...Tennessee Williams and William Shakespeare are two writers of different times who experienced vastly different events in their lives. Tennessee Williams was born in 1911 and while he was in University, his sister, Rose, had begun suffering from a mental illness. She later underwent a prefrontal lobotomy. We can see that his play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ reflects this experience, perhaps through the character of Blanche who is very frantic and hysterical. William Shakespeare lived through the time of change - England was a proud nation and full of power. This reflects through the male, dominating characters and the way women are submissive such as Hero and Claudio. Beatrice and Benedick, however, contrasts the typical relationship of that time as Beatrice doesn’t necessarily conform to the way a woman should behave, signifying a time of change. In both of these plays, we can see that men dominate and females are usually submissive to them. However, there are exceptions which are clearly shown through Beatrice in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ who has little regard for what is considered proper and is very outspoken and witty and rarely conforms to what is expected of her. This is also shown in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ through Blanche, who holds herself very high and thinks of herself above men. Both Blanche and Beatrice insult the men around them. It suggests that this is considered normal of both of these different times and as a result, men appear to hold higher power and importance...
Words: 1346 - Pages: 6
...and brutal forces of society.” Compare and contrast how masculinity is explored in two texts you have studied in light of this comment. In A Streetcar Named Desire, the men are seen as cruel and bitter due to their harsh use of force to achieve what they want. Whereas in All New People, the men are perceived as the victims of society rather than its actual driving force. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley fulfils the duty of carrying the traditional patriarchal role of the breadwinner in the society of the 1950’s era. He is represented as masculine through the use of his dominance in the household, control over Stella and being the prime influence in his social group of friends, as they see him as someone they want to be. However, this is contrasted in the modern day text of All New People, as Charlie conforms to the image of the ‘new man’ by emphasising the different types of masculine forms in society and how they are widely accepted. He expresses this through the use of showing emotion and being more considerate of other people’s feelings, while being aware of his own. Tennessee Williams makes it prominent that in 1950’s post war America, men and women each had specific gender roles that they had to attain and carry out. Stanley’s physical sovereignty is embedded throughout the play due to way he behaves and his innermost desire to control everyone around him. “Well, you can hear me and I said to hush up!” “[yelling]: Sit down!” Stanley demonstrates his supremacy in the...
Words: 2374 - Pages: 10
...Janet Ng Professor Faunce WRT 102 7 March 2012 Textual Analysis of A Streetcar Named Desire 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 conflict at its full magnitude. Both the movie and the play sympathize with the powerless women by underlining the important theme of women’s dependence on men. Blanche is an insecure, miserable older woman who masks herself as a rich, upper class lady. She continues to shy from reality and seduce men as she cannot comprehend that her reliance on men will ultimately lead to her downfall. “Now run along, now, quickly! It would be nice to keep you, but I’ve got to be good-and keep my hands off children.” (Williams, pg 99) This isn’t the first time that Blanche has put moves on a kid as made evident when she states “I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children.” She clearly hasn’t learned her lesson after losing her job. The scene is even more...
Words: 1838 - Pages: 8
...Poker Game In the early twentieth century, women were still dependent on men. It was difficult for a woman to have a job and be financially independent. In addition, at this time, women had to keep their virginity to have a chance to get married. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is placed in the picturesque French Quarter in New Orleans. The play starts when Blanche DuBois comes in New Orleans to visit her sister Stella after she lost the family plantation Belle-Reve because of money problems. She then meets her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, a World War II veteran. As soon as they meet each other, a mistrustful rivalry starts between them. A Streetcar Named Desire depicts the conflict between two opposing views as a poker game between Blanche and Stanley for control. From the beginning of the play, Williams starts distinguishing Stanley and Blanche by their mentalities. In fact, Blanche has the Old South mentality. She grew up in a plantation where she learnt how to behave as an aristocrat whereas her brother-in-law is an industrial and a Polish immigrant representing the New South. Blanche is described as delicate and fragile whereas Stanley is rude and violent. Blanche lives in a world of illusion. She acts as a queen and wants the men to treat her like it. Unlike Blanche, Stanley lives in a rude world, a world where if a person are strong enough physically and mentally, he or she can succeed. In addition, Williams opposes Stanley and Blanche by their description...
Words: 2039 - Pages: 9
...A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is about a woman named Blanche, who is fading, fragile and desperate woman. Completely destitute, Blanche travels to New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella, and her sister’s husband, Stanley. Although she is very unhappy there, Blanche stays with her family despite the unusual and abusive relationship between Stella and Stanley. When Stanley discovers Blanche’s secret of having lost the family estate and then later providing many men with sexual favors, he attempts to send her back to where she came from. Stella goes into labor soon after, forcing other issues aside. When Stanley comes back from the hospital, but before Stella has the baby, he and a very drunk Blanche are left alone at the...
