As Honors English III plays and movies go, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is the best of the best in my opinion. What an up and down roller coaster of a play! I actually looked forward to coming to class every day to experience what new crap Stanley or Blanche would pull in the next scene!
From caveman, wife-beating Stanley, to psycho, train-wreck Blanche, to poor clueless Stella, they play never has a dull moment. There is an extreme conflict in almost every scene. In my opinion, that is what makes a good play or movie. Author Tennessee Williams does a phenomenal job of “illustrating” and almost exactly creating the same images in his play that are in the movie. Even when we were reading the play, I could visualize the scenes that were happening. Watching them in the movie was just like a double-play, thanks to the narration and dialogue that Williams creates.
On another note, resisting the urge to completely hate Blanche with a visceral passion is tough. Her psychotic, shaky, “all over the place” personality is hard for readers like me to understand. In the beginning of the play, I thought that she was the so-called “villain” and Stanley and Stella were the victims. However, as the play moved forward, I began to see otherwise. Blanche acts completely stuck up, and she seems to feel that she is “better” than the Kowalski’s, especially Stanley. The truth is that Blanche sees her baby sister in a dangerous situation, and she is, in fact, correct.
The tables turn in the play when we finally see the true colors of Stanley. There is then no other way to describe him but a wife beating, rapist, drunk that is ripping Stella down into his primitive world. It is ashamed for Stella that Blanche realizes this and tries to tell Stella, but she refuses to listen. Stella loves Stanley’s “bedroom” qualities far too much to realize that he is essentially ruining her life. This makes for a wretched environment in the Kowalski home.
My modernist attribute, the presence of open endings, is very apparent in this play. Stanley finally has enough of Blanche towards the end of the play. On the same night that Stella is giving birth to his son, Stanley rapes Blanche. She is drunk and disoriented, and has no ability to defend herself. This is one of the most terrible, unspeakable things that Stanley can possibly do at this point. By this point, he is the ultimate “scumbag”. Later, and this is not shown in the movie, Blanche tries to tell Stella what Stanley has done to her, but Stella doesn’t listen. Instead, they send Blanche off with two suspicious people. They appear to be a doctor and a nurse, and I interpreted that they are sending Blanche to a mental hospital. They play ends with their car pulling away with Blanche inside, and Stella balling. I’m sure that Stanley was thoroughly enjoying himself at this moment, now that his enemy and only threat was gone. He can go back to his old, fun life with Stella. On some levels though, I think that Stella knows that sending Blanche away was wrong.
Williams leaves the ending open for the reader’s interpretation. Where is Blanche going? What is Stella thinking by sending her only protection from the fist of Stanley away? Will Stanley ever come into contact with Blanche again, and maybe kill her this time? Will Stella continue to put up with Stanley’s drunken poker parties and beating her up now that they have a child? Will she ever realize that Blanche, although unstable, was right in her analysis of Stanley? These are all questions that Tennessee Williams leaves to the reader in his open ending of the controversial, mind-boggling play, A Streetcar Named Desire.
“Stellllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
-Stanley
that was a good post pluff. the questions that you drew up for the open ending are pretty good. i think you summarized the play a little too much though as opposed to expressing your attribute. i’m just suggesting this, but you could try using material from the end of each scene and not just the ending as a whole. at the end of every scene, some of the same questions you noted in your blog pop up in the reader’s mind as he or she is reading. other than that and two grammatical errors it was good…..
One sentence that I found a bit awkward in your essay was: “It is ashamed for Stella that Blanche realizes this and tries to tell Stella, but she refuses to listen.” Maybe.. It is shameful that while Blanche realizes this and tries to tell Stella, Stella refuses to listen… Somewhere along that line.
Finally, I think that this was probably your best essay because you addressed some questions and proposed some predictions for the ending. I think that the presence of the first few paragraphs were not necessary for your essay, but it’s fine if you wanted to state your opinion before you wrote your essay.
All in all, a great blog Ev. But I would have to say personal pronouns kill an essay. Try to hold back the urge to talk about yourself. =]
let me say you are the only male so far who says that Blanche spoke out about Stanley because she saw her sister in a bad situation. Nice job applying your attribute to the play!
Great post!
I like how you addressed many of the questions that were left open at the end of Streetcar. I think it would have been more interesting if instead of just throwing the questions out there, you gave your own opinion on them and based on the text, what you think would have happened. Still a good post.
“On another note, resisting the urge to completely hate Blanche with a visceral passion is tough.”
That made me laugh.
You really get around to the point on the open ending of Streetcar, there’s really not much I can add except maybe add a bit more citation from the text. I know, fun right? ……
Just a little something I found that is an easy fix.
From caveman, wife-beating Stanley, to psycho, train-wreck Blanche, to poor clueless Stella, they play never has a dull moment. Just switch the “they” to the or this and I think you will be good to go. You also made some great points at the end with an awsome finish with the quote great job.
“Her psychotic, shaky, “all over the place” personality ”
those are the words to describe blanch. It has taken me into deep thought of how to explain this women good blog great views.
good job ev, I’m right there with you when you say it’s hard to not completely hate on her, but you did do a pretty good job hiding it. Better than I did. haha
Beautiful writing Ev. You know how to put things so politely like how you said, “Stella loves Stanley’s “bedroom” qualities far too much to realize that he is essentially ruining her life.” You made me giggle. In addition to your sense of humor, lovely job on relating your attribute to the play.