statement can be applied to A Streetcar Named Desire?
Williams viewed the characters he created as “my little company of the faded and the frightened, the difficult, the odd, the lonely.” Do you think this statement can be applied to A Streetcar Named Desire?
Discuss the view that A Streetcar Named Desire is a play concerned with the conflict between the values of the old world and the new, and that this conflict is expressed through the battle between Stanley and Blanche.
“In A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams traces several styles of life, each to its poetic termination: that of Blanche, that of Stanley, and that of the indifferent Stella.” In the light of this statement, discuss Williams’ characterization of these three figures in the play, showing what “style of life” you think each of them embodies and what kind of “poetic termination” Williams provides for each of them.
“ ‘His plays deal consistently with a serious theme - self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its grip and will not let them get on with their lives.’ Do you think that this statement can be applied to Streetcar?”
This statement can definitely be applied to “Streetcar”, especially in the character in Blanche. Blanche’s memories remain with her, and this is depicted very obviously by playwright Tennessee Williams. Williams emphasizes what a strong hold Blanche’s past has on her present partly through stage directions. For example, whenever Blanche is remembering her husband’s death a polka tune plays in the background as if it were in Blanche’s head, then ends with the bang of a gun. Blanche’s reactions to Stanley’s reference to her deceased husband - practically being sick - support this concept as well. The way in which Blanche’s past constantly catches up with her, even at her “sanctuary” of Blanche’s last option of living with her sister, shows this as well. Stanley delves into her promiscuous past and reveals all to Stella and Mitch, thus bringing about Blanche’s ultimate destruction. This is in contrast to Stella, who seems to move on with her life quite smoothly: she abandons their home Belle Reve and marries a commoner, entering a new class of society and a lower standard of living. Stella does this out of love (or desire) for Stanley, thus Williams could be suggesting a hint of truth at Blanche’s illusionary world of happy love that Blanche so believes in. Stella, at least, was able to escape from her past life at Belle Reve which Blanche so wanted to forget as well.
How do Blanche’s many baths influence the action of the drama?
Through "Streetcar", Blanche baths herself. However, from a critic's perspective it can be seen as more than simply an action. "Bathing" is seen by the audience as a re-occurring symbol or motif, that has a deeper meaning.
Her licentious past has only added hysteria and peculiarity to Blanche's character. As a result, she often seeks time to relax and soothe herself, thus creating a constant need to take baths. In other words, these baths calm her nerves--they ease her mind that has been troubled by her past. In light of her efforts to wash away her controversial past in New Orleans, these baths represent her efforts to cleanse herself of her promiscuous history.
However, much like her past, her bathing is never done. The fact that a simple action, such as bathing, cannot be done, represents Blanche's inability to sustain a normal life.
Her failure to cleanse herself, literally and figuratively, has two main functions. The first, being that it evokes pathos for Blanche. In spite of the lack of physical drama in the play, the audience is still exposed to a considerable amount of action, in the form of Blanche's character and her reactions. Many audience members find themselves sympathizing with Blanche, as they either see parts of themselves in her, or see her as a victim of the modern world. Therefore, one of main conflicts in the play is within the audience itself, and thus creates overall instability that is reflected in Blanche's destruction. The second function is that it allows Stanley to "win over" Stella, and ultimately rape Blanche, and order her off to an insane asylum. In the rising action of the play, Stanley who is already suspicious of Blanche’s act of superiority, researches Blanche’s past. He discovers that in Laurel, Blanche was known for her sexual promiscuity and for having an affair with a teenage student. In short, Blanche's inability to cleanse her odious history allows Stanley to prevail and virtually "win the war."
Keelia: I agree with the idea that stage directions play an important role Blanche's battle against her past. However, I also think Blanche's inability to let go of her past is, in part, due to cultural attitudes.
"Streetcar" places a bold critique on the attitudes of postwar America towards women and their role in society. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s reliance on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see strong, male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their livelihood and their self-image.
As a result, for herself, Blanche sees marriage to Mitch as her means of escaping destitution. Men’s exploitation of Blanche’s sexuality has left her with a poor reputation. Blanche sees marriage as her only possibility for survival. When Mitch rejects Blanche because of Stanley’s research about her promiscuous history, Blanche immediately thinks of another man--Shep Huntleigh, who, with this millions of dollar, might rescue her. Because Blanche cannot see around her dependence on men, she has no realistic scheme of how to rescue herself. Blanche does not realize that her dependence on men will lead to her downfall rather than her salvation. By relying on men, and thus, the implications of her past life, Blanche puts her fate in the hands of others.
In conclusion, Blanche's persistence of memory spawns from the cultural attitudes of postwar America. This persistence of memory exposes Blanche's over-dependency on men, which thus leads to her downfall.
"Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?"
I agree that the relashionship of Blanche and Stanley,as it continues throught the play, is simply one of villain and victim, because through out the play, Blanche and Stanley have many conflicts on different things and so Stanley at times would become angry, because Blanche would do some thing wich was not good or was not ok.
Both Stanley and Blanche have there reasons as to why they fight, and some times in the play Stanley screams and shouts at Blanche for doing things which made him mad. For example there is one part in the play where by Stanley throws the radio out of the window, because when stanley was playing poker with his friends, Blanche and Stella then came and immediately Blanche was flirting or falling in love with Mitch who was also playing poker, and so Blanche was then distracting the game and Stella as well, she wanted them out of the house but Stanley refused.
So Stanley then shouted at Blanche to stop doing that and they were shouting at each other. This is one of the examples of whitch Stanley and Blanche shout at each other. So Blanche and Stanley are good examples of villain and victim, because the conflicts continue to build through out the play.
Keelia: I agree with what you said about the stage directions play and with Blanche's battle against her past.
In the play, "Streetcar" Blanche and Stella see good male companions as they try to get hapiness. They also seek the power from each other. Blanche would have her issues as well as Stanley and I agree with what keelia said about the statement that it can be aplied to streetcar, because the statement ties in with different things which Blanche, Stanley or stella say.
“Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?”
Blanche and Stanley’s relationship cannot be simplified as just one of victim and villain. It is easily understandable for Stanley to be perceived as the ‘villain’ and Blanche as the ‘victim’ due to the fact that he raped her, and was constantly tormenting Blanche about her past. However, the complexity of their relationship can be seen during their first conversation; Williams creates an immediate contrast between them as a way of foreshadowing the complexity of their relationship. Throughout the play, Stanley does become more irritated and violent, which causes him to be perceived as a ‘villain,’ but his reactions are triggered by Blanche’s many lies and her feelings of superiority. This can be seen in scene five, when Blanche says that she has been writing down “quaint little words and phrases” that she heard at Elysian Fields. By this she is suggesting that back in Laurel, where she was of a ‘higher class’, she never heard these words. Stanley responds by saying that she “won’t pick up nothin’ here you [Blanche] ain’t heard before.” This blunt and rather rude response shows that it is Blanche who causes Stanley’s foul temper, but that alone cannot cause him to be classified as a ‘villain,’ because to some extent Blanche is to blame, so she could also be considered as the ‘villain.’ Tennessee Williams had to create characters that were complex, not just ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ because the audience had to be able to relate to all of the characters’ reactions and choices throughout the play. Thus, he gave them both condemning and redeeming qualities that allowed their relationship to become much more realistic and it induced the audience to sympathize with both Blanche and Stanley's characters.
Keelia, I agree that memory plays a strong role in "Streetcar," because it practically led to Blanche's deteriorating mental state. Whenever her late husband is mentioned, music plays in the background in order to show the toll her husband's death had on her mental state. She feels so guilty about what she said to him, that she finds it hard to continue living her 'normal' life; she was no longer able to keep Belle Reve or her job because the pain and the guilt she felt consumed her.
She is ashamed of her promiscuity after her late husband's death, and she tries to hide it with all of her lies, she tries to keep up her façade of being pure and innocent, however, after Stanley's interrogations and discovery of her past, Blanche's mental state collapses, and she gives in to her world of illusion when she begins to believe that she is going on a cruise with Shep Huntleigh.
"Blanche believes the opposite of death is desire" Blanches life before she goes to Elysian Fields is surrounded by death, both figuratively and literally. The literal death can be seen in scene one when she talks about what she has gone through at belle reve and the deaths that have hit the family after Stella left. Another example is that of the death of her young husband. The metaphorical death is the loss of belle reve, which serves as the death of her history or her past life. Her husband died when she was sixteen and that also marked the death of the “real blanche.” She speaks to Mitch about the husband’s death and she says, “And then the search light which had been turned on the world was turned off again…” (p.96). this could be seen as her death, metaphorically. Blanche decides to turn to promiscuity as a way of dealing with her past, or as a way of avoiding it. She lets desire be who she is and hides the real Blanche. This way she is able to live a new life in a fantasy, unreal world of her own invention. She goes to the hotel Flamingo where she continues her life of desire and pleasure. Desire leads her to losing her job as it is discovered that she has had an affair with a seventeen year old boy. This act was maybe her attempt to mentally recreate her husband and it is desire that leads her to this, in order to fill up the space that he left which is again, her death. The most significant representation of this theme, according to me, is her ride on the street car, Desire, as it takes her further away from belle reve and laurel ( which represent her death) and brings her closer to Elysian fields which represents life for her. So it can be said that desire brings her life. Eventually, when her world of desire comes to a standstill, (loss of Mitch) her world comes tumbling down, and this marks her death (second death). One notices that death and desire act as complete opposites as one only surfaces when the other is scarce.
