It is obvious to the reader that Blanche is a victim of various delusions and violence throughout the play of “A Streetcar Named Desire”. She emotionally and physically is treated horribly all throughout the play. Although, Blanche is not the only one that falls under the category of victim in this play, Stella and Mitch are also victimized in the play.
Stella is a victim in the play in the sense that she is caught between Stanley and Blanche, two completely different worlds. She cares to Blanche because she is her sister and they grew up together. She also thinks that Blanche has been through a great deal of tragedy, and that she should be there for her older sister. On the other hand, Stella has to support her husband Stanley because that is her new life that she has chosen, and it truly does make her happy. In this situation, Stella is a victim of choosing the past, Blanche, or the present, Stanley. In the end, she chooses the side of her present, with her new born child, husband, and new life. This is seen in the last seen when Stella and Stanley basically call a Doctor from an asylum to take her away. Also, Stella is seen to have chose Stanley over Blanche because when Blanche must have told Stella about the rape that occurred, Stella says “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley”, which just shows that she rather not believe her own sister in order to not risk the chance of losing her new life with Stanley.
Another character that is victimized throughout the play is Mitch. He is a victim of all the lies that Blanche feeds him. He does not know any different than to believe Blanche, even though the audience of the play knows that he is being lied to. In this sense, Williams want the audience to be sympathetic towards Mitch. He is also a victim of pressure. I feel like one of the main reasons he starts talking to Blanche in the first place is not because he likes her, but because he a great deal of pressure to get married because the is the ideal thing to do at there age. Just as Blanche wants to get married before she gets to old, Mitch is also in that same position. Mitch also gets pressure from his mother, whom he loves dearly, because wants to see Mitch married before she passes away and Mitch wants to fulfill that wish for her before her death.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Stan the Man
In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Tennessee Williams does not leave much room for interpretation when it comes to the characters. For instance, Stanley Kowalski, one of the main characters in the drama, is portrayed as a brute. The audience can not only see this but is told this when Blanche says “he acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one…” You can tell the Stanley is being portrayed as brute male by the words the Williams uses to describe him, such as “animal” and the “grunts” that he makes. Also, When Stanley beats the baby bearing Stella, he is presented as a brute with no control. Also, when he yells out Stella’s name after all the fighting is over, he is portrayed to be animal-like in his way of calling her. As he yells out Stella’s name, Williams make sure to let the audience know that he is doing it with “heaven-splitting violence”.
On the contrary, Stanley is also given room for alternative understandings. Although he is seen as the alpha male that wants to be in control for everything, he is also given human emotions and characters. You can tell all throughout the drama that Stanley does love Stella very much. He knows that beating her was wrong, and “He was as good as a lamb when [Stella] came back and…very, very ashamed of himself”. Also, Stanley is seen as somewhat sensitive when it comes to his ethnicity. He himself says” I am not a Polack. People from Poland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a one-hundred-per-cent American, born and raised on the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it…” Williams might have added this into the play to let the audience relate to Stanley. The audience is more likely to keep interest in the story if the audience s able to relate to the characters of the drama.
Over all, I think Williams establishes Stanley as a brute beast like character with an alpha male personality. It is hard to escape the reality that Stanley likes to be the dominant one in any relationship, whether it is with his wife Stella, or just with his friends. But Williams also gives way to some lenience on Stanley as to let the audience relate with the character by giving him a sensitive side that is not seen very much all throughout the drama.
On the contrary, Stanley is also given room for alternative understandings. Although he is seen as the alpha male that wants to be in control for everything, he is also given human emotions and characters. You can tell all throughout the drama that Stanley does love Stella very much. He knows that beating her was wrong, and “He was as good as a lamb when [Stella] came back and…very, very ashamed of himself”. Also, Stanley is seen as somewhat sensitive when it comes to his ethnicity. He himself says” I am not a Polack. People from Poland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a one-hundred-per-cent American, born and raised on the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it…” Williams might have added this into the play to let the audience relate to Stanley. The audience is more likely to keep interest in the story if the audience s able to relate to the characters of the drama.
