Blanche Dubois is a wealthy, up-scaled, classy woman, at least that is what she wants people to believe when she visits her sister in New Orleans. Blanche, a character in Tennessee Williams’ play, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, has gone through many tough trails in life. Although she would like nothing more than to forget her past and start fresh, she makes decisions that end up hurting her rather than helping. Throughout the play Blanche’s sanity slowly fades away as she finds turning her fantasy into a reality more difficult than she once believed. The play begins with Blanche relocating in an effort to start fresh. In a new place, she is easily able to cover her past with lies. Striving to portray an upscale classy appearance, she starts
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All the negative experiences in Blanches past likely caused a mental breakdown, leaving little sanity. 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 the 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). Later, in scene nine, as Blanche and Mitch are arguing, a Mexican woman is heard from within the house. Since Blanche has auditory hallucinations of music, and is the only person who acknowledges hearing this woman, it is possible that the Mexican woman selling flowers is another creation of Blanche’s mind (Shoomp). Also, Blanche bathes excessively. This is one unhealthy way of Blanche addressing with her problems. This compulsion is a facet of her mental breakdown. 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!” She is trying to scrub the past away so that she can start fresh (Language). After Stanley rapes Blanche and Stella does not believe Blanche, she has lost all of her sanity (Neary). Now Blanche hears the Polka music, echos of people’s voices in the room, and sees shadows appear on the wall. With all the mood swings throughout the play, believing her lies, and ability to not …show more content…
Immediately after Mitch confronts her about lying Blanche hears the woman announce, “Flores. Flores para los muertos. Flores. Flores”(Williams 1896). When Mitch refuses to marry Blanche, her reality starts to crumble and she starts to believe her fantasies. Blanche rejects the flowers by saying, “No, no! Not now! Not now!” (Language). This is a turning point in Blanche’s life because she realizes that she has no hope left for reality; her reality dies. Just as flowers of the dead are pretty in spite of death, her fantasies offer a “pretty” reprieve to a crumbled reality; she has nothing left. The mention of death also represent a turning point in Blanche’s life, because Blanche realizes she has nothing left in her
All the negative experiences in Blanches past likely caused a mental breakdown, leaving little sanity. 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 the 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). Later, in scene nine, as Blanche and Mitch are arguing, a Mexican woman is heard from within the house. Since Blanche has auditory hallucinations of music, and is the only person who acknowledges hearing this woman, it is possible that the Mexican woman selling flowers is another creation of Blanche’s mind (Shoomp). Also, Blanche bathes excessively. This is one unhealthy way of Blanche addressing with her problems. This compulsion is a facet of her mental breakdown. 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!” She is trying to scrub the past away so that she can start fresh (Language). After Stanley rapes Blanche and Stella does not believe Blanche, she has lost all of her sanity (Neary). Now Blanche hears the Polka music, echos of people’s voices in the room, and sees shadows appear on the wall. With all the mood swings throughout the play, believing her lies, and ability to not …show more content…
Immediately after Mitch confronts her about lying Blanche hears the woman announce, “Flores. Flores para los muertos. Flores. Flores”(Williams 1896). When Mitch refuses to marry Blanche, her reality starts to crumble and she starts to believe her fantasies. Blanche rejects the flowers by saying, “No, no! Not now! Not now!” (Language). This is a turning point in Blanche’s life because she realizes that she has no hope left for reality; her reality dies. Just as flowers of the dead are pretty in spite of death, her fantasies offer a “pretty” reprieve to a crumbled reality; she has nothing left. The mention of death also represent a turning point in Blanche’s life, because Blanche realizes she has nothing left in her