Heather: i agree that the relationship between that Blanche and Stanley is more complicated than that of villain and victim. it is clear that Stanley is physically advantaged and has more experience in the real world than Blanche. he is also violent and prone to anger and very well inflicts fear into the heart of Blanche. it is true to say he is more menacing and aggressive in comparison and it is easy for one to jump into conclusion that Stanley is the villain and Blanche is the victim, especially after the rape.this however is not right as if looked at carefully, it is evident that Blanche is the main cause of the animosity between the two characters. it is Blanche who triggers the violent acts of Stanley. for example, the poker night.it is Blanche who started the chain reaction that ended up with her sister, Stella being hurt. Stanley switched off the radio, and she switched it on again, fully aware of Stanley's drunken, unstable state. this is a clear sign of provocation on blanches part, and Stanley acted out of his temper and broke the radio, leading to Stella's outburst which ends up with her crying on the floor following a hit from Stanley. the incident of the rape was the result of the many times that Blanche flirted with Stanley. through out the whole play, is a conflict between two characters that ends up with one victory. this fight is not one between good and evil or villain versus victim. it is a conflict between two completely different worlds, that are represented by two characters.
This is Wongela. :p I am using Heather's account in order to save time.
How are specific physical symbols used to characterize the essential nature of Stanley Kowalski?
Throughout the whole play, Stanley is characterized as being brutal, sexual and ape-like and there have been many physical symbols that are used to characterize him. Some of them are listed below. We are first introduced to Stanley in Scene One. He is roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes and carries his bowling jacket and a “rain stained package”. Soon we find out that this red stained package is actually meat that he just got from the butchers. He hurls the meat at his wife. The meat is a sexual symbol and makes us realize that Stanley is a very sexual person. This symbol is repeated later in the play, when Blanche is describing him as a savage she says he is a “survivor of the strong age! Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle” which makes him seem animalistic and brutal. Another physical symbol is on scene four where he wears grease stained seer sucker pants. This characterizes him as the man of the house, taking care of all the dirty work. Then in scene five he wears his green and scarlet silk bowling shirt. This shirt is repeated throughout the play. It is yet another symbol of how bold he is (as his shirt) and emphasizes his sexuality. His silk pajamas that were introduced to us in scene ten are another symbol of sexuality. Those were the same pajamas that he wore on his wedding night with Stella. This not only characterizes him but also to foreshadow the following scene where Stanley rapes Blanche.
I agree with Heather. Stanley and Blanche's relationship is more complex than just 'villain' and 'victim'. Although Stanley might seem like the obvious 'villain' it is actually Blanche who triggers his violent outbursts. Ever since the first scene, Blanche and Stanley's personalities have clashed. Over time, Stanley began hating Blanche more and more. His reason for hating her most was because she threatened his marriage with Stella, which is why he is so keen to destroy Blanche. Therefore, we cannot just assume that Stanley is the only 'villain' in the play.
Williams views the characters he created as, "my little company of the faded and the frightened, the odd, the lonely" Do you think this statement is applied in A street car named desire.
Williams' charactersisation of characters in these categories is evidently true and visible in a street car named desire. the faded and the lonely category, applies to Blanche who has lost her social standing, time is catching up on her and she is frightened at the possibility of being lonely. its seen in the little actions of not allowing to be seen in direct light, trying to lie that she is younger than Blanche, her constant baths and use of make up to make her feel better about herself possibly a metaphor for an attempt to rejuvenate a fading beauty. in doing this we see her as truly scared thus frightened of the ensuing reality that time is actually catching up with her. its thus of no surprise that she tries by all means possible to look, act and seem to the least bit suitable for marriage to Mitch. she is slowly realising that if she cant be lonely and so forgets her high and mighty social class and decides to settle for Mitch, a man no greater in wealth and lifestyle than Stanley.
the difficult, is a category i believe is mainly evident in Stanley, with his uncouth manners and language, brutal attacks and selfish behavior, he is difficult to impress, wanting this done his way. its for this reason that he does not get along with Blanche, who is not one to bow down for his harsh tones and savage behavior. though Stella stays with him, she feels pained to go on at sometimes and she is unhappy with most his rough behavior, though he beats her, she still stays with him, possibly because like Blanche, she has no where to go.
the category of the odd, is evident in all most the major characters, from Blanche's odd rituals like her insistent covering of the light bulb, to the reasons Stella gives for staying with Stanley, to Stanly's temper and Mitch's bachelor status, its seems all like they are a bunch of people each with their own faults and past and each trying to cover it up in some way. more so for Blanche who covers the light bulb just so people wont visibly see her aging face.
the lonely on the other hand seem to want to settle down and they all seem to be settling for the best possible thing, Blanche settles for Mitch because she is the best possible form of a gentleman that she can find and this is still after she has failed to be satisfied by all the strangers she has been with she still has a part of her missing after the death of her young husband. she is still lonely. Mitch after years of being alone after the death of the girl he loved decides on settling with Blanche who also seems as the best possible form of lady he has come across, however all this is short-lived and when it comes to an end, they are all left lonely once again.
“Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?”
yes, i do agree with this view as its evident that though Blanche tries to fit in, Stanley is not letting her and he is hell bent on destroying her and make her fail miserably at any form of happiness. Stanley is against Blanche because she tries to get Stella to see him in true light for the savage uncouth man that he is. it is in his final victory that he does rape her and indeed come out to successfully send her to a mental institute. Blanche had become a victim of Stanly's selfish behavior and Stanley like a true villain had taken advantage of her naive and unsuspecting attitude.
I agree with all of your listed symbols of Stanley's masculinity. The meat package in Scene 1 specifically serves to give the audience a powerful first impression of Stanley as a very sex-oriented male, sure of himself and confident. His clothing (bowling shirt, the pajamas he wore on his wedding night) are also very obvious symbols of Stanley's nature as a "man's man" as Blanche specifies. Basically, I agree with everything you said.
What is particularly interesting about this concept is how Williams chooses to portray Stanley's character so precisely in these symbol. Most directors only lightly describe the wardrobe of certain characters, if at all. In choosing to elaborate excessively on Stanley's clothing and meat package and such, we can see just how important these specific character traits of Stanley are, as every Stanley actor must follow along with these symbols.
"To what extent can Blanche DuBoise be described as a victim in A Streetcar Named Desire?"
Blanche, to a point, can be described as a victim. We automatically believe that she is a victim because her brother-in-law Stanley raped her. However her personality and past, also affected her eventual outcome.
Blanche came to New Orleans in order to see her sister and start a new life. However her past came to haunt her as Stanley found out about her. She chose to tell, as she put it, what she believed to be the truth. She would try and tell the truth, either not the entire truth, or she would downright lie. This was the first thing that led her to her downfall.
The second thing was that she chose to stay with Stella and Stanley, when she should have left much earlier as Stanley took an almost instant dislike to her. He believed that she wasnt as good as she believed she was, and she did not "pull the wool over his eyes."
The next thing was that Blanche had a promiscuous personality. She had, in a way, already lost her mind, after her first husband commit suicide when she found out he was gay. She "entertained" male guests at the Flamingo Hotel in Laurel, a place she had claimed to Stanley that she never would have set foot in. In Scene five she also made advances to the "young" man who had come to collect some payments for a newspaper.
Therefore I think that, in a weird way, Blanche sort of had what was coming to her. She had a tendency to lie,, which is what made Stella believe Stanley (why else would she?) and send her to a mental hospital, and she was promiscuous so her story did not sound believable. Just to make it clear to everyone, however, I do not condone Stanley's action. What he did was extremely wrong. However I see Blanche more as a tragic hero, than an actual "victim"
"Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?"
I agree because in the entire play, Stanley and Blanche have conflicts on different things and Stanley gets angry on everything that Blanche does.
Stanley always yell at Blanche. For example, Blanche called Stanley a "Polack" in his response: "I am not a Polack. People from Poleland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a 100% American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don't ever called me a Polack." (110) This proves that Stanley yells at Blanche no matter what she says or does.
