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Essay / Blanche's Flaws and Why She Ultimately Failed
In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, despite Blanche Dubois's desire to start over in New Orleans, her condescending nature, her inability to act appropriated according to his desires and his refusal of reality all led to his downfall. Blanche believes that her upper-class roots place her above the "commoners" with whom she spends the summer, giving her a pretentious attitude that bothers the other characters. Desire, the main theme of Streetcar, acts as a precursor to the negative consequences of Blanche's past and her time spent on the Champs Elysées. Blanche also lives in a fantasy world, finding herself entangled in lies she tells to others and to herself. These flaws in Blanche's character cause her eventual destruction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Blanche's distaste for the "common" is present from the beginning, and is condescending and offensive towards others. Blanche is surprised when she arrives at Stella's house in Elysian Fields, which is described by Williams as "poor, but, unlike corresponding neighborhoods in American cities, it has a refined charm." (13) When she finds Stella, she demands to know why her sister lives where she does. “Why didn’t you let me know… That you had to live in these conditions?” (20) Blanche, coming from a lifestyle very different from that of this area of New Orleans, expected more from her sister's married life. Stella says it's not that bad at all. Blanche also expresses her disapproval of Stanley, repeatedly calling him common and primitive. She again references their past, thinking that Stella deserves better: “You cannot have forgotten so much of our upbringing, Stella, as to assume that any part of a gentleman is in his nature! " (71). She begs Stella to reconsider her life in New Orleans with Stanley: "He behaves like an animal, has animal habits!... Don't stay behind with the bullies!" (72). Stanley's hatred for Blanche increases considerably during Blanche's stay. He is extremely offended by Blanche's incessant comments about his vulgarity, rudeness and banality. Stanley: “She calls me common!” » Stella: “…I grew up in very different circumstances than you. » Stanley: “So I was told!” And said and said and said! (98). Stanley finally has enough of Blanche's frustrating behavior at the end of the tenth scene. “You come in here, douse the place with electricity, spray some perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and voilà, the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile!” Sitting on your throne and gulping down my booze! (128). Stanley's anger towards Blanche quickly becomes uncontrolled, leading him to rape her. “The inhuman voices of the jungle are raised. He takes a step towards her, biting her tongue which protrudes between her lips. “Come to think of it, maybe it wouldn’t be bad for you to interfere with…” (129). The "inhuman voices of the jungle" refer to Stanley's animal behavior that Blanche had already commented on several times. Rape is also foreshadowed by Blanche earlier in the scene, when she states: “Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. It's the only unforgivable thing in my opinion and it's the only thing I've never, ever been guilty of. (126). This remark gives more depth to Blanche's seemingly superficial personality and makes Stanley, who is "deliberately cruel", the villain. Stanley believes that Blanche's abhorrent behavior justifies the rape. Although thisterrible outcome is not Blanche's fault, and her being a victim of it shows the effect that her pretentious and insulting attitude has on others, especially Stanley. When Blanche first arrives at the Champs Elysées to visit her sister Stella, she talks to Eunice about taking a "tram called Desire", a representation of the downward spiral of Blanche's life, driven by desire. “They told me to take a tram called Désir, then take a tram called Cimetières.and drive six blocks and get off at the Champs-Elysées! (15). The tram is then mentioned again, and the metaphor becomes clearer: “What you are talking about is the brutal desire – just – Desire! the name of this tram with rattles that crosses the neighborhood, along an old narrow street and down another... It brought me here.- Where I'm not wanted and where I'm ashamed to be…” (70). Desire has led Blanche to a moment in her life that she is ashamed of. Readers are told that the negative consequences of Blanche's uncontrollable desires begin with her first love. “When I was sixteen, I made the discovery: love. All at once and much too completely. (95). Blanche is in love with her husband and, as Stella tells Stanley, “worshipped the ground he walked on” (102). However, he commits suicide after Stella tells him that she finds his homosexuality and desire for an older man disgusting. This puts Blanche into serious emotional distress. “And then the searchlight that had been shone on the world went out again and never for a moment has there been a stronger light…” (96). She tells Mitch that death is the opposite of desire, because she saw one outcome in the other: "Death – I was sitting here and she was sitting there and death was as close as you… We didn’t dare. even admit that we had already heard about it! The opposite is desire…” (120). Lonely, remorseful and emotionally fragile, Blanche attempts to fill the void caused by death with desire. These actions lead Blanche to descend from a respectable life of wealth and upper class in Laurel, to being rejected even by those she considers beneath her in the Elysian Fields. Blanche lives in her own fantasy world, lying about her age, appearance, and past to feel young again. She avoids harsh lighting to look younger and soften her faded appearance. She constantly worries about what people say and think about her, so she tries to hide as many shameful things about her life as possible. She tells Mitch, “I don’t want realism. I want magic! [Mitch laughs] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I distort things for them. I'm not telling the truth, I'm telling what should be the truth. And if it is a sin, then I be damned for it! (117) When Blanche meets Mitch, she finds the tenderness and gentleness that she once admired in her late husband. In a desperate attempt to gain Mitch's approval, she lies about her morals, which readers know from Stanley's "research" to be questionable. “I guess it’s just that I have old-fashioned ideals!” (91) When Stanley warns Mitch that Blanche is not who she says she is, Mitch feels cheated. He addresses Blanche's promiscuous behavior and says she is unfit to bring her mother home. “This talk about your ideals being so old-fashioned and all the nonsense you've been spouting all summer. Oh, I knew you weren't sixteen anymore. But I was stupid enough to think you were straight. (117) Blanche's false ownership only backfires. In the seventh scene, Stanley reveals the truth to Stella about his sister. “The problem with Lady White,..