"A Streetcar Named Desire", Illusion vs. Reality.
In A Streetcar Named Desire, several of the characters use illusion to make themselves more sociably acceptable. This is true especially for Blanche Du Bois. She will lie, or "elude" any chance she gets if it will make her look good. Stella uses the "illusion" of a happy marriage to make her life bearable. Some people such as Blanche would much rather live in a dream world of blissful ignorance than face the facts. On the contrary, Stanley is a business type of guy that thinks that false happiness isn't real happiness.
It his hard to tell whether or not Blanche is a nonstop liar or just out of her mind. She is so terrified that people will hate her for not having a perfect past that she lies about everything. She just can't realize that while she may be in love with the fake, others hate being in an ignorant state. Mitch may have stuck by her if she had only told him about her past. "I don't mind you being older than I thought. But all of the rest of it-- Christ! That pitch about your ideals being so old-fashioned and all the malarkey that you've dished out all summer. Oh, I knew you weren't sixteen anymore. But, I was full enough to believe you were straight."(Mitch, page 117) This shows the response that she got to all of her deceit. I think she does this because she feels so terrible that she found out about her dead husbands doings, and she would never want anybody to feel bad about knowing her mis-doings. Maybe one day she will be able to let someone get to know the real Blanche, that way they can truly understand her. Im afraid however that Blanche believes that a woman can't be accepted without illusion. "I know I fib a good deal. After all, a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion."Blanche, 41.
Stella also pulls a blanket over her eyes to shield her self from the harsh reality that her husband is a mad man. Through the play you can tell that Stella is telling herself "I know he hit me, but all that matters is that he loves me and that he can take care of
It his hard to tell whether or not Blanche is a nonstop liar or just out of her mind. She is so terrified that people will hate her for not having a perfect past that she lies about everything. She just can't realize that while she may be in love with the fake, others hate being in an ignorant state. Mitch may have stuck by her if she had only told him about her past. "I don't mind you being older than I thought. But all of the rest of it-- Christ! That pitch about your ideals being so old-fashioned and all the malarkey that you've dished out all summer. Oh, I knew you weren't sixteen anymore. But, I was full enough to believe you were straight."(Mitch, page 117) This shows the response that she got to all of her deceit. I think she does this because she feels so terrible that she found out about her dead husbands doings, and she would never want anybody to feel bad about knowing her mis-doings. Maybe one day she will be able to let someone get to know the real Blanche, that way they can truly understand her. Im afraid however that Blanche believes that a woman can't be accepted without illusion. "I know I fib a good deal. After all, a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion."Blanche, 41.
Stella also pulls a blanket over her eyes to shield her self from the harsh reality that her husband is a mad man. Through the play you can tell that Stella is telling herself "I know he hit me, but all that matters is that he loves me and that he can take care of