A Streetcar Named Desire Compare And Contrast - 1187 Words

A Streetcar Named Desire s original drafts were started in the early 1940s by playwright Tennessee Williams, who prepared and tested numerous titles for the work. Eventually, the completed play opened on December 3, 1947 in New York City staring Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and directed by Elia Kazan. This run of Streetcar lasted 855 performances until 1949 and won Williams a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Later, in 1951, the film version was adapted and stared Brando along side Vivien Leigh as Blanche with Kazan holding the seat as director once again. Both the play and film adaptations of A Streetcar Named Desire have received critical acclaim and much success, so much so that Williams work is both†¦show more content†¦She spends most of the first scene talking down to Stella, mentioning that she looks as if she s put on weight while praising herself for remaining the same size since they last saw each other. She dresses in rhinestone cro wns, fluffy bodices and pearl necklaces and earrings. Her wardrobe appears to be filled with clothing that s either white or and pastels, colors that one easily associates with purity. Yet, she is capable of manipulation and adept at spinning lies as clearly evidenced by her constant lies about a Mr. Shep Huntleigh, who does not really exist, or her lies about being on a leave of absence. This is also clear based on her manipulation of Mitch, played by Karl Malden, into making him fall for her or her emotional manipulation of Stella. Beneath this faà §ade, Blanche seems to be terrified of losing control and terrified of reality. She spends a lot of the play and film sneaking drinks so that she can calm her nerves and one could even argue that her manipulation is simply her creating a reality that she doesn t have to be so afraid of. Blanche struggles to maintain her glamorous faà §ade and here in lies her greatest conflict; keeping up with her lies and not mixing reality and fantasy – Blanche fails to discern between reality and fantasy and gets caught in her lies. She can never quite get her story straight – Blanche struggles to maintain some semblance of control in her life after she seems to have lost so much of it in theShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast A Streetcar Named Desire And Network1897 Words   |  8 PagesWest Guillermo Reyes THE 405: The Oscars Final Paper As actors are the most influential block of the Academy, it is easy to understand why both films, â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† and â€Å"Network† are so successful. Both films featured outstanding performances, arguably none more outstanding than that of the female lead in â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† Vivien Leigh. While the performances off all the actors in each of the films are notable, to accurately discuss how the actors, distinguish themselves, someRead MoreCompare And Contrast A Streetcar Named Desire And Death Of A Salesman1209 Words   |  5 PagesWhen she arrives on her sister’s doorstep, the tragic hero of Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois, is blatantly out of place. However, with no where else to go, the former aristocrat arrives at the home of Stella and her husband Stanley in downtown New Orleans. Once there, Blanche seeks refuge from reality through the acceptance of men. However, Stanley, sees through Bl anche’s compulsive lies and investigates her suspicions past. After being confronted and sexually abused Blache’sRead MoreCompare and Contrast a Doll House by Henrik Ibsen and a Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Write a Brief Essay (of Approximately 1000 Words) to Comment on the Two Female Protagonists‚Äà ´ (Nora Helmer and Blanche1136 Words   |  5 PagesCompare and contrast A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Write a brief essay (of approximately 1000 words) to comment on the two female protagonists’ (Nora Helmer and Blanche Duboi’s) relationship with men. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams are two well-known plays that give rise to discussions over male-female relationships in old society. The female protagonists in the plays are women who are dependentRead MoreAnalysis Of The Bell Jar A Streetcar Named Desire And Hamlet 1324 Words   |  6 PagesCompare and contrast the imagery of death and decay in the opening sections of ‘The Bell Jar’, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Hamlet’. Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel ‘The Bell Jar’, Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and William Shakespeare’s 1603 play ‘Hamlet’, share many similarities, albeit there are also differences, in the way in which the themes of death and decay are presented. Sylvia Plath’s poor mental health, which subsequently lead to her suicide on February 11th 1963Read MoreDepicting the Difference Between Reality and Illusion in ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald1740 Words   |  7 PagesCompare and Contrast the ways in which both texts portray individuals in the grip of dreams and illusions ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald both depict the conflict between reality and illusion centring on the desire to achieve the ‘American dream,’ which causes many characters in the texts to become engulfed in dreams and fantasy. Gatsby and Blanche are the protagonists of the texts not only due to their central role in the plots, butRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire Analysis973 Words   |  4 PagesIn a Streetcar Named Desire Williams exposes Stanley’s animalistic features through the confrontation of Blanche Stella. The transition from the old south to the new south represents the developing evolution that Williams outlines within Scene 4. Stanley is the protagonist of evolution, as he is identified as a prevalent and powerful American man. Although earlier in the play there are signs of Stanley’s beastlike persona whilst he â€Å"Heaves the red-stained package†, it is in scene 4 the climax isRead MoreTennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire1553 Words   |  7 PagesThe Presence of Light in â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† A Streetcar Named Desire is a widely celebrated play that was written by Tennessee Williams. Throughout this play, Williams uses a significant amount of references to light in order to make an assertion about reality. In A Streetcar Named Desire, light represents the harsh reality that exists in the world, particularly with Blanche. With the huge emphasis that was placed on light, Williams asserts that Blanche’s avoidance of light demonstrates anRead More‘What Writers Tend to Demonstrate in Texts Which Explore Relationships Between Men and Women, Is That Women Have Always Been Relatively Powerless and the Victims of Society’s Double Standards’ Compare and Contrast the3734 Words   |  15 Pagespowerless and the victims of society’s double standards’ Compare and contrast the extent to which this interpretation applies to your chosen three texts. Throughout Literature the role and position of women has been constantly one of debate and controversy. For centuries women have struggled to exert any power or individual identity through times of male dominance. The novel The Great Gatsby as well as the play A Streetcar Named Desire and lastly the poetry of Anne Sexton, were all written duringRead MoreTheme Of Loyalty In The Great Gatsby943 Words   |  4 Pages To contrast, many of the relationships built throughout The Great Gatsby derive from loyalty. The enhanced ideology of loyalty is implemented to deceive one’s perspective, this results in many untruthful exchanges between characters in the novel. Nick, the narrator of the novel, demonstrates loyalty in both sides of the situation for example, he takes interest in Jay Gatsby because of his anonymous figure eventually leading them to acquaintance. Upon putting trust into Nick to invite Daisy overRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire And Disgrace2563 Words   |  11 Pagesvariety of forms, Desire is presented as a destructive force in A Streetcar Named Desire and Disgrace. In A Streetcar Named Desire this destruction takes a variety of forms such as death (shown through Alan s suicide) and the demise of Blanche’s previously expected reputation as a ‘Southern Belle’. Blanche tries to trade sex for commitment, connection and safety. This is the pattern of her lif e and one that she fails to see as dysfunctional and destructive. Disgrace also presents desire to be a force