A Street Car Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire
Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" presents a fragment from the lives of a few individuals who meet in less desirable circumstances and eventually produce one of the most remarkable American modern tragedies. The main characters of this story are Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski and Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, and Eunice.
The play begins with a verse from “The Broken Tower” by Hart Crane which Williams uses with the intent to prepare the reader for a journey into a world of unpredictable views on life, love and loss:
“And so it was I entered the broken world
To trace the visionary company of love, its voice
An instant in the wind (I know not whither hurled)
But not for long to hold each desperate choice” (1116). The author then goes on to describe the location of the play, “a two-story corner building on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields (1116) - the name of the street where Stella and Stanley Kowalski live. According to the mythology, especially the Book VI of Virgil 's Aeneid the Elysian Fields was in fact the underworld – a transient place for the souls who would journey back to life if proven to be worthy. By using this mythical allusion Williams gives the audience a glance into some of the character’s mental and emotional state.
In scene one, Blanche DuBois arrives at her sister Stella’s place, and in a state of confusion and denial she explains to the first person she encounters, Eunice, that she was told: “to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields” (1117). Blanches’ first dialog exchange symbolizes her desire for a chance to redemption. Her journey to New Orleans’ represents the journey of change and her longing to end the struggle of a dramatic life. This scene is emphasized by Blanches’ obvious disbelief that she arrived at the correct address, and it highlights her complete
Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" presents a fragment from the lives of a few individuals who meet in less desirable circumstances and eventually produce one of the most remarkable American modern tragedies. The main characters of this story are Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski and Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, and Eunice.
The play begins with a verse from “The Broken Tower” by Hart Crane which Williams uses with the intent to prepare the reader for a journey into a world of unpredictable views on life, love and loss:
“And so it was I entered the broken world
To trace the visionary company of love, its voice
An instant in the wind (I know not whither hurled)
But not for long to hold each desperate choice” (1116). The author then goes on to describe the location of the play, “a two-story corner building on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields (1116) - the name of the street where Stella and Stanley Kowalski live. According to the mythology, especially the Book VI of Virgil 's Aeneid the Elysian Fields was in fact the underworld – a transient place for the souls who would journey back to life if proven to be worthy. By using this mythical allusion Williams gives the audience a glance into some of the character’s mental and emotional state.
In scene one, Blanche DuBois arrives at her sister Stella’s place, and in a state of confusion and denial she explains to the first person she encounters, Eunice, that she was told: “to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields” (1117). Blanches’ first dialog exchange symbolizes her desire for a chance to redemption. Her journey to New Orleans’ represents the journey of change and her longing to end the struggle of a dramatic life. This scene is emphasized by Blanches’ obvious disbelief that she arrived at the correct address, and it highlights her complete
Cited: Hemingway, Ernest. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”, The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym &Robert S. Levine. Shorter Eight Edition. W.W. Norton & Company. 1979-2013. 1021-1038. Print. Vergil. Aeneid, translated by John Dryden. Vol. XIII. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, June 2014. Web. Williams, Tennessee. “A Streetcar Named Desire”, The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym &Robert S. Levine. Shorter Eight Edition. W.W. Norton & Company. 1979-2013. 1116-1177. Print.