Blanche has a negative point of view against Stanley due to his behavior. She discussed about his attitude with Stella and Mitch. When Blanche was discussing with Stella about Stanley's aggressiveness, she was telling Stella to leave him. But, she refused to follow Blanche's advice because she loves him. However, Stanley was ease dropping on their conversation about him, and decided to let it go.
Stanley's plan, on getting Blanche to the mental institution, has succeeded because he knew that if he raped her, she will go crazy, and Stella won't believe a word she says. This shows that Blanche is the victim, and Stanley is the villain.
Your ideas are on the right track, and your first three paragraphs are correct, though you are vague on your ideas. However in your conclusion you wrote "Stanley's plan, on getting Blanche to the mental institution, has succeeded because he knew that if he raped her, she will go crazy, and Stella won't believe a word she says." This is not true. Stanley never "planned" to send her to a mental institute. This was just the outcome. He also never knew that she would go crazy, he thought she was insane because of all these lies she kept saying. I am also unsure on what you mean "this shows that Blance is the victim, and Stanley is the villain." How does that do that?
To what extent would you describe A Streetcar Named Desire seen as a tragedy?
As we might all know, a tragedy involves protagonists that are dealing with conflict that will ultimately end in some way. In “Streetcar”, Blanche being the main protagonist, she wants to return to her traditional south; a south where she is respected, loved, admired and cared for. However, her vanity gets in her way, which interferes with those she loves most and telling lies, of which she later regrets, as well as the tragic flaw that prevents a character from succeed.
"A Streetcar Named Desire" can be seen as tragedy because the central character, or protagonist, Blanche Dubois has the tragic flaw of hubris - with both pride of intellect. She is working against a tide/ force of unstoppable change that cannot be defeated. Not only doesn’t she have control over her tragic flaw but also no control over the outside forces that move against her.
The tragedy is the downfall and pitiable state of Blanche Dubois. For example, in the play we see Blanch as an intruder, interfering in Stanley and Stella’s (her sister) marriage. It’s often that a protagonist will be trying to right a wrong or fix their world and return things to the way they where before conflict. However, as the play continues we learn qualities from her past life when she was in the south like her life as it faded from Southern Bella to near promiscuity, her husband killing himself after being discovered with another man and losing her teaching position as she tries to hold on her illusions of a young boy. As the play comes to a close the use of ironic drama as Blanche says “I have always been dependent on the kindness of strangers” shows that Blanche has clearly lost her grasp on reality as she is led away to an asylum.
However, it’s not Blanche going through tragedy but Stanley and Stella’s worlds too are forever shaken. To an extent "A Streetcar Named Desire" can be seen as a tragedy because of the qualities or techniques of a tragedy it covers in the play.
How do Blanche’s many baths influence the action of the drama?
hmm, never thought about it before. Symbolically speaking, I guess she's trying to rid herself of her past. She lost a husband, a home and her dignity, she developed a terrible reputation, and she also lost her job. She's constantly reminded of her dead husband (who's death she blames herself for) and she's tormented by her age/appearance (not to mention she's staying in a strange house in a strange neighborhood, to which she's superficially welcomed . . . well, at least by Stanley anyway). I think by taking so many baths she's trying to wash away the impurities that have taken her sanity.
it just adds to how stanley and stella view her, as a spoiled woman who is self-absorbed and in her own little world so the bathing and conceited attitude add to their annoyance of her, which could possibly help stimulate their actions and thoughts against her along with her trying to cleanse herself of her past or whatever symbolically.
its pretty obvious considering she's got quite a "dirty" past and her whole objective is to cover that up. Remember "a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion." Notice how she recommends Stella take a bath too after she finds out the truth from Stanley? Coincidence? I don't think so!
How are the past and the present intertwined in a streetcar named desire? One of the most significant themes in this play is “reality verses Illusion”. The illusion of this play is built up by the past of the characters. The characters create an illusion to escape their past and try to focus on the present. This is mainly seen on Blanche’s character. It is also seen to some extent on Stella’s character. Mitch had a bad relationship in the past and tries to escape it, in order to focus on the presence. On the other hand characters such as Stanley and some of his friends completely ignore their past and live the present.
Blanch is one of the characters whose past and presence collide together at various points of the play. The first collision starts with her appearance around the beginning of the play. The way she was dressing and her whole behavior of her background collides with the present situation she is in. Her “southern Gentility” collides with Stanley his friends and the whole neighborhoods street behavior. However the past and the presence of Blanch are intertwined especially on the section of love. It is hard for Blanch to separate her past love, her past husband who had committed suicide because of what she said. She still suffers from the pain, guilt and sorrow of the death of her young husband. She tries to separate this past from her present by having many sexual counters with different men with different age groups. But since her past and presence are intertwined she still suffers more from her past, she suffers on her present from what she did in her past. The other case for Blanche’s intertwined past and present is, her stay at the flamingo hotel, her sexual encounters with the men there, her lie to her sister and Mitch are intertwined to her presence significantly. She tries to live in her own illusion, her own world, pretending that, that part of her life didn’t exist. But Stanley digs it up and exposes her past and ruins Blanche’s love with Mitch and with her Sister Stella.
Blanche takes bath constantly to wash her dirt off of herself, to remove her past, her guilt her sorrow. Water is a believed to be a purifier, and since Blanche is trying to purify herself she constantly soaks herself in the bath. although i don't quite get what you said towards the end, "Notice how she recommends Stella take a bath too after she finds out the truth from Stanley?", in this case Stella is still innocent, the one who should have been recommended to take bath is Stanley based on you, for what he did, he is the one who is "dirty" now, not Stella.
Karsten. "Characterize the essential differences between the Kowalski and the DuBois worlds."
These two worlds depict and lead to the main conflicts of the play. The world in which Stanley is from, conflicts greatly with the world in which Blanche is from. These two worlds can be seen as reality vs. illusionary, modern vs. traditional, but even poor vs. rich (Stanley vs Blanche respectively.)
The life in New Orleans, where Stanley is from, is a world of; "fend for yourself and your own survival" where you almost start from nothing, get a job and work your way up; real capitalistic. The American dream where everyone is equal and have equal chance to succeed or to "fail." However, it also reflects the lower class and middle class, where the people and environment is "harsh" , "poor" , "rude" , "brutal" , "dirty." Where the common person goes to bars at night, play bowling, poker, etc. The culture is not based on politeness nor much consideration of others, leading into a more brutal and ruder attitude and atmosphere. In the play, which is set in such a setting, there are narratives and descriptions of such a world, with the wife beatings, the drunkards, the imagery (descriptions of the area is relatively dark and gloomy,) and so on, and then of course with Stanley to give the perfect stereotypical example of a man from such an environment.
Blanche, however, comes from the South with its big plantations and rich slave owners. She came straight from Belle Reve, but the audience only knows of the life on Belle Reve from the comments and thoughts of Blanche. She describes it as rich, lust, fertile, green; where the people are "real gentlemen," polite, kind, traditional etc. She makes it sound wonderful and appalling, almost dream-like with all her rich ex-lovers and exotic hotels (The Flamingo). However, the audience is soon sceptic towards their perceptions of Belle Reve, as later on in the play, it is clear that Blanche is troubled, uneasy, unreliable, and is in great denial. Whether or not her descriptions of Belle Reve are true, it is evident that she's living in an illusionary world.
Both Blanche and Stanley represent their clashing cultures, which leads to inevitable conflicts.
@Martin, I certainly agree with reply to whether or not this play is a tragic play or not. From the start, Blanches fate was set, and even as she tries to escape by seeking refuge with her sister, she still faces her downfall, where perhaps her main hamartia is her running away form her own past. EH, but Martin, I'm not too sure if "she wants to return to her traditional south; a south where she is respected, loved, admired and cared for." is correct as she had to leave the South due to the fact that she had no one left there; lost everything, and created her own image for the rest of the town to judge. (whorish.)
Williams viewed the characters he created as ‘my little company of the faded and frightened, the difficult, and the odd, the lonely.’ Are any of the characters from A Streetcar Named Desire recognisable from this description?
Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire can be recognised from the given description. In the play, Blanche is living a faded life, full of lies and pain. In the past, at a younger age, Blanche lost what she desired; she lost the boy she loved. Now she leaves with the desire to be loved. Trying to fulfil this desire, she sleeps with her 17 year old student resulting to her losing a teaching job. Later on she loses Belle Reve, a place that gave her purpose. Facing the world of poverty alone, Blanche resorts to pleasuring men as her daily job.
