A Street Car Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire – Final Assessment 1 . The title A Streetcar Named Desire holds both literal and figurative meaning. Blanche DuBois takes an actual streetcar named “Desire” to transport her to the home of her sister. Blanche is literally brought to the home of the Kowalski’s by “Desire,” but she is also brought there by her very own desire. Blanche’s sexual intimacies held with many men has ruined her reputation and driven her out of her home town. Blanche is longing and wishing to start her life over in the town of
Elysian Fields with her sister Stella. She feels that everyone in this town will accept her because they are unaware of her secrets and terrible reputation. Blanche is confident in keeping her past a secret and portraying herself to be such a respected and lady-like woman. 2. Blanche DuBois in this novel could be best described as a tragic hero. She is very capable of great deeds but is destined to fail due to such circumstances beyond her own control and fatal flaws.
Blanche throughout the play is very fragile and delicate after the tragic death of her husband leaving her with the biggest flaw of desire. Blanche after the tragic death of her husband is in great search for a man who will fulfill her desire however, she seems to never get enough. Blanche held many intimacies ruining her reputation and soon left her home town to go live with her sister Stella in Elysian Fields. Blanche trying to portray herself as a respectable lady slowly reveals her secrets without any intentions.
Blanche during her stay in New Orleans is in search of respect, love, and care returning to the traditional wants and needs of a woman during her youth time period. Blanche is not used to the way of life in the world during present time. Vanity soon falls into a fantasy that settles in her mind as delusion. Her vanity gets in the way of her love life, leads her to tell lies and believe them, and ultimately leads to her rape carried out by Stanley and resulting in her biggest fall yet.
