Paper1: The Driving Theme of Desire
The Driving Theme of Desire
Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire is a play that employs numerous symbols and motifs to depict higher ideas. Williams uses these literary techniques to depict the profound emotions and ideas that the characters experience in the play. By using symbolism and recurrent thematic elements, the author portrays the struggle between illusion and reality, which is a central theme in the play. The play examines the lives of Blanche and Stanley, Blanche creates illusions about how to cope with reality, while Stanley uses that reality for his own advantage, leading to their tragic outcomes, and how the symbolism that William put into these characters.
One of the most significant symbols in the play is the streetcar named Desire. This symbolizes Blanche's life journey and her desire for love and security. The streetcar is the embodiment of Blanche's desire to escape reality and find happiness. However, as the play progresses, it becomes clear that this desire leads to Blanche's downfall, and she becomes increasingly isolated from reality. Additionally, the use of the color white throughout the play serves as a symbol of Blanche's obsession with purity and innocence, which are both things she lost a long time ago, that started from her husband’s death.
The example for Blanche’s quest to isolate herself from reality can be seen through her interaction with the young man, a paper boy, and unnamed character that appears briefly in scene five. In the scene, Blanche tries to persuade the young man, as she tried to kiss him, and despite the protest that the man has, Blanche got what she wants, a kiss for the man, she pleaded, “Come here. I want to kiss you just once, softly and sweetly on your mouth!” (Blanche, Scene 5, page 84)
Another recurring theme in the play is the contrast between light and darkness. This motif is evident in the scene where Blanche meets Mitch, and she insists on having the lights dimmed. Blanche uses darkness to conceal her true self and create the illusion of youth and beauty. However, as the play progresses, this illusion is shattered, and her true self is exposed, leading to her demise.
The demise comes in the form of Stanley, that Blanche wanted to avoid. Eventually when Mitch confronts her about the truth, after being informed by Stanley, Blanche breaks down, in scene nine, she said, “I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell them the truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! Don’t turned the light on!” (Blanche, Scene Nine, page 117) as a desperate attempt to plead with Mitch but failed. The event ultimately strengthens Mitch’s choice, to leave Blanche, because he thinks that she isn’t clean enough for his mother, implying that Blanche is tainted by the illusion that she created throughout the years.
Furthermore, Williams employs the setting of the play to highlight the conflict between illusion and reality. The setting is the city of New Orleans, a city that is known for its vibrant culture and party atmosphere. And the year is 1947, just two years after the infamous World War 2 ended. With the war ended, the city's lively atmosphere represents the characters' desire to escape reality and indulge in their desires, hence the title, Streetcar Named Desire. However, this escape from reality is only temporary, and eventually forces the characters to face their true selves eventually.
Williams uses characterization to depict the central conflict between illusion and reality in the play. Blanche creates illusions to cope with her reality, and Stanley weaponizes reality for his power. Blanche uses illusions to conceal her past and present herself as a refined and cultured lady. Stanley, on the other hand, uses those reality as a light, to expose every dark corner, or the illusion that Blanche hides in.
Moreover, the theme of escapism can be seen throughout the play with Blanche, as she tries to constantly run away from the light. The light that eventually Stanley found and uses it against Blanche. A quick example of this conflict between illusion and reality can be seen during the poker game in the third scene. When Blanche turns on the radio, it can be implied that the music is the illusion that Blanche is trying to cast towards Stanley’s friends, but Stanley is annoyed, commands Blanche to turn off the radio, and threw the radio out of the window. (Blanche and Stanley, Scene Three) It could be a subtle reference on how Stanley’s harsh light overpowers Blanche’s deception.
Nevertheless, the central theme of illusion versus reality is not only relevant in the context of the play but also prevalent in our daily lives. The desire to create illusions is a common coping mechanism for individuals who cannot face reality. A study conducted in Belgium, trying to find the connections between coping mechanism and social media during the Covid-19 pandemic, in that study, they found that social medias are used as an instrument to actively cope with the situation to relieve feelings of anxiety, and feeling better overall. (Cauberghe, Verolien, et al. “How Adolescents Use Social Media to Cope with Feelings of Loneliness and Anxiety During COVID-19 Lockdown.”) Like Blanche, people use social media to create an idealized version of their own reality that is often far from reality.
In conclusion, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire is a play that employs symbolism, motifs, and characterization to depict the struggle between illusion and reality. The author portrays the tragic outcomes that result from creating illusions to escape reality. The central theme of illusion versus reality in the play is very relevant in our daily lives, as individuals often use illusions to cope with the harsh hardship realities of life.
Works Cited
Williams, Tennessee. “A Streetcar Named Desire” 1947
Cauberghe, Verolien, et al. “How Adolescents Use Social Media to Cope with Feelings of Loneliness and Anxiety During COVID-19 Lockdown.” CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, vol. 24, no. 4, Apr. 2021, pp. 250–57. EBSCOhost, https://hs1.farmingdale.edu:2258/10.1089/cyber.2020.0478.