Blanche’s desire to have a fresh start leads her to Elysian Fields. With her past, it is impossible for Blanche to have a fresh start, but by her creating an illusion past, she has a chance of having her desires achieved
At Elysian Fields, Blanche is frightened by Stanley. Stanley shows her no love and he works on revealing her true past. This makes Blanche uncomfortable and she tries to turn Stella against Stanley. Blanche’s actions to achieve her desires make her odd compared to other women characters in the play. She lives a life of a ‘first class lady.’ A life where: she has to look perfect, pretty, and rich. Unlike like other female characters in the play, Blanche has no partner. She is lonely. After Stanley reveals her past, Blanche loses Mitch’s love and at the end of the play she is sent to a mental hospital where she will continue living a lonely life.
In spite of Blanche’s past life, her deceit, and her artificiality, most readers tend to sympathize with and align themselves with her. How can this emotional reaction (or attachment) toward Blanche be explained?
We feel sympathetic toward Blanche as she tries to escape from the brutality of life and the ‘emptiness’ that has been created within her as a result of her husband's homosexuality and suicide. One can only imagine the amount of emotional and psychological pain she experiences. Blanche turns to sexual promiscuity and alcohol to deal with such emptiness, and in the end we cannot entirely blame her for doing so.
Her losing Belle Reve and her job, feelings that she failed as a wife, and her close encounters with death make her even more delicate, and further deaden her emotions and sense of reality. The alcohol helps her to temporarily forget her misfortunes. The dance tune that was playing when Allan committed suicide still plagues her mind and the only way she can get rid of such thoughts is by drinking until she hears the shot which then signals the end of the music. Blanche is deceitful because she refuses to see herself as she is . Instead she tries to create illusions of what she thinks her life should be. Blanche has had a pretty rough life, so you can't help but sympathize with her. She needs a distraction, and such coping mechanisms serve as distractions.
I agree with you...To a certain extent. We can consider Stanley as a villain in terms of his hostility towards Blanche, the rape(no woman deserves to be raped!)and his excessive aggression towards her(especially in the third scene). One could say that he's a victim when taking his life story into consideration. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he is constantly being belittled by Blanche, and in some instances, Stella (RE the scene when he's eating chicken).
Blanche may be considered the victim when looking at her fragility, losing her job, the death of her family members etc. She could also be a victim of her own self delusions. However, she may also be a victimizer with her extensive lies to Stella, Stanley and Mitch throughout the entire play.
Question 1: Blanche is one of the most important characters of "Streetcar". Despite her past life, her deceit and her artificiality, most readers sympathize with Blanche and Blanche is seen as a victim of Stanley's cruel and brutal nature. From the very onset of the play, readers become aware that Blanche is not being completely honest with Stella and Stanley. She is shown to be extremely stressed when she arrives at Elysian Fields and depends on alcohol to relieve herself of this stress. However, she doesn't let anyone know of her heavy dependency on alcohol. She informs Stella of losing the property at Belle Reve but her explanation of the situation is vague and it is clear that she is not telling Stella everything. Stanley, unlike Stella, is not satisfied by Blanche's answers to his various questions and as such, Stanley's character acts as a foil to Blanche's character; his inquisitive nature towards Blanche reveals her deceit and lies concerning her past to the readers. As the play progresses, readers learn more of Blanche's past until finally she tells Mitch everything. Readers learn that Blanche has led a very promiscuous and decadent life at Belle Reve, however, one cannot help but sympathise with her. Blanche was deeply in love with her husband until she learnt that he was a homosexual. Blanche was obviously heartbroken and things only got worse after her husband committed suicide. She is constantly haunted by these events. The rise in the polka music whenever Blanche is reminded of her husband is symbolic of these events as Blanche remembers the night her husband shot himself. After her husband's death, Blanche felt all alone in the world. It seems Blanche's sudden descent into promiscuity, although motivated by her sexual desires, was largely due to her solitude and lack of companionship. Throughout the play, Blanche is shown to be very dependant on the companionship of others, a major reason why she decided to leave to Elysian Fields, to live with her sister. Despite her dislike for her sister's new residence and her brother-in-law, Blanche remains there because she cannot remain alone. Blanche is shown to crave for male companionship, which she seeks in any gentleman, whether it is a young messenger or Mitch, perhaps the only one to show Blanche kindness other than Stella. However, when Mitch learns of Blanche's past, he no longer wants to marry her because she is not 'fit' to live in the same house as his mother. Feeling rejected and alone in the world once again, losing what she thought was a definite companion, Blanche bursts out in a fit of rage towards Mitch and forces him to leave. After this incident, Blanche suffers even further as a drunken Stanley overpowers and rapes her and then has her sent to a mental asylum. This is perhaps the most unfortunate of consequences for Blanche and the one that draws the most sympathy for her from readers. No one, not even her own sister Stella seem to believe her having been raped by Stanley or refuse to speak out against it. Everyone seems to take Stanley's side, whether out of trust, love or fear and Blanche once again finds herself alone in the world, left to suffer her fate in an asylum.
Blanche's struggle to find companionship and to remain composed and somewhat sane when alone leads her to her dependencies on alcohol, various meaningless sexual escapades and her world of illusion that she resorts to throughout the play to escape the cruel brutality of the real world that seems to have no place for Blanche, her ideals or her fantasies. Blanche's shame concerning her past leads her to lie constantly, in an attempt to create a better reputation for herself in Elysian Fields, as she tries to settle in. However, her lies and deceit lead her to lose any possibility of male companionship and to her suffering at the hands of Stanley.
I agree with a lot of what you’ve said. Stanley was not the only cause of Blanche’s downfall, her past definitely played a role and her attempts to cover up this past with lies only made things more difficult for her, to the point that no one even believed her being raped by Stanley. However, I think there are other things to consider when discussing to what extent Blanche is a victim in “Streetcar”. One must consider the reasons behind some of Blanche’s actions to better understand her and her situation. Yes, logically Blanche should have realised that Stanley took an instant dislike to her and should have left New Orleans much earlier. However, throughout the play, especially during her unstable and nervous condition at the beginning, Blanche is shown to be extremely dependant on the companionship of others. This was her major reason for staying on with Stella, despite her first reactions of shock and distaste towards New Orleans and Stanley. After everything that has happened to her in the past, Blanche feels like she can no longer be alone. Another issue is Blanche’s promiscuity that led to her having such a shameful past that she had to cover up with lies. I believe her reasons for lying about her past were justified since she was looking for some companionship and when one learns of her past such a possibility seems less likely, as seen from Mitch’s reaction upon hearing the truth and his sudden unwillingness to marry her. I also believe to a certain extent Blanche’s promiscuous past in Laurel was due to the horrific way her first marriage ended and the effect it had on her mental condition. However, Blanche is also seen to be motivated by sexual desires, as she even flirts with the young man who comes to collect payments for a newspaper. She seems to like the idea of a younger male companion because to her, it seems to be a reflection of her beauty and youthfulness.
I agree that Blanche could have made life much easier for herself by being more honest about her past, at least with Stella. However, her reasons for keeping the truth hidden from Mitch for so long were justified, as it changed Mitch’s decision to marry her. I consider Stanley raping Blanche to be of no fault of Blanche’s. Stanley was purely drunk and seemed to already have sexual desires towards Blanche. He then uses Blanche’s lies and deception against her to hide his own guilt. He convinces everyone that she is lying about being raped and that she is insane and admits her to a mental asylum. Even if Blanche had been honest with Stella up until that point, I don’t think Stella would have taken Blanche’s side because Stella always seemed to be closer to Stanley and even at the end of the play, I believe Stella knows that there is some degree of truth to what Blanche is saying but is afraid to speak out because of the consequences it would have for her, her marriage and her newly born child. As such, I do think to a large extent that Blanche was a victim of Stanley’s cruel and brutal nature
In spite of Blanche’s past life, her deceit, and her artificiality, most readers tend to sympathize with and align themselves with her. How can this emotional reaction (or attachment) toward Blanche be explained?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the answer
DeleteWhere do you consider Williams' final view toward illusion and reality lie? Does he align himself with Stanley's reality and brutal honesty, or with Blanche's illusion and deceit?
ReplyDeleteUsing evidence from the play, try to determine which is the real Blanche, the innocent charming Blanche or the degenerate and promiscuous Blanche.
ReplyDeleteShow how each subsequent meeting between Blanche and Stanley increases in violence and antagonism.
ReplyDeleteHow are specific physical symbols used to characterize the essential nature of Stanley Kowalski?
ReplyDeleteCharacterize the essential differences between the Kowalski and the DuBois worlds.
ReplyDeleteHow do Blanche’s many baths influence the action of the drama?
ReplyDeleteStanley represents the American Dream that all men are born equal and can succeed equally, whilst Blanche represent the old world, where class and race are still important issues. The tensions in the play come partly from this cultural conflict--the worlds of Stanley and Blanche are so opposed that neither can understand each other. Where do Williams’ sympathies lie? Are either of the characters fully endorsed? If not, why not?
ReplyDeleteBlanche believes the opposite of death is desire. How is this theme developed throughout the play?
