A Streetcar Named Desire Symbolism Essay
A Streetcar Named Desire
Symbolism is an important literary device used to give the reader an understanding of a character. Tennessee Williams, with the use of symbolism, brings his character’s alive in his play, A Streetcar name desire. In the story the reader follows a young southern woman by the name of Blanche Dubois as she moves to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and her brother-in-law, Stanley. From there the reader slowly sees the Blanche’s descent into madness as she begins to lose her grip on reality. In the play Blanche is characterized using symbols like, bathing, light, and music.
Bathing is a big example of symbolism in the play. Bathing represents Blanche’s need to start over with a clean plate. As though with a bath she is bathing all her impurities and flaws away. In the play Blanche is quoted several times saying that a bath makes her feel, “Brand new” or that it “Calms her nerves.” She spends long periods of time in scalding water as she bathes. It seems that her bathing is never finished. Other symbols such as this are found in the play.
The fear of light is another recurring symbol. The symbolism behind the light is that it represents Blanche’s fear of …show more content…
moving on from the past and aging. Blanche is constantly avoiding light throughout the movie, such as when she puts the paper lantern over the bare bulb. Another example is how she would only go out on dates with her suitor, Mitch, after dark and never in direct light. In fact, Mitch never fully sees Blanche in the light until he angrily pulls her into it. That is where he realizes that she is older than what she lead him to believe. This is only one of several Symbols seen throughout the play.
Finally, music is another excellent example of symbolism.
Music has a key role in the play, as it does in other theatrical plays. Tennessee Williams used music to show a change in mood or action, especially with Blanche’s character. Blanche is shown to have many, sudden changes in mood and as they happen the music will suddenly change with her. An example of this is when all the guys were playing poker at Stanley’s and Stella’s house. She escapes from the loud room of rowdy men and turns on the radio to escape the ruckus. Another example is when Blanche hears polka music she suddenly becomes delusional and hears the gunshot from her husband's suicide. As she descends deeper into madness the music becomes more frequent. The music symbolising the changes in her mental
state.
So in conclusion Tennessee Williams uses symbolism in excellent ways, that thoroughly bring Blanche’s character to life. Symbolism is an important part of developing a character and many famous writers use it but not all do it as flawlessly as Tennessee Williams. The symbolism makes the reader think about the deeper meaning behind things and what they may mean under the surface.
Symbolism is an important literary device used to give the reader an understanding of a character. Tennessee Williams, with the use of symbolism, brings his character’s alive in his play, A Streetcar name desire. In the story the reader follows a young southern woman by the name of Blanche Dubois as she moves to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and her brother-in-law, Stanley. From there the reader slowly sees the Blanche’s descent into madness as she begins to lose her grip on reality. In the play Blanche is characterized using symbols like, bathing, light, and music.
Bathing is a big example of symbolism in the play. Bathing represents Blanche’s need to start over with a clean plate. As though with a bath she is bathing all her impurities and flaws away. In the play Blanche is quoted several times saying that a bath makes her feel, “Brand new” or that it “Calms her nerves.” She spends long periods of time in scalding water as she bathes. It seems that her bathing is never finished. Other symbols such as this are found in the play.
The fear of light is another recurring symbol. The symbolism behind the light is that it represents Blanche’s fear of …show more content…
moving on from the past and aging. Blanche is constantly avoiding light throughout the movie, such as when she puts the paper lantern over the bare bulb. Another example is how she would only go out on dates with her suitor, Mitch, after dark and never in direct light. In fact, Mitch never fully sees Blanche in the light until he angrily pulls her into it. That is where he realizes that she is older than what she lead him to believe. This is only one of several Symbols seen throughout the play.
Finally, music is another excellent example of symbolism.
Music has a key role in the play, as it does in other theatrical plays. Tennessee Williams used music to show a change in mood or action, especially with Blanche’s character. Blanche is shown to have many, sudden changes in mood and as they happen the music will suddenly change with her. An example of this is when all the guys were playing poker at Stanley’s and Stella’s house. She escapes from the loud room of rowdy men and turns on the radio to escape the ruckus. Another example is when Blanche hears polka music she suddenly becomes delusional and hears the gunshot from her husband's suicide. As she descends deeper into madness the music becomes more frequent. The music symbolising the changes in her mental
state.
So in conclusion Tennessee Williams uses symbolism in excellent ways, that thoroughly bring Blanche’s character to life. Symbolism is an important part of developing a character and many famous writers use it but not all do it as flawlessly as Tennessee Williams. The symbolism makes the reader think about the deeper meaning behind things and what they may mean under the surface.