Character Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire

During Laura’s trip to the market, she did not have money to buy the fruit, instead she exchanged a lock of her hair for it. Laura was eager and did not have much self-control over her actions at the time. She was drawn to the fruit and the goblin men. Her experience is depicted as pleasant and compelling. For example: “(the fruit) ..sweeter than honey from the rock, stronger than man-rejoicing wine, clearer than water flow’d that juice; she never tasted such before..” When Laura was eating the fruit, it was passionate and left her disoriented afterwards. “..And knew not was it night or day, as she turn’d home alone.” Later, Laura had a deep craving for the fruits and her health dwindled without it. This causes Lizzie’s trip to the market. Lizzie selflessly went to the market to get fruit for Laura, because she could not longer bear to see her sister in this condition. …show more content…
Lizzie is resistant to the goblins temptations and simply wants to take the fruit with her, instead of eating it in front of the goblins, like Laura did. Once the goblins realized Lizzie was not enticed by their tactics, they became angry. “No longer wagging, purring, but visibly demurring, grunting and snarling.” They were so angry with her that they became violent and attacked her. “They trod and hustled her, elbow’d and jostled her, claw’d with their nails, barking, mewing, hissing, mocking, tore her gown and soil’d her stocking, twitch’d her hair out by the roots, stamp’d upon her tender feet.” Lizzie eventually wore the goblins out with her resistance and she got away. Lizzie essentially sacrificed herself to help Laura. Both sisters had very different experiences at the