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This play is important for an individual to read because it teaches them how to appreciate more of the world that surrounds them. This recognition could even be small things such as interactions with strangers, more time with family and to be grateful for those around you. I believe that a majority of people's mindsets nowadays are purely based on expensive objects with no person value or interest. I think that by reading this play that an individual will understand how living a life of glamour filled with dollar signs isn't always the most desirable path to life your life.

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This theme ties in with current world events because economic issues are at the epicenter of the negative impacts from the pandemic. As people are confined to their homes with a small amount of income for financial support, they are finding comfort and developing a new perspective on the world despite these difficult times. This pandemic has shifted people's opinions to now consider family time as a source of happiness instead of dollar signs.

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I've learned that just because an individual is blessed with a lump sum of money, that doesn't mean they live a more fulfilling life than others. By reading this play, I've recognized that it is in fact the opposite - money diminishes ones happiness. The character who exemplifies this lesson the most is Blanche DuBois who is a materialistic southern belle that is unfamiliar to a middle class lifestyle but must conform her beliefs as her sister Stella has selflessly brought her into her home.

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The pacing throughout all scenes are very fast and equally consistent. The speed is also due to how quickly certain interactions can easily be flipped upside down and perceived in a different format or attitude. The constant dialogue between characters leaves plenty of room for any misunderstandings or honesty to be conveyed and cause tension in a short matter of time. This fast paced storytelling also depicts personality traits about certain characters, such as short tempers or a strong-willed behavior. Additionally, the quick pace in which the playwright has chosen to write this play adds to the instability of relationships that are consistently displayed in all dialogue and interactions.

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Within this play, there are almost no instances of a character talking to themself or displaying a solid stream of consciousness. A majority of the thoughts and feelings expressed by the characters are conveyed through interactions and described actions through stage directions. For example, “she wasn’t expecting to find us in such a small place. You see I try to gloss things over a little in my letters." this was said behind Blanche's back and reveals an almost "secret" world that the married couple were living. Stella was indirectly sharing information about her living status to her posh sister trying to avoid her visiting, which ending up being unsuccessful.

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Direct dialogue is vital to the structure of this play, simply because it is the only written substance that the readers are given. Paired with stage directions, the dialogue of every character in any situation is key to understanding the mood, tone and even an underlying message in an interaction. Within this play, the playwright relies heavily on dialogue that is often very honest and blunt between characters, moments filled with tension and stress are very detailed with stage directions and often the best place to extract quotes from. Williams does an excellent job of pairing tension filled altercations with very direct and specific dialogue that contain many elements such as possible symbols, underlying themes and additional information to fill certain plot points - essentially further extending the understanding of the play for the readers.

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The contrast is strong between two unlikely paired characters who share uncommon interests and distaste for each other. The only commonality between Blanche and Stanley is her sister and his wife, Stella who tries her beat to ease the tension between the two.  Blanche comes from a wealthy family and a relatively easy upbringing, Stanley has never had an "easy" life and works hard every day to earn a simple living. He is very critical of Blanche's attitude and naive behaviors, even speculating that she stole some of her riches, " Pearls! Ropes of them! What is the sister of yours, a deep sea diver?" Blanche has remained oblivious to his comments despite making statements such as, “Oh, let me think, if only my mind would function! We’ve got to get hold of some money, that’s the way out!” The two in-laws are incapable of ever understanding each other which leads to a hateful and toxic environment.

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Money is a very prominent symbol used throughout the play and has been active in every scene thus far. Money separates the two main characters who spent their childhood together but eventually grew apart due to different life paths with varying incomes and accessibility to money. The money symbolizes both happiness and a burden especially in Blanche's life - the main character. She has relied solely on her family's fortune to get by and never have to display any hard work or dedication. On the other hand, her sister Stella has a full time job and enjoys working and making an income for her family and is proud of her accomplishments done with the presence of her family's fortune. Blanche consistently seems unhappy despite her once lavish lifestyle and lives each day with the overbearing thought of 'more money, more problems.'

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Somebody to Love - Queen

“I’m going to do something. Get hold of myself and make myself a new life!”

- This quote is all about Blanche's efforts to essentially 'restart' her life with new morals and understanding for people around her. She is unhappy with the person she has become in recent years and was inspired by her sister Stella to begin anew. Hopefully this refreshing cleanse will alter Blanche's stream of consciousness and attitude toward the world .