Words: 833 - Pages: 4
...Many plays and books have been adapted into a movie. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, is one of the plays who have been made into a movie. It takes place in the 1940s in New Orleans. The main character in the movie is Blanche DuBois, a women with a questionable behavior. In A streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is described in detail through symbolism by drunkenness, light, and music. Drunkenness is one of the most obvious symbolisms in the movie. It represents escape for Blanche when things go wrong or she feels uncomfortable. When she firsts arrives to New Orleans, she finds herself at a bowling alley, and orders drinks so she can explain where she believes she has been. The same thing occurred when Mitch confronts Blanche...
Words: 427 - Pages: 2
...Fiction Vs. Reality: Tennessee Williams’s Influences “There is a fine line between a fictionalized autobiography or memoir and autobiographical fiction. In both cases, the author uses tidbits about his or her life. The difference is to what extent” (Houston par. 1).Tennessee Williams was a man who had many stories to share of his experiences and all of the different influences he has had throughout his life. In both Tennessee Williams’s Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, he bases his characters off of his own mother, sister, and homosexuality. Tennessee Williams grew up with his mother and grandparents being his biggest influences of people to look toward because his father was a traveling businessman and not around much. His...
Words: 1602 - Pages: 7
...Blue Jasmine, movie by Woody Allen is a successful adaptation of the play “Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams. Blue Jasmine presents Jasmine, main character, living in an entitled world who falls into nothingness due to the affair and the investment scheme of her husband. She, therefore, moves into her adopted sister, Ginger’s apartment situated in the downscale San Francisco. In hopes of starting a fresh life, Jasmine enters a job in a Dentist Office; however, she encounters frustration from the patients and harassment from her boss, Dr. Flickr. Jasmine finally quits the job, and instead seeks to find a man for a peace in her life. Although she finds a man, Dwight, she loses him due to her false reality and lies just like Blanche,...
Words: 1466 - Pages: 6
...do not delve beyond the surface, focusing only on prominent characteristics and dominant traits throughout the book. However, it is possible to find the deception behind each personality within a book if one analyzes the character's beyond their superficial facade. Since the beginning of time, humans have always stumbled on a boarder between appearance and reality, using deception to mask weaknesses and obscure the harsh eye of society. By examining A Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath the deception humans use in order to appear stronger in society are revealed. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, there is a dominant theme of deception portrayed by the three main characters in the play. Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski, and Blanche DuBois all have simple personalities that are extremely skewed by the end of the book. Stella states "I'm not in anything I want to get out of," (Williams, 74). This gives Blanche a huge reality check, because someone she adores has accepted such an average life, and has given up in her pursue for perfection, even if most of it is imaginary. This deception also plays a huge role in Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, through a continuos series of twists throughout the book and hidden motifs, that cannot be seen by the reader until the characters themselves accept the truth or the meaning behind it. The character...
Words: 1010 - Pages: 5
...important play writers of America after the World War Ⅱ, Tennessee Williams won lots of theatrical awards for his masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire. As a result, Blanche, the heroine in the play, had been the focus point of the critics. This thesis tries to analyze profoundly the cause of the tragedy of Blanche from several aspects .As Williams T concluded, ‘The heroine Blanche was struggling between reality and fantasy, finally, her spirit was broken drastically under the beat of ruthless reality. She was the typical weak woman and victim in the patriarchal society. Her tragedy shows that the woman can’t escape the control of the typical patriarchal society in any case of resistances.’(Williams, 2).Some of William’s points will be elaborated in this paper which includes four parts. Chapter one serves as an “introduction”, which gives a general review of main characters in the novel. Chapter two, “Character of Blanche” ,Blanche’s being trapped by the conventionality; Blanche’s illusion about men; Blanche’s illusion about herself; her husband’s suicide; Stanley’s rude behavior and sense of dominance; Stella’s betrayal; Mitch’s desertion and the cold realistic world. In conclusion, it is the Blanche’s illusion about men ,herself and cruelty of Stanley that mainly causes her tragedy. Keywords: tragedy conventionality illusion 1．Introduction 1.1 Review of the protagonist In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," each character represents something different. The...
