A Streetcar Named Desire

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A Streetcar Named Desire As humans, we tend to want what we cannot have. Even after knowing that we cannot have something makes the want and “need” for it even greater. The power of thinking and imagining can fool the mind into believing the unattainable is possible in order to better cope with reality. One work of literature- A Streetcar Named Desire – has a similar connection of creating an alternate state of the world in one’s mind throughout the storytelling, depicting fantasy’s inability to overcome reality. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is a southern belle who was formerly a part of the upper class. Once she loses everything she has – from wealth to her sanity – Blanche sees it best to stay with her sister and sister’s husband, Stella and Stanley. Blanche’s main motive is to persuade Stella to return to the lifestyle they had back in Mississippi, while she also attempts to prevent her own past from being exposed. To share false information with a second party is a way of convincing one’s self of fraudulent information. One of Blanche’s first signs of fabrication comes into play at the start of Act II Scene I. In response to Stella’s question, “What are you laughing at, honey?” Blanche says, “ Myself, myself for being such a liar… How does that sound?” The lunacy in Blanche’s persona, while reading her telegram for an old flame Shep to Stella, illuminates how dried up she is becoming. Williams follows this scene up with an outburst between Eunice and Steve, symbolizing how easy it is for a dose of reality to overpower and diverge from the figments of Blanche’s imagination. A common tactic of straying away from present time is to do what makes one feel young again. In Blanche’s case, she makes use of boys who are much younger than herself. At the end of Act II Scene I, Blanche flirts with the young collector. Before her bold action, she says,
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