A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

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Even though desires can sometimes turn into people’s reality, reality often disappoints and rejects desires too. One way to deal with the issue of reality disappointing desire is to develop a distorted reality. Of course, in time, living in a distorted reality and postponing true reality will eventually lead to disappointment or perhaps insanity. In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Tennessee Williams demonstrates how desire defines reality through the characters as the deal with the difficult situations that come their way. Although these situations occasionally seem to lead to happiness in their lives, it is often distorted happiness and most of the situations become tragic in actuality. During the exposition of the play, Williams make use of…show more content…
One of the major rising actions is when Stanley questions Blanche about the mysterious loss of Belle Reve. He becomes interested in this topic because of the Napoleonic code – a law in Louisiana, which states, “What belongs to the wife belongs to husband and vice versa.” (Williams 1789). Blanche grows defensive over Stanley’s questioning which again hints that she is trying to distort the reality of her situation. Another rising action is when Stanley discovers that there was “A seventeen-year-old boy- she’d gotten mixed up with”(Williams 1822) while she was living in her old town of Laurel. This reveals Blanche’s twisted desires and the reality of who Blanche really…show more content…
As Stella calls for a doctor to take Blanche to an insane asylum, she says to Eunice, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley.” (Williams 1838). Stella believes that Blanche is making up that Stanley had raped her, which leads her to believe that Blanche is insane and needs help. After the doctor and nurse arrive to pick up Blanche, her last words of the play are, “whoever you are – I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” (Williams 1843). Williams make these Blanche’s last words to summarize how her desire to depend on other people to care for her has led her to live in a fictional
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