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Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles

“The little there is of sincerity belongs to people who have experienced some sorrow”

-To begin, I love this quote. It was really powerful and touching when I read it and definitely shows a softer side to Blanche’s tough exterior. I believe that for the time she’s stayed with her sister, her perspective on life has become more optimistic. Blanche displays a more compassionate side to her personality despite the sorrow of her past. This quote also reveals more details of Blanche’s past such as dealing with the passing of certain family members and having to rely on herself when times got tough. This song is so cheerful and happy and reflects more growth and understanding within Blanche’s character.

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Home - Phillip Phillips

“I like to wait on you, Blanche. It makes it seem more like home.”

-This quote displays the strong bond embedded deep within the two sisters with polar opposite personalities and different paths of life. It also reveals that despite a growing distance between the two, Stella still has a soft spot for Blanche- no matter the circumstances. To Stella, the presence of Blanche reminds her of their childhood and the comfort of home with it, just like this song choice.

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I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John

“It isn’t enough to be soft. You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I’m fading now! I don’t know how much longer I can turn the trick.”

- In this quote, Blanche is the most vulnerable and personable that she has ever been portrayed. She lives every moment with her guard up and is reluctant to hear criticism or distaste about her decisions. This is the most her character has developed throughout the whole play, being able to admit some of her downfalls and insecurities shows growth. This song is all about understanding the impacts paired with feeling upset about the present.

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I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

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I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

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Vienna - Billy Joel

"I know how it helps your morale just having a little pocket-money on you.”

- This quote is quite condescending but also a very realistic approach to how Stella should deal with her money hungry sister. Stella understands how much her sister relies on money for both its value and her personal reputation. The lyric, “You’re so ambitious for a juvenile” pairs well with the dynamic relationship between the two sisters and their conflicting morals and normal lifestyles.

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Rich Girl - Daryl Hall & John Oates

"Oh, let me think, if only my mind would function! We’ve got to get hold of some money, that’s the way out!”

- Blanche has once again demonstrated how she relies on money as her escape from reality and an ‘easy way out’ during difficult situations. She is accustomed to consistently depending on money and her family fortunes to alter certain circumstances within her life, now spreading this behavior to her sister.

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You Can't Do That - The Beatles

"Poker should not be played in a house with women.”

- This line was repeated twice within 3 pages of dialogue to emphasize the underlying issue between a man and wife with differing interests. Poker and drinking was the catalyst to the outlandish behavior between Stella and Stanley and brings out the worst in both of them. Their scuffle raised tensions and caused someone to be injured along with trust to be questioned. This song is very straightforward and reminds me of the dialogue said by some of the fight spectators.

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How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - James Taylor

"There’s so much- so much confusion in the world… Thank you for being so kind!  I need kindness right now."

- Blanche is disturbed and confused to learn the reality of modern couples within society, it’s difficult for her to understand that fights between couples are simply normal. She confides in her new friend Mitch who is very understanding and explains the turn of events to her. Blanche begins to catch feelings for Mitch through his kindness and compassion which he displayed to Blanche. This song is all about admiring the special person in your life who never fails to ‘turn your frown upside down’.

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How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - 2019 Remaster

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How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - 2019 Remaster

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“ You messy child, you, you spilled something on that pretty white lace collar!": The collar in this text could actually be symbolized as a ‘white collar’ lifestyle, one in which Stella herself doesn’t live in, but her sister Blanche does. This quote reminds me of the current financial struggles that millions of people are experiencing now due to the pandemic. Issues have arisen due to the stimulus package and how it should be distributed to the wealthy and poor throughout our economy. It is also similar to how money is an important aspect to the stability of millions of family, especially now.

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- The character that I have decided to analyze is Miss Blanche DuBois. She is a very materialistic woman who is quite misunderstood due to the distant relationship she has formed with her sister over the years. Blanche is depicted as a very anxious but also honest character, depending on the relations she has with others. To her sister Stella, she's very needy and nervous. But, when conversing with her brother-in-law Stanley, she is a more honest person and minimizes her 'prissy' attitude.

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- Since this piece of literature is a play and used for dramatic purposes such as performing on a stage, there is no consistent narrator. There are stage directions that lay out a current scenario or actions of one of the characters. Instead of a narrator in share details with the audience. the characters do this through dialogue. I think that the dialogue makes the drama more enjoyable to read because their lines are very expressive and animated and you can really imagine certain scenes being performed between characters.

