Blanche Dubois Taboos

Blanche needs Mitch as a stabilizing force in her life; if her relationship with him fails, she knows she faces a world that offers few prospects for a financially challenged, unmarried woman approaching middle age. She tacitly admits to Mitch that she needs him when she accepts his embrace, but her fears of acknowledging her past and current situation overpower her and prevent her from telling the full truth. She hides her past not only from Mitch, but also from herself because to acknowledge it is to also admit the unhealthy choices she has made. When Stanley tells Mitch about Blanche’s blemished past Mitch recognizes that Blanche’s deceptions have relied on a symbolic and literal darkness which obscures reality. When Mitch asks Blanche to be honest about herself she says, “I don’t want realism. I want Magic! I don’t tell truth, I tell what ought to be the truth” (145). In these lines Blanche clearly expresses her desire not to deal with reality; this inability to face her circumstances signifies that Blanche is not recovering from her mental stress, but rather descending further into it. Blanche becomes desperate and delusional and her descent into mental

"Desire, unrefined, leads to death”. To what extent Tennessee Williams's plays lend support to such a proposition? Speaking to a reporter in 1963 Tennessee Williams said," Death is my best theme, don't you think? The pain of dying is what worries me, not the act. After all, nobody gets out of life alive.” The themes of death and desire are central in the play “A Streetcar Named Desire”. When the play was released in 1948 it caused a storm, its sexual content was controversial to say the least, but also it was, virtually unique as a stage piece that is both personal and social and wholly a product of our life today. The play tells of the visit of the main character, Blanche DuBois, a supposedly typical Southern Belle, to her estranged sister Stella Kowalski, and her husband Stanley Kowalski who she finds living in modesty in New Orleans. Tensions between the educated, condescending Blanche and the cruel, overly masculine Stanley escalate, and though Stella sympathizes with her sister at the beginning, she's intoxicated by Stanley's sexuality and takes his side. Blanche briefly finds comfort in Stanley's friend Mitch, who's attracted to her and presents her with the possibility of a better life. He quickly loses interest in her, however, and she's left to face Stanley alone. During the climax, Stanley rapes Blanche in the heat of an argument. Blanche has a breakdown due to this and is taken to a mental institution in the final scene. The play and film include crucial

Comparing the play versus, the movie versions of A Streetcar Named Desire has been entertaining and enlightening. Originally written as a play, Tennessee Williams later adapted it into a screenplay for the film version. Consequently, both versions were extremely popular in their own right. Drama and social taboos create an emotionally charged viewing adventure. Williams characters are complex, exciting and just crazy enough to keep the audience spellbound. The DuBois sisters are complete opposites sharing only their love for each other as common ground. Blanche, the older sister, shows up for an impromptu visit with her sister Stella Kowalski. Stella and her husband Stanley live in New Orleans, in the French Quarter. Blanche has become destitute and has lost the family plantation. Stanley, incensed by the idea that Blanche has taken the plantation from him, sets out to destroy her by any and all means. The characters and performers provide a riveting and consequently soulful performance that is hauntingly unforgettable. Williams writing moves the audience to tears with dynamic characters, conflict and catastrophe of unimaginable depth.

She had invited Mitch to her birthday dinner, but Stanley had already told him all the bad things about her past. This is when she starts to slip. She tries to make conversation and tell jokes with Stanley, but obviously, he isn’t having it. The point where it is evident that she is really slipping is when Stanley says he has a gift for her. “Oh, have you [a gift for me], Stanley? I wasn’t expecting any, I—I wasn’t expecting any. I—I don’t know why Stella wants to observe my birthday! I’d much rather forget it—when you—reach twenty-seven! Well—age is a subject that you’d prefer to—ignore!” (Williams 135). Blanche is thirty years old. This goes back into the fantasy idea. She uses it as a coping mechanism. Finally, there is something going good in her life, and that is roughly

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois who is in misplaced circumstances. Her life is lived through fantasies, the remembrance of her lost husband and the resentment that she feels for her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Various moral and ethical lessons arise in this play such as: Lying ultimately gets you nowhere, Abuse is never good, Treat people how you want to be treated, Stay true to yourself and Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Based on Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan creates an award winning movie that helps readers visualize Stanley’s primal masculinity, the inner torments of the Kowalski women and the clash of the other characters’ problems which create a chaotic mess. Using stage directions in the play, William hints that Blanche is not who she appears to be while the movie subtly sheds light on Blanche’s strange little habits that suggests a bigger issue. The movie also censors many of the main themes in Williams’ play but makes up for it by having its actors flawlessly portray the characters’ emotions, allowing the readers to see the

Tennessee Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is set in the ‘Roaring Twenties’ when America was going through a great deal of change in the order of society. The three main characters; Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski and Stanley Kowalski jostle claustrophobically in a small apartment, set in Elysian Fields in New Orleans, Elysian Fields is an ironic name as it evokes the sense that the apartment is heaven, when in reality it is very much the opposite. Stella and Blanche are sisters, but during the course of the play, we notice very clearly that Blanche is stuck in the in the Old World of plantations and inequality, with very large social divides. In contrast, Stella has almost seamlessly evolved to live in the New