Words: 4562 - Pages: 19
...In A Streetcar Named Desire, the men are seen as cruel and bitter due to their harsh use of force to achieve what they want. Whereas in All New People, the men are perceived as the victims of society rather than its actual driving force. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley fulfils the duty of carrying the traditional patriarchal role of the breadwinner in the society of the 1950’s era. He is represented as masculine through the use of his dominance in the household, control over Stella and being the prime influence in his social group of friends, as they see him as someone they want to be. However, this is contrasted in the modern day text of All New People, as Charlie conforms to the image of the ‘new man’ by emphasising the different types of masculine forms in society and how they are widely accepted. He expresses this through the use of showing emotion and being more considerate of other people’s feelings, while being aware of his own. Tennessee Williams makes it prominent that in 1950’s post war America, men and women each had specific gender roles that they had to attain and carry out. Stanley’s physical sovereignty is embedded throughout the play due to way he behaves and his innermost desire to control everyone around him. “Well, you can hear me and I said to hush up!” “[yelling]: Sit down!” Stanley demonstrates his supremacy in the household through his aggressive tone when speaking to others, due to being the only way he can govern them as a way of illustrating his...
Words: 1866 - Pages: 8
...were slaves that worked to death, known as the Old South. Throughout the readings done in American literature one begins to see the old south decaying. Traditions began to fade away and what used to be the norm is evolving into a new era where men are abusive to women, and blacks began to fit into the society slowly gaining the rights other races have had all along. This is described as the New South where people are always intermingling in a diverse manner. People in the Old South speak exceptionally formal and precise, as opposed to the slang that has been picked up in the New South. There are many reasons that contrast just how different these two eras became. The decay of the old south is present in A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams. Blanche and Stella’s ancestors were wealthy plantation owners. In the old south majority of people were farmers. Although Blanche and Stella inherited everything from their ancestors, they didn’t have enough income to keep it all. They ended up selling all of it besides a small portion in which their ancestor’s graves laid. During the 1940’s in New Orleans, there is a constant theme of how society and class effects Americans in this era. A Streetcar Named Desire deals with these class differences in an abnormal way. At one point of view is a disappearing Southern belle that has outdated ideals about the upper class and those “beneath” her social class or rank. Neither Stanley nor Stella, put social class into concern...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...Pulitzer Prize - winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, the author uses many literary criticisms, such as feminism, marxism, and psychoanalytical, to enhance the importance of each character's actions in order to create a masterpiece that consumes you instantly. Feminism is the most prominent literary criticism within A Streetcar Named Desire. Patriarchy is seen repeatedly in almost all of the interactions Stanley has with his wife Stella and her sister Blanche. In scene two of the play Stella doesn’t want Blanche around when Stanley has his poker night so she tells Stanley, “I'm taking Blanche to Galatoire's for supper and then to a show, because it's your pok'r night.” (Williams 32) and he replies, “How about my supper, huh? I'm not going to no Galatoire's for supper!” (Williams 32) to her. This portrays feminism because Stella knows that Blanche would call...
Words: 1984 - Pages: 8
...Peter Tim Soriano Mr. Chalmers ENG 4U 16 December 2013 Illusion and Mendacity In Tennessee Williams’ plays Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, several characters suffer by lying and by being unaware of reality. Both plays demonstrate and signify the themes of illusion vs. reality and mendacity through past trauma, alcohol abuse, and through strained family and marital relationships. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brick is an example to all of these factors through his past with his friend skipper, his abuse of alcohol, and the lack of love he shows for his wife, while in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche encounters similar problems as Brick with her past trauma and her alcohol problem. The two plays share many similarities in terms of themes but at the same time also share significant difference. In the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brick is troubled with his past memories that he tries to keep a secret. He mourns the death of his best friend Skipper and the death pushes Brick into a world of imagination and mendacity. He avoids talking about Skipper and when his wife Margaret who is been trying to fix her relationship with Brick brings up the memory of his friend Skipper. Brick gets upset and says, “One man has one great good true thing in his life. One great good thing which is true! – I had a friendship with Skipper. – You are naming it dirty!” (Williams 44) Brick is furious with Margaret as he threatens her with physical abuse before he mentions the one greatest...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...Liberation in a Patriarchal Society The American feminist writer, Kate Millet, once said that “We’re more sexually repressed than men, having been given a much more strict puritanical code of behavior than men ever have”. Throughout history, women have often been viewed as the “weaker” gender and have been expected to behave a certain way. Women are seen as submissive and docile because of societal expectations, these expectations eventually became the societal norm. This “norm”, according to Sigmund Freud, is the repression of several archaic and primitive desires. Females have often had to repress these desires more than males. Males have been the dominating species throughout history and have expected women to repress their nature. For the most part, females kept their place in society and played their role but there were some who broke the norm. There have been serious consequences for females who have attempted to liberate themselves, especially when they attempt to do so sexually. Females have the ability to achieve their sexual liberation despite the patriarchal societies in which they live. Two females which have attempted to achieve sexual liberation are Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar named Desire. Both Hester Prynne and Blanche Dubois’s attempts to achieve sexual liberation were hindered by the patriarchal societies in which they lived in; making only one of them successful. The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850, takes place in...
Words: 4249 - Pages: 17