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- The setting of a suburban neighborhood outside New Orleans is quickly symbolic of wealth and social status between the two sisters, Blanche and Stella. This is Blanche's first visitation to her sister's new home and she is amazed to find her sister is living in a 'less wealthy' part of the city. Blanche has never strayed outside the family's private plot of land and isn't accustomed to living in close proximity to strangers, she is shocked to see how much her sister has changed in recent years. Despite Blanche's criticism, Stella is proud of her home and could be symbolized as her hard work to be able to afford a house of her own. I would love to visit New Orleans and see the old fashioned homes that surround the historic city.

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- I'm very excited to begin reading this book, William's professionalism and maturity in A Sweet Bird of Youth was very endearing, so I'm hoping for a similar experience with this play. As plays are often easy to read, there is a lot to dissect from the continuous dialogue between the characters, such as identifying themes and symbols through text citations.

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- I chose to read this book because of how much I enjoyed William's previous work, Sweet Bird of Youth. I also quite enjoy the personal interactions and dialogue found within plays.

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- This play is set in the suburbs of New Orleans in the early 1950's. It begins with friends Eunice and Stella who live in the same building and have developed a friendship over the years. Stella lives with her husband Stanley and receive an unexpected visit from Stella's sister, Blanche.

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- Ironically, the play was named after an actual streetcar service available in New Orleans and Williams himself liked the name. Additionally, the iconic Bourbon Street in New Orleans celebrates this book and many of William's other works in an annual five-day parade to honor the late playwright.

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In a sweltering New Orleans, a wilted Southern belle collides with the dysfunctional marriage of her sweet sister and brutish brother-in-law. This is the plot of Tennessee Williams's classic play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947. But the story of its making and legacy is even wilder than Stanley Kowalski's screaming.

1. WILLIAMS SET THE PLAY IN HIS CHOSEN HOME.

The boy born Thomas Lanier Williams III lived in Columbus, Mississippi, until he was 8 years old. From there, his traveling salesman father bounced the family around Missouri, moving 16 times in just 10 years before abandoning them. As he forged a path of his own, Williams wandered from St. Louis's Washington University to the University of Iowa to the New School in New York City, and even spent some time working on a chicken ranch in Laguna Beach, California. But at 28, he found his "spiritual home" in New Orleans. There he officially changed his given name to the college nickname he'd come to prefer. Inspired by the culture of the French Quarter, he wrote short stories and what would become one of his most popular plays. There he became Tennessee Williams, in more ways than one.

2. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE WAS NAMED AFTER A REAL STREETCAR LINE.

Named for its endpoint on Desire Street in the Ninth Ward, the Desire line ran down Canal Street onto Bourbon and beyond. It operated from 1920 to 1948-meaning that shortly after becoming famous on Broadway, it was retired in favor of buses that were quieter and put less stress on the streets and surrounding buildings. Gone but not forgotten, one of the Desire cars was restored in 1967, and was made a tourist attraction. In 2003, the city even proposed resurrecting the streetcars and this famous line's name, but this dream died when federal funding was denied.

3. STANLEY KOWALSKI WAS INSPIRED BY TWO MEN.

The name "Stanley Kowalski" was borrowed from a factory worker Williams met while living in St. Louis. But the playwright's true muse was Amado 'Pancho' Rodriguez y Gonzales, a Mexican boxer who was once Williams's lover, and who argued the character he inspired should be Latino, not Polish.

Ten years his junior, Gonzalez met Williams when the writer traveled to Mexico City in late 1945. Entranced by the macho 24-year-old, Williams invited Gonzalez to move into his New Orleans home. Their relationship lasted only two years. By the time Streetcar Named Desire hit Broadway, Williams had moved on to who would be the love of his life, aspiring writer Frank Merlo.

4. BLANCHE MAY HAVE BEEN A STAND-IN FOR WILLIAMS.

As a gay man, the writer had been mocked all his life, called "sissy" by sneering peers, and "Miss Nancy" by his drunken, abusive father. In some respects, he was like Blanche, a gentle Southern soul, thirsty for love and kindness, yet dangerously fascinated by gruff men. Elia Kazan, who directed both the original Broadway production of Streetcar and its movie adaptation, once said of Williams, "If Tennessee was Blanche, Pancho was Stanley....Wasn't he [Williams] attracted to the Stanleys of the world? Sailors? Rough trade? Danger itself? Yes, and wilder. The violence in that boy, always on a trigger edge, attracted Williams at the very time it frightened him."

