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A Streetcar Named Desire And Disgrace

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In a variety of forms, Desire is presented as a destructive force in A Streetcar Named Desire and Disgrace. In A Streetcar Named Desire this destruction takes a variety of forms such as death (shown through Alan 's suicide) and the demise of Blanche’s previously expected reputation as a ‘Southern Belle’. Blanche tries to trade sex for commitment, connection and safety. This is the pattern of her life and one that she fails to see as dysfunctional and destructive. Disgrace also presents desire to be a force of destruction. David Lurie’s uncontrollable desires throughout the novel only make his life worse. However, David uses desire as a show of his male dominance in comparison to Blanche’s desperate sexual encounters. The direct link between desire, disgrace and destruction can also be presented through the animalistic sexual ferocity of Stella and Stanley.

In A Streetcar Named Desire, Desire is almost always represented as a force of destruction; as seen through its consequences. In the 1930s and 1940s homosexuality was not just a crime but also shameful and people considered you to be a “degenerate”. The play’s title is ever-so important, specifically when discussing the theme of desire and the negative nature that accompanies it. It is true that there was a streetcar in New Orleans that carried the word "Desire" as its destination, and another that went to "Cemeteries". The striking nature of the comparison between the two names lead Tennessee Williams, when living

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