ReplyDelete“His plays deal consistently with a serious theme—self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its grip and will not let them get on with their lives.” Do you think this statement can be applied to A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteHow important are illusion and fantasy as themes in A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you believe Tennessee Williams is saying about human sexuality in A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteTo what extent would you describe A Streetcar Named Desire as a tragedy?
ReplyDeleteTo what extent can Blanche DuBoise be described as a victim in A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteHow effective a title do you think A Streetcar Named Desire is for this play?
ReplyDeleteDiscuss the importance of the past in A Streetcar Named Desire.
ReplyDeleteHow are the past and the present intertwined in A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteWilliams viewed the characters he created as “my little company of the faded and the frightened, the difficult, the odd, the lonely.” Do you think this statement can be applied to A Streetcar Named Desire?
ReplyDeleteDiscuss the view that A Streetcar Named Desire is a play concerned with the conflict between the values of the old world and the new, and that this conflict is expressed through the battle between Stanley and Blanche.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?
ReplyDelete“In A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams traces several styles of life, each to its poetic termination: that of Blanche, that of Stanley, and that of the indifferent Stella.” In the light of this statement, discuss Williams’ characterization of these three figures in the play, showing what “style of life” you think each of them embodies and what kind of “poetic termination” Williams provides for each of them.
ReplyDelete“ ‘His plays deal consistently with a serious theme - self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its grip and will not let them get on with their lives.’ Do you think that this statement can be applied to Streetcar?”
ReplyDeleteThis statement can definitely be applied to “Streetcar”, especially in the character in Blanche. Blanche’s memories remain with her, and this is depicted very obviously by playwright Tennessee Williams. Williams emphasizes what a strong hold Blanche’s past has on her present partly through stage directions. For example, whenever Blanche is remembering her husband’s death a polka tune plays in the background as if it were in Blanche’s head, then ends with the bang of a gun. Blanche’s reactions to Stanley’s reference to her deceased husband - practically being sick - support this concept as well. The way in which Blanche’s past constantly catches up with her, even at her “sanctuary” of Blanche’s last option of living with her sister, shows this as well. Stanley delves into her promiscuous past and reveals all to Stella and Mitch, thus bringing about Blanche’s ultimate destruction.
This is in contrast to Stella, who seems to move on with her life quite smoothly: she abandons their home Belle Reve and marries a commoner, entering a new class of society and a lower standard of living. Stella does this out of love (or desire) for Stanley, thus Williams could be suggesting a hint of truth at Blanche’s illusionary world of happy love that Blanche so believes in. Stella, at least, was able to escape from her past life at Belle Reve which Blanche so wanted to forget as well.
How do Blanche’s many baths influence the action of the drama?
ReplyDeleteThrough "Streetcar", Blanche baths herself. However, from a critic's perspective it can be seen as more than simply an action. "Bathing" is seen by the audience as a re-occurring symbol or motif, that has a deeper meaning.
Her licentious past has only added hysteria and peculiarity to Blanche's character. As a result, she often seeks time to relax and soothe herself, thus creating a constant need to take baths. In other words, these baths calm her nerves--they ease her mind that has been troubled by her past. In light of her efforts to wash away her controversial past in New Orleans, these baths represent her efforts to cleanse herself of her promiscuous history.
However, much like her past, her bathing is never done. The fact that a simple action, such as bathing, cannot be done, represents Blanche's inability to sustain a normal life.
Her failure to cleanse herself, literally and figuratively, has two main functions. The first, being that it evokes pathos for Blanche. In spite of the lack of physical drama in the play, the audience is still exposed to a considerable amount of action, in the form of Blanche's character and her reactions. Many audience members find themselves sympathizing with Blanche, as they either see parts of themselves in her, or see her as a victim of the modern world. Therefore, one of main conflicts in the play is within the audience itself, and thus creates overall instability that is reflected in Blanche's destruction. The second function is that it allows Stanley to "win over" Stella, and ultimately rape Blanche, and order her off to an insane asylum. In the rising action of the play, Stanley who is already suspicious of Blanche’s act of superiority, researches Blanche’s past. He discovers that in Laurel, Blanche was known for her sexual promiscuity and for having an affair with a teenage student. In short, Blanche's inability to cleanse her odious history allows Stanley to prevail and virtually "win the war."
Keelia: I agree with the idea that stage directions play an important role Blanche's battle against her past. However, I also think Blanche's inability to let go of her past is, in part, due to cultural attitudes.
ReplyDelete"Streetcar" places a bold critique on the attitudes of postwar America towards women and their role in society. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s reliance on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see strong, male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their livelihood and their self-image.
As a result, for herself, Blanche sees marriage to Mitch as her means of escaping destitution. Men’s exploitation of Blanche’s sexuality has left her with a poor reputation. Blanche sees marriage as her only possibility for survival. When Mitch rejects Blanche because of Stanley’s research about her promiscuous history, Blanche immediately thinks of another man--Shep Huntleigh, who, with this millions of dollar, might rescue her. Because Blanche cannot see around her dependence on men, she has no realistic scheme of how to rescue herself. Blanche does not realize that her dependence on men will lead to her downfall rather than her salvation. By relying on men, and thus, the implications of her past life, Blanche puts her fate in the hands of others.
In conclusion, Blanche's persistence of memory spawns from the cultural attitudes of postwar America. This persistence of memory exposes Blanche's over-dependency on men, which thus leads to her downfall.
"Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?"
ReplyDeleteI agree that the relashionship of Blanche and Stanley,as it continues throught the play, is simply one of villain and victim, because through out the play, Blanche and Stanley have many conflicts on different things and so Stanley at times would become angry, because Blanche would do some thing wich was not good or was not ok.
Both Stanley and Blanche have there reasons as to why they fight, and some times in the play Stanley screams and shouts at Blanche for doing things which made him mad. For example there is one part in the play where by Stanley throws the radio out of the window, because when stanley was playing poker with his friends, Blanche and Stella then came and immediately Blanche was flirting or falling in love with Mitch who was also playing poker, and so Blanche was then distracting the game and Stella as well, she wanted them out of the house but Stanley refused.
So Stanley then shouted at Blanche to stop doing that and they were shouting at each other. This is one of the examples of whitch Stanley and Blanche shout at each other. So Blanche and Stanley are good examples of villain and victim, because the conflicts continue to build through out the play.
Keelia: I agree with what you said about the stage directions play and with Blanche's battle against her past.
ReplyDeleteIn the play, "Streetcar" Blanche and Stella see good male companions as they try to get hapiness. They also seek the power from each other. Blanche would have her issues as well as Stanley and I agree with what keelia said about the statement that it can be aplied to streetcar, because the statement ties in with different things which Blanche, Stanley or stella say.
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ReplyDelete“Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?”
ReplyDeleteBlanche and Stanley’s relationship cannot be simplified as just one of victim and villain. It is easily understandable for Stanley to be perceived as the ‘villain’ and Blanche as the ‘victim’ due to the fact that he raped her, and was constantly tormenting Blanche about her past. However, the complexity of their relationship can be seen during their first conversation; Williams creates an immediate contrast between them as a way of foreshadowing the complexity of their relationship.
Throughout the play, Stanley does become more irritated and violent, which causes him to be perceived as a ‘villain,’ but his reactions are triggered by Blanche’s many lies and her feelings of superiority. This can be seen in scene five, when Blanche says that she has been writing down “quaint little words and phrases” that she heard at Elysian Fields. By this she is suggesting that back in Laurel, where she was of a ‘higher class’, she never heard these words. Stanley responds by saying that she “won’t pick up nothin’ here you [Blanche] ain’t heard before.” This blunt and rather rude response shows that it is Blanche who causes Stanley’s foul temper, but that alone cannot cause him to be classified as a ‘villain,’ because to some extent Blanche is to blame, so she could also be considered as the ‘villain.’ Tennessee Williams had to create characters that were complex, not just ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ because the audience had to be able to relate to all of the characters’ reactions and choices throughout the play. Thus, he gave them both condemning and redeeming qualities that allowed their relationship to become much more realistic and it induced the audience to sympathize with both Blanche and Stanley's characters.
Keelia, I agree that memory plays a strong role in "Streetcar," because it practically led to Blanche's deteriorating mental state. Whenever her late husband is mentioned, music plays in the background in order to show the toll her husband's death had on her mental state. She feels so guilty about what she said to him, that she finds it hard to continue living her 'normal' life; she was no longer able to keep Belle Reve or her job because the pain and the guilt she felt consumed her.
ReplyDeleteShe is ashamed of her promiscuity after her late husband's death, and she tries to hide it with all of her lies, she tries to keep up her façade of being pure and innocent, however, after Stanley's interrogations and discovery of her past, Blanche's mental state collapses, and she gives in to her world of illusion when she begins to believe that she is going on a cruise with Shep Huntleigh.
