In both Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ and Tennessee Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, there exists an underlying tension created in response to attempted suppressions of past occurrences. The characters of Blanche DuBois and Joe Keller are seen to be tragically haunted by their pasts in their present-day lives. While there is a clear divergence in the context of the two character’s former actions, the permanently surfacing remnants of their respective pasts ultimately results in their individual downfalls, thus successfully speaking to the validity of the claim that “the past is the present.”
In each of the plays, the characters take measures in an attempt to conceal and erase their pasts from their present day lives, yet ultimately …show more content…
In ‘All My Sons’, it is the attempted suppression of the truth regarding his past and misdeeds that ultimately results in its prevalence in the present. Like Blanche, Joe attempts to hide his past lies and deceit, as seen in his full assignment of blame to Herbert Deever rather than taking any responsibility for his actions. As compared to Blanche’s attempts at concealment and self-cleansing through bathing and the avoidance of expository light, Joe attempts to mask the misdeeds of his past with the superficiality of monetary …show more content…
Throughout ‘All My Sons’, Joe Keller attempts to suppress his memories but the past works to reveal itself through the arrival of Annie, a telephone call from Herbert Deever, and an old letter from his dead son. His denial of former events results in a deep subdual that ultimately resurfaces, resulting in his eventual downfall in the form of suicide. In this case, Keller’s demise can be attributed to the concept that “the past is the present” and that it is truly impossible to escape from one’s realities despite attempts at suppression. Similarly, in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Stanley and Mitch are external sources which ultimately draw out the truths of Blanche’s dishonorable past. These emerging realities lead to her final defeat in the form of permanent delusion and mental instability. In the case of each of these characters, the emergence of the truth regarding their respective pasts into the present-day ultimately results in their tragic
In each of the plays, the characters take measures in an attempt to conceal and erase their pasts from their present day lives, yet ultimately …show more content…
In ‘All My Sons’, it is the attempted suppression of the truth regarding his past and misdeeds that ultimately results in its prevalence in the present. Like Blanche, Joe attempts to hide his past lies and deceit, as seen in his full assignment of blame to Herbert Deever rather than taking any responsibility for his actions. As compared to Blanche’s attempts at concealment and self-cleansing through bathing and the avoidance of expository light, Joe attempts to mask the misdeeds of his past with the superficiality of monetary …show more content…
Throughout ‘All My Sons’, Joe Keller attempts to suppress his memories but the past works to reveal itself through the arrival of Annie, a telephone call from Herbert Deever, and an old letter from his dead son. His denial of former events results in a deep subdual that ultimately resurfaces, resulting in his eventual downfall in the form of suicide. In this case, Keller’s demise can be attributed to the concept that “the past is the present” and that it is truly impossible to escape from one’s realities despite attempts at suppression. Similarly, in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Stanley and Mitch are external sources which ultimately draw out the truths of Blanche’s dishonorable past. These emerging realities lead to her final defeat in the form of permanent delusion and mental instability. In the case of each of these characters, the emergence of the truth regarding their respective pasts into the present-day ultimately results in their tragic