Characters in plays come in many ways with several traits that make he or she unique. With literary devices such as irony and symbolism, authors can help readers analyze the character even closer. Blanche Dubois is a wealthy, up-scaled class woman, at least, that is what she wants people to believe, who goes to visit her sister in New Orleans. Blanche is a character in Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” who has gone through many tough trails in life. Not always making the best decisions all Blanche would like is to forget the past and start fresh. However, with the loss of her sanity and youth, Blanche finds turning her fantasy into a reality more difficult than once believed. At the play’s beginning Blanche has relocated,
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All the negative experiences that have occurred in Blanche’s life likely caused a mental breakdown, leaving little sanity left. Anytime Blanche’s husband is brought up Blanche hears polka music in her mind. While Mitch and Blanche are talking she explains, “[We] drove out to Moon Lake Casino...[Polka music sounds, in a minor key faint with distance.]...The boy...broke away from me...A few moments later-a shot! [The polka stops abruptly]”(1857). A few scenes later, in scene nine, as Blanche and Mitch are arguing, a Mexican woman can be heard from within the house. With Blanche having auditory hallucinations, the question could be asked; Is the Mexican woman selling flowers real or a creation of Blanche’s mind (Shoomp)? With Williams having Blanche the only person in the play that acknowledges the Mexican woman helps make the assumption the woman is from Blanche’s mind. The timing in which the woman announces, “Flores. Flores para los muertos. Flores. Flores”(Williams 1896), happens immediately after Mitch confronts Blanche about lying. The flowers are symbolic because as Mitch refuses to marry Blanche, she becomes unable to remain with the living. Blanche rejects the flowers by saying, “No, no! Not now! Not now!” (Language). The flowers also represent a turning point in Blanche’s life, because Blanche realizes she has nothing left in her …show more content…
One way Blanche handles problems is by taking baths. Throughout the play, Blanche takes several baths. These baths are symbolic to Blanche because she feels the baths help “clean” her unforgettable past and the sins she has committed past. After taking a bath in scene two Blanche says, “...Here I am, all freshly bathed and scented, and feeling like a brand new human being!” (Language). Blanche could also view the bath as her personal fountain of youth. Since Blanche is always looking for compliments on how she looks, Blanche knows her beauty and youth are slipping away faster and faster. Perhaps the reason Blanche tried to seduce the 17- year old boy is because she thought sleeping with younger men would help her relive her
All the negative experiences that have occurred in Blanche’s life likely caused a mental breakdown, leaving little sanity left. Anytime Blanche’s husband is brought up Blanche hears polka music in her mind. While Mitch and Blanche are talking she explains, “[We] drove out to Moon Lake Casino...[Polka music sounds, in a minor key faint with distance.]...The boy...broke away from me...A few moments later-a shot! [The polka stops abruptly]”(1857). A few scenes later, in scene nine, as Blanche and Mitch are arguing, a Mexican woman can be heard from within the house. With Blanche having auditory hallucinations, the question could be asked; Is the Mexican woman selling flowers real or a creation of Blanche’s mind (Shoomp)? With Williams having Blanche the only person in the play that acknowledges the Mexican woman helps make the assumption the woman is from Blanche’s mind. The timing in which the woman announces, “Flores. Flores para los muertos. Flores. Flores”(Williams 1896), happens immediately after Mitch confronts Blanche about lying. The flowers are symbolic because as Mitch refuses to marry Blanche, she becomes unable to remain with the living. Blanche rejects the flowers by saying, “No, no! Not now! Not now!” (Language). The flowers also represent a turning point in Blanche’s life, because Blanche realizes she has nothing left in her …show more content…
One way Blanche handles problems is by taking baths. Throughout the play, Blanche takes several baths. These baths are symbolic to Blanche because she feels the baths help “clean” her unforgettable past and the sins she has committed past. After taking a bath in scene two Blanche says, “...Here I am, all freshly bathed and scented, and feeling like a brand new human being!” (Language). Blanche could also view the bath as her personal fountain of youth. Since Blanche is always looking for compliments on how she looks, Blanche knows her beauty and youth are slipping away faster and faster. Perhaps the reason Blanche tried to seduce the 17- year old boy is because she thought sleeping with younger men would help her relive her