Streetcar Named Desire (1951), directed by Elia Kazan and adapted from the Tennessee Williams’s 1947 play, revolves around the complexity of Blanche DuBois, a seemingly kindhearted woman who has issues with honesty and romance. However, the adaptation reveals another complex character in Stanley Kowalski. In the film, there are circumstances in which Blanche and Stanley each act in a morally justifiable ways and in morally corrupt ways. Both characters are suspicious and hard to read. The film characterizes
characters, Blanche Dubois french named American woman, depicts herself from the rest as she arrives at the Elysian Fields where a new life awaits her, a life awakening a hidden deplorable past. A past which Tennessee Williams through the use of various symbols throughout the play, counters Blanche’s fight with her present and past. Blanche is a French word meaning “white”, a colour which refers to purity and innocence, ironic as to Blanche’s character traits. The name suggest that Blanche is a pure
In A Streetcar Named Desire the opposition between Blanche and Stanley is an important and central theme in the play by Tennessee Williams. Stanley is very blunt, masculine, primitive and protective about the control of his home. Blanche is a guest and, although she acts superior, the circumstances of her life have left her fragile, devious and self-conscious. Their basic personalities put them at odds with each other which developed into conflicts and hostility which led to Blanche’s breakdown.
reality. The physical appearance and mannerisms of Blanche DuBois and her romantic gestures offer a stark contrast to her opinion of herself. Similarly, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the public perception of Gatsby’s education and wealth was the antithesis of reality. How others perceive a person due to their actions or appearances can be very misleading and often fly in the face of reality. William’s protagonist, Blanche DuBois, actively sought attention and compliments about
Williams uses language and stagecraft to create a stark contrast between Stanley and Blanche, as well as to highlight the multitude of differences between the Old South and the New South, represented by Blanche and Stanley respectively. One contrast between the characters is their social status. Stanley is “roughly dressed in blue denim working clothes”, so it is likely that he works in manual labour, and is therefore of a lower class. This represents the New South, which at the time of the play
again. In A Street Car Named Desire it is Blanche who suffers most with her loss of youth, Blanche is self-conscious and knows she is aging and no longer looks how she did when she was young, however she doesn’t want others to know this, often using light to hide. Light is used as a symbol in the play, Blanche avoids direct light particularly in front of Mitch whom she refuses to tell her age to, in order to prevent him from seeing her aging beauty. Blanche becomes worried and irritated if she is in
reaction to the discovery of the truth. Blanche tries to escape the reality of her life by lying to herself and everyone else which eventually drives her to insanity. Stella is a loyal sister and wants to believe Blanche’s stories despite that her husband, Stanley, tries to manipulate her to see that Blanche is a fraud. Stanley is a cruel and controlling husband to Stella who becomes increasingly violent throughout the story. Mitch is a decent man who falls for Blanche until the truths about her past arise
Of all the characters in Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Stella Kowalski appears to be the primary embodiment of the conflict between the antebellum era and the modern age in which the play is set. She represents the shift towards modernity in post-war America, and the attempt to rebuild one’s life following the social upheaval caused by WWII. One of the ways we learn of Stella’s position as a fusion between the two eras in scene two is through her attitude towards the loss of Belle Reve
After Stanley beats Stella and she goes back, Blanche accuses Stella of being insane; Stella blames it on being in love. She claims that she is “not sure it would have made a difference where [she] saw him” because “there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of make everything else seem – unimportant” (Williams, 1806). Blanche calls this “brutal desire” (Williams, 1806). Even when Stanley talks about when Stella and
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