A Streetcar Named Desire The American Dream Analysis

The American Dream is based on the principles of endless opportunity and second chances for all in a new world. The hope of possible success and progress along with the possible freedom from their past mistakes lures the disheartened to a place where no one might know their name. However, in actuality, second chances and rags-to-riches stories are a rare find. Reputations are difficult to escape, and temptations can cause old mistakes to reemerge. After Ms. Blanche DuBois journeys her pilgrimage from the lost Belle Reve plantation to the raffish Quarter in New Orleans, she endeavors to start fresh in a place away from home. Through Blanche 's many failed attempts to wash away her soiled past, Tennessee Williams suggests that a person can never have a completely new start in life. Throughout Williams ' play A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche is constantly bathing and obsessing over cleanliness. She claims that a hot bath always gives her "a brand new outlook on life" (Williams 128; sc. 7). Bathing gives Blanche a temporary relief to a never ceasing ailment, her past. However, her attempts at renewal and cleansing are not usually fruitful. The one successful …show more content…
Blanche hides from reality, illustrated when she flees from her hometown after her wanton behavior and her school teaching incident with a male student. At first, she lies to everyone and herself by telling Mitch she is a school teacher at Laurel High School even though she has lost her job. Lying allows Blanche to give the illusion of a normal and chaste past. However, her past mistakes come to light and Stanley exposes her as a liar, ruining her relationship with Mitch and leading to her destruction and descent into madness. Blanche lies to herself to avoid descending into depression and facing the consequences of her actions. She believes that concealing her past will allow her the opportunity of a fresh