Throughout the play, Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, I discovered much symbolism. I have decided to focus on one character, in effort to shy away from a lengthy essay. I’ve chosen to take the character of Blanche DuBois, break her down, and point out various uses of symbolism. In order to be as specific as possible, I reread much of the play to go through and pick up on symbols.

Before anyone can truly understand Blanche’s character one must understand why she moves to New Orleans and joins her sister, Stella, and her brother-in-law, Stanley. Now, while watching the film, I noticed her appearance in the first scene to be rather elegant, and somewhat moth-like: fair colors, of beige and tans. Now, this may be a little stretched of a connection, but often time in literature, a moth is said to represent the soul. So, to be far-fetched, it is quite possible to see her voyage as the journey of her soul. I cannot speak for Tennessee Williams in this case, but knowing the symbolism of a moth, and hearing critics of the play describe her first appearance as “moth-like” I can gather a conclusion – an example of symbolism. Again, perhaps it is far-fetche

Another repeated behavior, is Blanche’s problem with light. Light plays a crucial part in the struggle between Blanche and Stanley. Blanche insists that she cannot stand a light bulb. Light represents truth, and obviously, Blanche wants to cloak the truth by covering it up. Later on in the play, Stanley “brings to light” the true facts of Blanche’s life. When Mitch, Blanche’s admirer, is enlightened by Stanley about her past, he proceeds to rip of the paper lantern from the light bulb and demands a good look at her. The light is getting brighter, and Blanche is getting weaker.

After analyzing Blanche’s character in enough depth, I tried to find an overall analogy – one that could tie the whole play together. I came upon the analogy of a poker game. Or at least, a poker game can represent the conflict between Blanche and Stanley.

Some topics in this essay:
Tennessee Williams, Stanley Blanche, Blanche Stanley, Elysian Fields, Elysian Fields”, Blanche DuBois, Mitch Blanche’s, Aenied Virgil, Named Desire, elysian fields, Fields Book, streetcar named desire, streetcar named, tennessee williams, poker game, named desire, blanche stanley, play stanley, light bulb, blanche’s character, “mr graves”,