“Stella has embraced him with both arms, fiercely, and full in the view of Blanche. He laughs and clasps her head to him. Over her head he grins through the curtains at Blanche.” (Williams 73) A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams exemplifies the theme of a struggle to attain happiness. The play not only portrays this theme in its characters and setting, but through the literary devices of Foil, Imagery, and Intertextuality. Williams took great care in applying each of these literary device techniques to the theme as he presents an intriguing contrast between Blanche and Stanley, vivid images both animalistic and broken, and imploring the use of the Odyssey to further

In his plays, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams uses different ways to show in the play of social realism. It show each of individual character and focusing on how particular way of viewpoint contrast with men, and the perspective of looking at women. The play explores struggle of two character Stanley and Blanche, between appearances and reality which made the play’s plot more affected reality. Throughout this play, it show the symbolize of the gender roles and the power of men over women in the 1940’s in New Orleans.

The role of women in the 1950 was seen to be repressive and constrictive in many ways. Society placed high importance and many expectations for these women on behavior at home as well as in public. Women were supposed to fulfil certain roles, such as a caring mother, a diligent homemaker, and an obedient wife. The perfect mother was supposed to stay home and nurture so society would accept them. In fact, even if a woman wanted to voice an opinion, her lack of education would not allow it . The play A Streetcar Named Desire is set during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s period where it describes the decline of a fading Southern belle named Blanche DuBois. The women in this play are represented to be dependent and submissive in nature and in addition they are also seen to be manipulative. However, Williams has also portrayed these women to be independent and taking control of the situation. This can be seen through the use of the main characters

Tennessee Williams was a thriving playwriter with many of his ideas coming from actual events in his life. Growing up with a father that was an alcoholic and known for gambling led him down the same path (Parry 304). In the play “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Blanche, who is trying to get away from her erroneous past goes to New Orleans to visit her sister Stella. Seeing that she is in a place where no one knows her, she hopes to make a new life for herself. During her visit, Blanche clashes with Stella’s husband Stanley and the biggest difference between them would be the way they were brought up. When Stanley starts to figure out that Blanche has a shady past, he is on a mission to uncover her past and expose her for who she really is. This makes things very hard for Stella because Stanley and Blanche see each other as enemies and they both are trying to get her away from the other. Throughout the play many disturbing issues will arise. Alcohol is brought up in the play approximately thirty-two times and violence around twenty-four (Williams). Tennessee Williams brings awareness of the characters through alcohol and violence to create a dynamic downfall into the mental state of Blanche.

The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe

In the play Blanche avoids appearing in direct, bright light, especially in front of Mitch. She won’t give anyone her real age, and that is why she wan’t get in the light so Mitch don’t find out; and the light is symbolizes her past.She is haunted by her ghost that she has lost- her first lover, her purpose in her life, her dignity, and her genteel society of her ancestors.When Blanche tells Mitch that being in love with her last husband, was like having the world revealed in bright light. When Stanley and Blanche drink alcohol they do it differently, when Stanley drinks he drinks when he is with his friends, but he ends up being mean to his wife and when Blanche drinks she to escape the harsh reality.

The 1951 play A Streetcar Named Desire explores the fate of the principle characters to which desire leads, as indicated in the title. Desire, in reference to sex is displayed as a destructive force by the author Tennessee Williams, which leads to a series of tragic events in the life of Blanche Dubois, the protagonist. She is the character of focus in this play and has an interesting personality as she uses sex as a means to get away from her haunting past and keep her sane in terms of suppressing her guilt about her late husband. In addition to the tragic events that occur in Blanche 's life as a result of her sexual relations, Stanley and Stella Kowalski is a married couple that share a very sexual relationship and is displayed as the root of success in maintaining their healthy relationship. Tennessee Williams uses the sexual relationship of Stanley and Stella Kowalski in comparison to Blanche Dubois to show the duality of sex in the characters lives. Blanche, a character whose personality is driven by desire is a victim of destruction through her own sanity and sexual relations; however, Stanley and Stella’s relationship explores the likeness and pleasures of engaging in sex.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Todd MacDonald is a fine example of contemporary theatre set in a post Second World War world. The play explores the themes of violence and domestic abuse as well as mental health issues. Director Todd MacDonald’s contemporary take on A Streetcar Named Desire in the La Boite theatre takes the audience back in time to 2 years after the Second World War to a household in New Orleans. The lead actress, Blanche is staying at her sister, Stella’s house and as the play progresses, the audience soon learn more about Blanche’s haunting past that greatly affects her and the other members of the household. The play has been reimagined for a contemporary audience as seen by Travis McMahon successful portrayal of his character,