Over all, I think Williams establishes Stanley as a brute beast like character with an alpha male personality. It is hard to escape the reality that Stanley likes to be the dominant one in any relationship, whether it is with his wife Stella, or just with his friends. But Williams also gives way to some lenience on Stanley as to let the audience relate with the character by giving him a sensitive side that is not seen very much all throughout the drama.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Differences between Narrative and Drama
Narrative and drama are different in many different aspects. “Trifles”, the drama, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, the narrative text, are both written by Susan Glaspell. It is the same story that is told, but is different from each other in many ways. One main difference that I see between drama and narrative is the difference of viewpoint. In narrative, the viewpoint is a private relationship between the reader and whatever viewpoint the author gives the reader. On the other hand, drama is more interactive, and the reader can take multiple positions on the scope of the story. For example, in “A Jury of Her Peers”, the reader instantly is given the viewpoint of Mrs. Hale and is not really given much information about the others. For most of the narrative, it is only Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters talking amongst themselves sin the kitchen, while the men are not even shown in the picture. In contradiction to that, in the drama “Trifles”, the viewpoint is not so finely set, and the reader gets to make decisions on which view he/she would like to see it from. The viewer can either view it from Mrs. Hales point, Mrs. Peters, or anybody else shown in the story. It is a matter of who the reader can relate to more.
These multiple viewpoints can emerge because of the fact that in drama the reader is being told the story as it unfolds. In a narrative, the story has already happened, and now the reader is reading about it. In drama, the reader is treated as if it is the plot is unfolding for the first time. For example, the drama is as if you were watching a football game, as a narrative is as if you are reading about the game the next morning on the internet. The sense of intimacy that is brought with “being there” is lost.
These multiple viewpoints can emerge because of the fact that in drama the reader is being told the story as it unfolds. In a narrative, the story has already happened, and now the reader is reading about it. In drama, the reader is treated as if it is the plot is unfolding for the first time. For example, the drama is as if you were watching a football game, as a narrative is as if you are reading about the game the next morning on the internet. The sense of intimacy that is brought with “being there” is lost.
When Reality Hits
In “The Sisters”, by James Joyce, the reverend that has passed away is the character that experiences paralysis and epiphany. The reverend had experienced physical paralysis because of the fact that he had three strokes. When a person experiences a stroke, a certain part of your body is physically paralyzed due to the shock that your body/brain is put through. Not only did he have a physical paralysis, he also had an emotional paralysis. This could be seen through his actions. Some examples of his paralysis are when “the chalice broke” and it “affected his mind”. For the Christian faith, it is believed that the chalice is the cup that carries the blood of Christ after its trans-configuration. The priest drops the chalice but thankfully it was empty. Another example of his paralysis is when he would be found “with his breviary fallen to the floor, lying back in the chair and his mouth open”. His physical paralysis is seen through this imagery of his mouth being open because a person with a stroke sometimes cannot control their bodily functions. Also, the emotional paralysis is seen when he drops the book that contains all the songs and hymns of the Christian Faith.
It is unknown to the reader what the true epiphany that the reverend had was, but it could be seen that the epiphany led the reverend to have lost his faith in Christianity. For a person who has devoted his life to his faith, to have an epiphany which questions your faith is like having an epiphany in which it questions your life.
Another story in which a paralysis and epiphany occur is in James Joyce’s other short story “Araby”. In this short story, the protagonist Araby is put through a paralysis by love. The young love that he feels for one of his friend’s older sisters blinds him and puts him in a state of paralysis. When the young boy goes to the bazaar with the intention of buying his love a gift, he finds a stall where he could have possibly bought something for her. While he is there, he see’s a young girl, probably about the same age as his love, flirting with soldiers. It is at this point that he has an epiphany. My interpretation of his epiphany is that as he see’s this flirting, he realizes that his love never flirted with him as this girl at the bazaar is flirting with the soldiers.
It is not as paramount as the reverend’s epiphany was, but it is similar in the sense that it has changed Araby’s faith that he had in his love just as the reverends faith in his religion was altered.
It is unknown to the reader what the true epiphany that the reverend had was, but it could be seen that the epiphany led the reverend to have lost his faith in Christianity. For a person who has devoted his life to his faith, to have an epiphany which questions your faith is like having an epiphany in which it questions your life.
Another story in which a paralysis and epiphany occur is in James Joyce’s other short story “Araby”. In this short story, the protagonist Araby is put through a paralysis by love. The young love that he feels for one of his friend’s older sisters blinds him and puts him in a state of paralysis. When the young boy goes to the bazaar with the intention of buying his love a gift, he finds a stall where he could have possibly bought something for her. While he is there, he see’s a young girl, probably about the same age as his love, flirting with soldiers. It is at this point that he has an epiphany. My interpretation of his epiphany is that as he see’s this flirting, he realizes that his love never flirted with him as this girl at the bazaar is flirting with the soldiers.
It is not as paramount as the reverend’s epiphany was, but it is similar in the sense that it has changed Araby’s faith that he had in his love just as the reverends faith in his religion was altered.
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