"Blanche believes the opposite of death is desire"
ReplyDeleteBlanches life before she goes to Elysian Fields is surrounded by death, both figuratively and literally. The literal death can be seen in scene one when she talks about what she has gone through at belle reve and the deaths that have hit the family after Stella left. Another example is that of the death of her young husband. The metaphorical death is the loss of belle reve, which serves as the death of her history or her past life. Her husband died when she was sixteen and that also marked the death of the “real blanche.” She speaks to Mitch about the husband’s death and she says, “And then the search light which had been turned on the world was turned off again…” (p.96). this could be seen as her death, metaphorically. Blanche decides to turn to promiscuity as a way of dealing with her past, or as a way of avoiding it. She lets desire be who she is and hides the real Blanche. This way she is able to live a new life in a fantasy, unreal world of her own invention. She goes to the hotel Flamingo where she continues her life of desire and pleasure. Desire leads her to losing her job as it is discovered that she has had an affair with a seventeen year old boy. This act was maybe her attempt to mentally recreate her husband and it is desire that leads her to this, in order to fill up the space that he left which is again, her death. The most significant representation of this theme, according to me, is her ride on the street car, Desire, as it takes her further away from belle reve and laurel ( which represent her death) and brings her closer to Elysian fields which represents life for her. So it can be said that desire brings her life. Eventually, when her world of desire comes to a standstill, (loss of Mitch) her world comes tumbling down, and this marks her death (second death). One notices that death and desire act as complete opposites as one only surfaces when the other is scarce.
Heather: i agree that the relationship between that Blanche and Stanley is more complicated than that of villain and victim. it is clear that Stanley is physically advantaged and has more experience in the real world than Blanche. he is also violent and prone to anger and very well inflicts fear into the heart of Blanche. it is true to say he is more menacing and aggressive in comparison and it is easy for one to jump into conclusion that Stanley is the villain and Blanche is the victim, especially after the rape.this however is not right as if looked at carefully, it is evident that Blanche is the main cause of the animosity between the two characters. it is Blanche who triggers the violent acts of Stanley. for example, the poker night.it is Blanche who started the chain reaction that ended up with her sister, Stella being hurt. Stanley switched off the radio, and she switched it on again, fully aware of Stanley's drunken, unstable state. this is a clear sign of provocation on blanches part, and Stanley acted out of his temper and broke the radio, leading to Stella's outburst which ends up with her crying on the floor following a hit from Stanley. the incident of the rape was the result of the many times that Blanche flirted with Stanley. through out the whole play, is a conflict between two characters that ends up with one victory. this fight is not one between good and evil or villain versus victim. it is a conflict between two completely different worlds, that are represented by two characters.
ReplyDeleteThis is Wongela. :p
ReplyDeleteI am using Heather's account in order to save time.
How are specific physical symbols used to characterize the essential nature of Stanley Kowalski?
Throughout the whole play, Stanley is characterized as being brutal, sexual and ape-like and there have been many physical symbols that are used to characterize him. Some of them are listed below.
We are first introduced to Stanley in Scene One. He is roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes and carries his bowling jacket and a “rain stained package”. Soon we find out that this red stained package is actually meat that he just got from the butchers. He hurls the meat at his wife. The meat is a sexual symbol and makes us realize that Stanley is a very sexual person. This symbol is repeated later in the play, when Blanche is describing him as a savage she says he is a “survivor of the strong age! Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle” which makes him seem animalistic and brutal. Another physical symbol is on scene four where he wears grease stained seer sucker pants. This characterizes him as the man of the house, taking care of all the dirty work. Then in scene five he wears his green and scarlet silk bowling shirt. This shirt is repeated throughout the play. It is yet another symbol of how bold he is (as his shirt) and emphasizes his sexuality. His silk pajamas that were introduced to us in scene ten are another symbol of sexuality. Those were the same pajamas that he wore on his wedding night with Stella. This not only characterizes him but also to foreshadow the following scene where Stanley rapes Blanche.
This is wongela again. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather. Stanley and Blanche's relationship is more complex than just 'villain' and 'victim'.
Although Stanley might seem like the obvious 'villain' it is actually Blanche who triggers his violent outbursts. Ever since the first scene, Blanche and Stanley's personalities have clashed. Over time, Stanley began hating Blanche more and more. His reason for hating her most was because she threatened his marriage with Stella, which is why he is so keen to destroy Blanche. Therefore, we cannot just assume that Stanley is the only 'villain' in the play.
Williams views the characters he created as, "my little company of the faded and the frightened, the odd, the lonely" Do you think this statement is applied in A street car named desire.
ReplyDeleteWilliams' charactersisation of characters in these categories is evidently true and visible in a street car named desire.
the faded and the lonely category, applies to Blanche who has lost her social standing, time is catching up on her and she is frightened at the possibility of being lonely. its seen in the little actions of not allowing to be seen in direct light, trying to lie that she is younger than Blanche, her constant baths and use of make up to make her feel better about herself possibly a metaphor for an attempt to rejuvenate a fading beauty.
in doing this we see her as truly scared thus frightened of the ensuing reality that time is actually catching up with her. its thus of no surprise that she tries by all means possible to look, act and seem to the least bit suitable for marriage to Mitch. she is slowly realising that if she cant be lonely and so forgets her high and mighty social class and decides to settle for Mitch, a man no greater in wealth and lifestyle than Stanley.
the difficult, is a category i believe is mainly evident in Stanley, with his uncouth manners and language, brutal attacks and selfish behavior, he is difficult to impress, wanting this done his way. its for this reason that he does not get along with Blanche, who is not one to bow down for his harsh tones and savage behavior. though Stella stays with him, she feels pained to go on at sometimes and she is unhappy with most his rough behavior, though he beats her, she still stays with him, possibly because like Blanche, she has no where to go.
the category of the odd, is evident in all most the major characters, from Blanche's odd rituals like her insistent covering of the light bulb, to the reasons Stella gives for staying with Stanley, to Stanly's temper and Mitch's bachelor status, its seems all like they are a bunch of people each with their own faults and past and each trying to cover it up in some way. more so for Blanche who covers the light bulb just so people wont visibly see her aging face.
the lonely on the other hand seem to want to settle down and they all seem to be settling for the best possible thing, Blanche settles for Mitch because she is the best possible form of a gentleman that she can find and this is still after she has failed to be satisfied by all the strangers she has been with she still has a part of her missing after the death of her young husband. she is still lonely. Mitch after years of being alone after the death of the girl he loved decides on settling with Blanche who also seems as the best possible form of lady he has come across, however all this is short-lived and when it comes to an end, they are all left lonely once again.
“Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?”
ReplyDeleteyes, i do agree with this view as its evident that though Blanche tries to fit in, Stanley is not letting her and he is hell bent on destroying her and make her fail miserably at any form of happiness. Stanley is against Blanche because she tries to get Stella to see him in true light for the savage uncouth man that he is. it is in his final victory that he does rape her and indeed come out to successfully send her to a mental institute. Blanche had become a victim of Stanly's selfish behavior and Stanley like a true villain had taken advantage of her naive and unsuspecting attitude.
Wongela:
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your listed symbols of Stanley's masculinity. The meat package in Scene 1 specifically serves to give the audience a powerful first impression of Stanley as a very sex-oriented male, sure of himself and confident. His clothing (bowling shirt, the pajamas he wore on his wedding night) are also very obvious symbols of Stanley's nature as a "man's man" as Blanche specifies. Basically, I agree with everything you said.
What is particularly interesting about this concept is how Williams chooses to portray Stanley's character so precisely in these symbol. Most directors only lightly describe the wardrobe of certain characters, if at all. In choosing to elaborate excessively on Stanley's clothing and meat package and such, we can see just how important these specific character traits of Stanley are, as every Stanley actor must follow along with these symbols.
"To what extent can Blanche DuBoise be described as a victim in A Streetcar Named Desire?"
ReplyDeleteBlanche, to a point, can be described as a victim. We automatically believe that she is a victim because her brother-in-law Stanley raped her. However her personality and past, also affected her eventual outcome.
Blanche came to New Orleans in order to see her sister and start a new life. However her past came to haunt her as Stanley found out about her. She chose to tell, as she put it, what she believed to be the truth. She would try and tell the truth, either not the entire truth, or she would downright lie. This was the first thing that led her to her downfall.
The second thing was that she chose to stay with Stella and Stanley, when she should have left much earlier as Stanley took an almost instant dislike to her. He believed that she wasnt as good as she believed she was, and she did not "pull the wool over his eyes."
The next thing was that Blanche had a promiscuous personality. She had, in a way, already lost her mind, after her first husband commit suicide when she found out he was gay. She "entertained" male guests at the Flamingo Hotel in Laurel, a place she had claimed to Stanley that she never would have set foot in. In Scene five she also made advances to the "young" man who had come to collect some payments for a newspaper.
