Blanche Dubois Symbolism

At the onset of the Play, Dubois arrives in New Orleans where she intends to stay with her estranged sister, Stella Kowalski. There is something timid about her demeanor, characterized by great “uncertainty” (Williams 15), suggesting the immediate apprehension Blanche experiences subsequently after arriving in New Orleans. Consequently, Williams immediately places an emphasis on the significance of her apprehension which begins to unveil itself as the narrative progresses. Prior to illustrating this, it is important to understand Blanche’s rationale for leaving her ancestral lands. As aforementioned earlier, the Civil War and the subsequent cultural transformation of the United States alienated women like Dubois; moreover, ill-equipped to deviate from the rigid conservative ideals that Southern Belles were raised with followed by the incumbency to abandon her formerly held ideals in the midst of cultural change, Dubois is compelled to abandon the decrepit ideals of the Old South and to establish a new life for herself. However, this proves to be a difficult endeavor for Dubois as she embodies the vestiges of the Old South in New Orleans which forms her identity. Firstly, racist attitudes towards those who were not of white skin colour dominated the Old South; moreover, Dubois echoes her intolerance towards other races in several instances. At the outset of the play, Williams introduces the notion of racial tolerance in New Orleans through the stage direction of an “easy intermingling of races” (Williams 13). Moreover, Dubois is immediately confronted by this intermingling (alien to her) as she takes notice of a black woman nonchalantly and joyously conversing with Eunice Hubbell, a white woman. In the Old South, this would have been unheard of as plantation workers were expected to work diligently and without question. Dubois still conforms to the Southern Belle archetype as she expects the black woman to find Stella Kowalski for her on the basis of skin colour. This event lays the foundation for her psychological dilapidation as it is the initial experience that questions her psyche and everything it believes. The culmination of racial tension in Dubois’ psyche ultimately impels her to express her disdain for

Identity is significant to the character of Stanley; when he is labelled “Polack” he becomes increasingly more angry, “American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don't ever call me a Polack.” It's as if he's trying to move away from his old family identity, to instead associate himself only with Americans. The late 1940s saw several changes to traditional values, mirrored by the conflicting beliefs held by Blanche and Stanley. Stanley's desire to be fully associated with the 'New South' acts as a reminder of the new lives many Americans began to lead after the end of the second world war; a form of escapism from pre-war life. Expanding on the idea that the themes of identity and escapism are connected; whereas Stella appears to be content with her life in New Orleans, Blanche is unable to keep one singular identity. The woman the audience meets at the very start of the play contrasts the version of Blanche we see taken away by a doctor and nurse at the end of scene eleven; her gradual mental deterioration during the play suggests that no matter how hard she tried, she could never truly escape from her

Throughout Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois exemplified several tragic flaws. She suffered from her haunting past; her inability to overcome; her desire to be someone else; and from the cruel, animalistic treatment she received from Stanley. Sadly, her sister Stella also played a role in her downfall. All of these factors ultimately led to Blanche’s tragic breakdown in the end.

2. Blanche is the protagonist, had a great tragedy in her early life. She fell in love young and married, and discovered her husband was gay. Shortly after, her husband died and left her a young widow. “And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stronger than this—kitchen—candle.”(scene6) After her sister left, she had to take care of family members. Their deaths resulted in the loss of her familys Belle Reve, and Blanche being displaced and thrown into a society she did not understand. After all this tragedy, Blanche preferred to live in her own made up reality of denial where she is still the belle of the party; and life is full of small talk and manners. She tries to display herself as innocent.

From my point of view the protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire is Blanche Dubois. Blanche is a woman who was born and raised in the plantations in Mississippi. She’s about 30 years old. She is an English teacher who got fired for having an affair with a 17 year old student. She goes to New Orleans in 1947 to stay with her sister, Stella, and her sister’s husband Stanley Kowalski.

Blanche lives in a fantasy world of sentimental illusion because reality would ruin her. Throughout the play, Blanche constantly bathes herself as if she can wash away the dirt of her guilt and she only appears in semi-darkness and shadows, intentionally keeping herself out of the harsh glare of reality. Her sign of purity is an ironic illusion because of her growingly evident promiscuity, but even that is just a part of her act and is not the real Blanche. Blanche exerts efforts to maintain the appearance of being an upper-class young innocent woman, even though she is, by all accounts, a “fallen woman” (Abbotson 47). She says to Mitch: “I don’t want realism. I want magic! [Mitch laughs] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! – Don’t turn the light on!”

When he has his parties, he does not consider anyone else feelings. When Blanche and Stella tried to listen to music on the radio, he demanded they turn it off, when they did not he throw it out the window. He walks around as if he is great but really, he is not. Stanley did not have a lot of money. His family lives in a house that is not very attractive.

due to her past blanche’s actions are unusual and to many they are considered inappropriate. Blanche lives through some very dark and intense incidents before the play takes place, she witnesses the death of her entire family, she loses her family home, and to add to the misery she believes she is the reason her husband killed himself. In an act to move on she retreats into illusion acting as if these incidents never happened. Blanche decides to lie to everyone, from her sister to the man she potentially wanted to marry, she does not give them the truth. She wants to marry mitch but does not tell him about her past, mitch had all right to know, yet she led him on, actions like these in an environment of connection is inappropriate beyond a doubt. Because of her lies and illusions Blanche ends up losing everything, she loses her only chance at a future with Mitch and her freedom when she is sent to the mental institution. Blanches motivation by the past caused her life around her dissolve.

The death of her family members and the loss of her home force Blanche to flee Laurel, trying to forget the past. She travels to New Orleans to seek shelter with her sister Stella Kowalski, but she is incongruous. Her alienation makes her adjust her surroundings in order to compensate for her detachment with reality.

     Stanley shreds the dreams of Blanche DuBois, revealing her ugly past to her sister and her beau. He refuses to

Blanche deals with many issues the loss of loved ones, the loss of the family estate, the inability to deal with reality, rejection from others, and the rape by Stanley. Blanche has also become independent and assertive which is not the typical norm of a southern woman. She has been forced into a world she is not prepared for. Because of this Blanche begins to live in her own world, her own little fantasy. She also uses alcohol and sexual promiscuity to escape from the loneliness she has endured since her husband’s death. Williams shows us through the way Blanche speaks to the paper boy;

Blanche DuBois is an aging Southern debutante. She arrives at her sister's home in New Orleans hoping to start a new life after losing her family’s mansion, her job, and her reputation in her hometown of

Stanley reveals that he has shared the information with Mitch, Blanche’s potential lover. The incitement sets the rising action in motion as Blanche disturbed by Stanley’s cruelty becomes an alcohol

The play takes place in New Orleans. Where all the people are laid back and have changed with the time while Blanche acts as if it were still the old south, where the blacks are slaves and the wealthy only associate with the wealthy. Add in text citations Good.

Before one can understand Blanche's character, one must understand the reason why she moved to New Orleans and joined her sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley. By analyzing the symbolism in the first scene, one