“A Street Car named Desire” “A Street Car named Desire” written by Tennessee Williams is an iconic play that debuted on Broadway in 1947. This play took the world by storm because of its controversial topics and intriguing storyline. When the play first released, it was a shifting point in American society. In the 1950s, American citizens had more wealth than ever before. The middle class had become large rapidly due to the increase in the manufacture, advances in technology, and the baby boom. Even though the 1950s were good times from a financial standpoint, there were still many issues in America that this play examines. There were gender conflicts between men and women at the time. Women were fighting for independent rights and protesting against certain policies that discriminated against women. Some men did not like that and backlashed against those women. That was a common theme in this play while it was Stanley vs Blanche for the majority of the play. Stanley was the husband to Blanche's sister Stella. Stanley was considered middle class and was very controlling of Stella. He could get violent and did not like the presence of Blanche. Stanley could be considered a “typical 1950’s man” who wanted control of the household and control over women. On the other hand, Blanche is a southern girl, who is both fragile and courageous, has been seen as a beauty, and can be delusional. Blanche has gone through some times in her life and wants to believe that all men are good, but fails to realize that is not the case. These two polar opposite characters have conflicted the whole play and it brings out this narrative of Realism vs Illusion. Stanley represents realism by wanting people to be themselves and living life by just how it is. Blanche brings a different perspective by her making things up in her mind and living in a fantasy world. These two different perspectives lead to many controversies in the play and cause Stella to be in the middle of both Stanley and Blanche. One example of a conflict is when Stanley founds out that Blanche has been lying about her life this whole time and confronts her. Stanley is upset because he can not see who the real Blanche is and does not like how she is fake. This goes back to the realism that Stanley brings to the play. He can not stand that he was being lied too. Also, I believe that he could not stand the fact that he could not control Blanche. With his controlling nature, it upset him that he could not get to Blanche until after he rapes her. Which, he controlling Blanche and damaging her spirit. Another example would be when Blanche is shocked that Stella would go back to Stanley after he hits Stella. The next morning, Blanche tells Stella how Stanley is an “animal" and tries to save Stella from Stanley. Blanche shows how courageous she is by telling Stella how she feels about Stanley. In the 1950s, women did not stand up and try to encourage women to leave their husbands. Unfortunately, Stanley is in the next room and hears what Blanche has to say and it just makes him even dislike Blanche more. Stanley believes that Blanche is getting into Stella's head, and is encouraging a change in Stella’s behavior. This leads to Stanley exposing Blanche for her lies and ends up ruining Blanche's only a chance at a romantic relationship and her mental health as well. Which causes Stella to believe Stanley over Blanche at the end of the play.
2 Comments
Sydney Glendenning
9/28/2019 09:52:57 am
I really like how you wrote about what was going on in society at the time the play was written. That was a great idea since it gives the play more context to your readers.
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Rachel Moorman
9/29/2019 10:55:56 am
I agree with Sydney. The thing I liked most about this post was how much you included the actual happenings of the outside world that had such an influence on this book. Knowing more about the history of the time makes the book more realistic. While dramatic is what it is, knowing that this book was written in a time when things like the events in the story really happened, makes the exuberance of it more understandable.
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