Therefore I think that, in a weird way, Blanche sort of had what was coming to her. She had a tendency to lie,, which is what made Stella believe Stanley (why else would she?) and send her to a mental hospital, and she was promiscuous so her story did not sound believable. Just to make it clear to everyone, however, I do not condone Stanley's action. What he did was extremely wrong. However I see Blanche more as a tragic hero, than an actual "victim"
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ReplyDelete"Do you agree that the relationship of Blanche and Stanley, as it develops through the play, is simply one of villain and victim?"
ReplyDeleteI agree because in the entire play, Stanley and Blanche have conflicts on different things and Stanley gets angry on everything that Blanche does.
Stanley always yell at Blanche. For example, Blanche called Stanley a "Polack" in his response:
"I am not a Polack. People from Poleland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a 100% American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don't ever called me a Polack." (110)
This proves that Stanley yells at Blanche no matter what she says or does.
Blanche has a negative point of view against Stanley due to his behavior. She discussed about his attitude with Stella and Mitch. When Blanche was discussing with Stella about Stanley's aggressiveness, she was telling Stella to leave him. But, she refused to follow Blanche's advice because she loves him. However, Stanley was ease dropping on their conversation about him, and decided to let it go.
Stanley's plan, on getting Blanche to the mental institution, has succeeded because he knew that if he raped her, she will go crazy, and Stella won't believe a word she says. This shows that Blanche is the victim, and Stanley is the villain.
Sharmarke,
ReplyDeleteYour ideas are on the right track, and your first three paragraphs are correct, though you are vague on your ideas. However in your conclusion you wrote "Stanley's plan, on getting Blanche to the mental institution, has succeeded because he knew that if he raped her, she will go crazy, and Stella won't believe a word she says." This is not true. Stanley never "planned" to send her to a mental institute. This was just the outcome. He also never knew that she would go crazy, he thought she was insane because of all these lies she kept saying. I am also unsure on what you mean "this shows that Blance is the victim, and Stanley is the villain." How does that do that?
To what extent would you describe A Streetcar Named Desire seen as a tragedy?
ReplyDeleteAs we might all know, a tragedy involves protagonists that are dealing with conflict that will ultimately end in some way. In “Streetcar”, Blanche being the main protagonist, she wants to return to her traditional south; a south where she is respected, loved, admired and cared for. However, her vanity gets in her way, which interferes with those she loves most and telling lies, of which she later regrets, as well as the tragic flaw that prevents a character from succeed.
"A Streetcar Named Desire" can be seen as tragedy because the central character, or protagonist, Blanche Dubois has the tragic flaw of hubris - with both pride of intellect. She is working against a tide/ force of unstoppable change that cannot be defeated. Not only doesn’t she have control over her tragic flaw but also no control over the outside forces that move against her.
The tragedy is the downfall and pitiable state of Blanche Dubois. For example, in the play we see Blanch as an intruder, interfering in Stanley and Stella’s (her sister) marriage. It’s often that a protagonist will be trying to right a wrong or fix their world and return things to the way they where before conflict. However, as the play continues we learn qualities from her past life when she was in the south like her life as it faded from Southern Bella to near promiscuity, her husband killing himself after being discovered with another man and losing her teaching position as she tries to hold on her illusions of a young boy. As the play comes to a close the use of ironic drama as Blanche says “I have always been dependent on the kindness of strangers” shows that Blanche has clearly lost her grasp on reality as she is led away to an asylum.
However, it’s not Blanche going through tragedy but Stanley and Stella’s worlds too are forever shaken. To an extent "A Streetcar Named Desire" can be seen as a tragedy because of the qualities or techniques of a tragedy it covers in the play.
This is emily!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow do Blanche’s many baths influence the action of the drama?
hmm, never thought about it before. Symbolically speaking, I guess she's trying to rid herself of her past. She lost a husband, a home and her dignity, she developed a terrible reputation, and she also lost her job. She's constantly reminded of her dead husband (who's death she blames herself for) and she's tormented by her age/appearance (not to mention she's staying in a strange house in a strange neighborhood, to which she's superficially welcomed . . . well, at least by Stanley anyway). I think by taking so many baths she's trying to wash away the impurities that have taken her sanity.
it just adds to how stanley and stella view her, as a spoiled woman who is self-absorbed and in her own little world
so the bathing and conceited attitude add to their annoyance of her, which could possibly help stimulate their actions and thoughts against her along with her trying to cleanse herself of her past or whatever symbolically.
its pretty obvious considering she's got quite a "dirty" past and her whole objective is to cover that up. Remember "a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion." Notice how she recommends Stella take a bath too after she finds out the truth from Stanley? Coincidence? I don't think so!
How are the past and the present intertwined in a streetcar named desire?
ReplyDeleteOne of the most significant themes in this play is “reality verses Illusion”. The illusion of this play is built up by the past of the characters. The characters create an illusion to escape their past and try to focus on the present. This is mainly seen on Blanche’s character. It is also seen to some extent on Stella’s character. Mitch had a bad relationship in the past and tries to escape it, in order to focus on the presence. On the other hand characters such as Stanley and some of his friends completely ignore their past and live the present.
Blanch is one of the characters whose past and presence collide together at various points of the play. The first collision starts with her appearance around the beginning of the play. The way she was dressing and her whole behavior of her background collides with the present situation she is in. Her “southern Gentility” collides with Stanley his friends and the whole neighborhoods street behavior. However the past and the presence of Blanch are intertwined especially on the section of love. It is hard for Blanch to separate her past love, her past husband who had committed suicide because of what she said. She still suffers from the pain, guilt and sorrow of the death of her young husband. She tries to separate this past from her present by having many sexual counters with different men with different age groups. But since her past and presence are intertwined she still suffers more from her past, she suffers on her present from what she did in her past. The other case for Blanche’s intertwined past and present is, her stay at the flamingo hotel, her sexual encounters with the men there, her lie to her sister and Mitch are intertwined to her presence significantly. She tries to live in her own illusion, her own world, pretending that, that part of her life didn’t exist. But Stanley digs it up and exposes her past and ruins Blanche’s love with Mitch and with her Sister Stella.
I completely agree with you Emily.
ReplyDeleteBlanche takes bath constantly to wash her dirt off of herself, to remove her past, her guilt her sorrow. Water is a believed to be a purifier, and since Blanche is trying to purify herself she constantly soaks herself in the bath. although i don't quite get what you said towards the end, "Notice how she recommends Stella take a bath too after she finds out the truth from Stanley?", in this case Stella is still innocent, the one who should have been recommended to take bath is Stanley based on you, for what he did, he is the one who is "dirty" now, not Stella.
Karsten.
ReplyDelete"Characterize the essential differences between the Kowalski and the DuBois worlds."
These two worlds depict and lead to the main conflicts of the play. The world in which Stanley is from, conflicts greatly with the world in which Blanche is from. These two worlds can be seen as reality vs. illusionary, modern vs. traditional, but even poor vs. rich (Stanley vs Blanche respectively.)
The life in New Orleans, where Stanley is from, is a world of; "fend for yourself and your own survival" where you almost start from nothing, get a job and work your way up; real capitalistic. The American dream where everyone is equal and have equal chance to succeed or to "fail." However, it also reflects the lower class and middle class, where the people and environment is "harsh" , "poor" , "rude" , "brutal" , "dirty." Where the common person goes to bars at night, play bowling, poker, etc. The culture is not based on politeness nor much consideration of others, leading into a more brutal and ruder attitude and atmosphere. In the play, which is set in such a setting, there are narratives and descriptions of such a world, with the wife beatings, the drunkards, the imagery (descriptions of the area is relatively dark and gloomy,) and so on, and then of course with Stanley to give the perfect stereotypical example of a man from such an environment.
Blanche, however, comes from the South with its big plantations and rich slave owners. She came straight from Belle Reve, but the audience only knows of the life on Belle Reve from the comments and thoughts of Blanche. She describes it as rich, lust, fertile, green; where the people are "real gentlemen," polite, kind, traditional etc. She makes it sound wonderful and appalling, almost dream-like with all her rich ex-lovers and exotic hotels (The Flamingo). However, the audience is soon sceptic towards their perceptions of Belle Reve, as later on in the play, it is clear that Blanche is troubled, uneasy, unreliable, and is in great denial. Whether or not her descriptions of Belle Reve are true, it is evident that she's living in an illusionary world.
Both Blanche and Stanley represent their clashing cultures, which leads to inevitable conflicts.
@Martin, I certainly agree with reply to whether or not this play is a tragic play or not. From the start, Blanches fate was set, and even as she tries to escape by seeking refuge with her sister, she still faces her downfall, where perhaps her main hamartia is her running away form her own past. EH, but Martin, I'm not too sure if "she wants to return to her traditional south; a south where she is respected, loved, admired and cared for." is correct as she had to leave the South due to the fact that she had no one left there; lost everything, and created her own image for the rest of the town to judge. (whorish.)
Williams viewed the characters he created as ‘my little company of the faded and frightened, the difficult, and the odd, the lonely.’ Are any of the characters from A Streetcar Named Desire recognisable from this description?
ReplyDeleteBlanche from A Streetcar Named Desire can be recognised from the given description. In the play, Blanche is living a faded life, full of lies and pain. In the past, at a younger age, Blanche lost what she desired; she lost the boy she loved. Now she leaves with the desire to be loved. Trying to fulfil this desire, she sleeps with her 17 year old student resulting to her losing a teaching job. Later on she loses Belle Reve, a place that gave her purpose. Facing the world of poverty alone, Blanche resorts to pleasuring men as her daily job.
Blanche’s desire to have a fresh start leads her to Elysian Fields. With her past, it is impossible for Blanche to have a fresh start, but by her creating an illusion past, she has a chance of having her desires achieved
At Elysian Fields, Blanche is frightened by Stanley. Stanley shows her no love and he works on revealing her true past. This makes Blanche uncomfortable and she tries to turn Stella against Stanley. Blanche’s actions to achieve her desires make her odd compared to other women characters in the play. She lives a life of a ‘first class lady.’ A life where: she has to look perfect, pretty, and rich. Unlike like other female characters in the play, Blanche has no partner. She is lonely. After Stanley reveals her past, Blanche loses Mitch’s love and at the end of the play she is sent to a mental hospital where she will continue living a lonely life.
Samia
ReplyDeleteIn spite of Blanche’s past life, her deceit, and her artificiality, most readers tend to sympathize with and align themselves with her. How can this emotional reaction (or attachment) toward Blanche be explained?
We feel sympathetic toward Blanche as she tries to escape from the brutality of life and the ‘emptiness’ that has been created within her as a result of her husband's homosexuality and suicide. One can only imagine the amount of emotional and psychological pain she experiences. Blanche turns to sexual promiscuity and alcohol to deal with such emptiness, and in the end we cannot entirely blame her for doing so.
Her losing Belle Reve and her job, feelings that she failed as a wife, and her close encounters with death make her even more delicate, and further deaden her emotions and sense of reality. The alcohol helps her to temporarily forget her misfortunes. The dance tune that was playing when Allan committed suicide still plagues her mind and the only way she can get rid of such thoughts is by drinking until she hears the shot which then signals the end of the music. Blanche is deceitful because she refuses to see herself as she is . Instead she tries to create illusions of what she thinks her life should be. Blanche has had a pretty rough life, so you can't help but sympathize with her. She needs a distraction, and such coping mechanisms serve as distractions.
@Shamshamz:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you...To a certain extent. We can consider Stanley as a villain in terms of his hostility towards Blanche, the rape(no woman deserves to be raped!)and his excessive aggression towards her(especially in the third scene). One could say that he's a victim when taking his life story into consideration. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he is constantly being belittled by Blanche, and in some instances, Stella (RE the scene when he's eating chicken).
Blanche may be considered the victim when looking at her fragility, losing her job, the death of her family members etc. She could also be a victim of her own self delusions. However, she may also be a victimizer with her extensive lies to Stella, Stanley and Mitch throughout the entire play.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteBlanche is one of the most important characters of "Streetcar". Despite her past life, her deceit and her artificiality, most readers sympathize with Blanche and Blanche is seen as a victim of Stanley's cruel and brutal nature. From the very onset of the play, readers become aware that Blanche is not being completely honest with Stella and Stanley. She is shown to be extremely stressed when she arrives at Elysian Fields and depends on alcohol to relieve herself of this stress. However, she doesn't let anyone know of her heavy dependency on alcohol. She informs Stella of losing the property at Belle Reve but her explanation of the situation is vague and it is clear that she is not telling Stella everything. Stanley, unlike Stella, is not satisfied by Blanche's answers to his various questions and as such, Stanley's character acts as a foil to Blanche's character; his inquisitive nature towards Blanche reveals her deceit and lies concerning her past to the readers. As the play progresses, readers learn more of Blanche's past until finally she tells Mitch everything. Readers learn that Blanche has led a very promiscuous and decadent life at Belle Reve, however, one cannot help but sympathise with her. Blanche was deeply in love with her husband until she learnt that he was a homosexual. Blanche was obviously heartbroken and things only got worse after her husband committed suicide. She is constantly haunted by these events. The rise in the polka music whenever Blanche is reminded of her husband is symbolic of these events as Blanche remembers the night her husband shot himself. After her husband's death, Blanche felt all alone in the world. It seems Blanche's sudden descent into promiscuity, although motivated by her sexual desires, was largely due to her solitude and lack of companionship. Throughout the play, Blanche is shown to be very dependant on the companionship of others, a major reason why she decided to leave to Elysian Fields, to live with her sister. Despite her dislike for her sister's new residence and her brother-in-law, Blanche remains there because she cannot remain alone. Blanche is shown to crave for male companionship, which she seeks in any gentleman, whether it is a young messenger or Mitch, perhaps the only one to show Blanche kindness other than Stella. However, when Mitch learns of Blanche's past, he no longer wants to marry her because she is not 'fit' to live in the same house as his mother. Feeling rejected and alone in the world once again, losing what she thought was a definite companion, Blanche bursts out in a fit of rage towards Mitch and forces him to leave. After this incident, Blanche suffers even further as a drunken Stanley overpowers and rapes her and then has her sent to a mental asylum. This is perhaps the most unfortunate of consequences for Blanche and the one that draws the most sympathy for her from readers. No one, not even her own sister Stella seem to believe her having been raped by Stanley or refuse to speak out against it. Everyone seems to take Stanley's side, whether out of trust, love or fear and Blanche once again finds herself alone in the world, left to suffer her fate in an asylum.
Blanche's struggle to find companionship and to remain composed and somewhat sane when alone leads her to her dependencies on alcohol, various meaningless sexual escapades and her world of illusion that she resorts to throughout the play to escape the cruel brutality of the real world that seems to have no place for Blanche, her ideals or her fantasies. Blanche's shame concerning her past leads her to lie constantly, in an attempt to create a better reputation for herself in Elysian Fields, as she tries to settle in. However, her lies and deceit lead her to lose any possibility of male companionship and to her suffering at the hands of Stanley.
Jarrad,
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what you’ve said. Stanley was not the only cause of Blanche’s downfall, her past definitely played a role and her attempts to cover up this past with lies only made things more difficult for her, to the point that no one even believed her being raped by Stanley. However, I think there are other things to consider when discussing to what extent Blanche is a victim in “Streetcar”. One must consider the reasons behind some of Blanche’s actions to better understand her and her situation. Yes, logically Blanche should have realised that Stanley took an instant dislike to her and should have left New Orleans much earlier. However, throughout the play, especially during her unstable and nervous condition at the beginning, Blanche is shown to be extremely dependant on the companionship of others. This was her major reason for staying on with Stella, despite her first reactions of shock and distaste towards New Orleans and Stanley. After everything that has happened to her in the past, Blanche feels like she can no longer be alone. Another issue is Blanche’s promiscuity that led to her having such a shameful past that she had to cover up with lies. I believe her reasons for lying about her past were justified since she was looking for some companionship and when one learns of her past such a possibility seems less likely, as seen from Mitch’s reaction upon hearing the truth and his sudden unwillingness to marry her. I also believe to a certain extent Blanche’s promiscuous past in Laurel was due to the horrific way her first marriage ended and the effect it had on her mental condition. However, Blanche is also seen to be motivated by sexual desires, as she even flirts with the young man who comes to collect payments for a newspaper. She seems to like the idea of a younger male companion because to her, it seems to be a reflection of her beauty and youthfulness.
I agree that Blanche could have made life much easier for herself by being more honest about her past, at least with Stella. However, her reasons for keeping the truth hidden from Mitch for so long were justified, as it changed Mitch’s decision to marry her. I consider Stanley raping Blanche to be of no fault of Blanche’s. Stanley was purely drunk and seemed to already have sexual desires towards Blanche. He then uses Blanche’s lies and deception against her to hide his own guilt. He convinces everyone that she is lying about being raped and that she is insane and admits her to a mental asylum. Even if Blanche had been honest with Stella up until that point, I don’t think Stella would have taken Blanche’s side because Stella always seemed to be closer to Stanley and even at the end of the play, I believe Stella knows that there is some degree of truth to what Blanche is saying but is afraid to speak out because of the consequences it would have for her, her marriage and her newly born child. As such, I do think to a large extent that Blanche was a victim of Stanley’s cruel and brutal nature