The closest Williams came to commenting on this comparison was saying of his work, "I draw every character out of my very multiple split personality. My heroines always express the climate of my interior world at the time in which those characters were created."

5. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE WAS WILLIAMS'S SECOND BIG BROADWAY HIT.

In 1945, Williams broke through with his groundbreaking autobiographical drama The Glass Menagerie. Just a year and a half after this acclaimed production closed, A Streetcar Named Desire opened to even greater praise. Reportedly, the standing ovation lasted for 30 minutes after the curtain descended on opening night.

6. THE PLAY WAS DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT FROM ITS BROADWAY CONTEMPORARIES.

In her historical essay on Williams, critic Camille Paglia notes that A Streetcar Named Desire was a total change from The Glass Menagerie. Where the former had a "tightly wound gentility," the latter boasted "boisterous energy and eruptions of violence." But more than that, " Streetcar exploded into the theater world at a time when Broadway was dominated by musical comedies and revivals." She adds, "the shocking frankness with which Streetcar treated sex-as a searingly revolutionary force-was at odds with the dawning domesticity of the postwar era and looked forward instead to the 1960s sexual revolution."

7. IT CEMENTED WILLIAMS'S REPUTATION AS A MAJOR VOICE IN AMERICAN THEATER.

The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson proclaimed, "Mr. Williams is a genuinely poetic playwright whose knowledge of people is honest and thorough and whose sympathy is profoundly human." A Streetcar Named Desire went on to run for more than 800 performances, and would win the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Jessica Tandy earned a Tony Award for originating the role of Blanche, and Williams was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

8. STANLEY KOWALSKI LAUNCHED MARLON BRANDO.

At 23, Brando was a method actor who was drawing praise in a string of Broadway roles. The year before A Streetcar Named Desire debuted at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York critics had voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" because of his powerful performance in Maxwell Anderson's Truckline Café. His portrayal as Kowalski delivered on that promise, and then some. Playwright Arthur Miller wrote that he seemed "a tiger on the loose, a sexual terrorist ... Brando was a brute who bore the truth." And this intensity was captured in the 1951 film adaptation, which earned the actor an Oscar nomination for what was only his second film role.

9. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE REDEEMED WILLIAMS'S HOLLYWOOD REPUTATION.

Following the success of The Glass Menagerie's Broadway run, Warner Bros. hired Williams to draft an adapted screenplay for a movie version. But seeking a more commercial offering, they hired another writer to tack on a happy ending, behind Williams's back. The result was a critically panned dud that the playwright denounced as a " travesty." Nonetheless, Williams returned to Warner Bros. with A Streetcar Named Desire. This time, however, the director and most of the cast from the Broadway show were kept on for the film, which went on to earn an impressive 12 Academy Award nominations, winning four, including Best Supporting Actress (Kim Hunter) and Best Actress (Vivien Leigh).

10. JESSICA TANDY WAS THE ONLY LEAD OF THE BROADWAY PLAY NOT CAST IN THE MOVIE.

Hollywood didn't care about her Tony or her rave reviews. Warner Bros. needed a big name to assure the film's success. So Tandy was dropped in favor of Leigh, who'd played the role of Blanche in a London production of A Streetcar Named Desire, but more importantly was a household name thanks to her first Oscar-winning role, that of Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's historical epic Gone With The Wind.

11. THE FILM WAS TAMER THAN THE PLAY.

With mounting pressure from a public concerned about the influence movies have on children, Hollywood created The Motion Picture Production Code, a series of guidelines about what was acceptable and not in film. Thus, A Streetcar Named Desire's movie adaptation was forced to tone down some coarser language, and cut some of its most scandalous elements, like Blanche's promiscuity and her late husband being a closeted homosexual. For instance, in the play Blanche demands of her sister, "Where were you? In bed with your pollack!" In the film, she says, "In there with your pollack!"

12. WILLIAMS FOUGHT TO KEEP BLANCHE'S RAPE FROM BEING CUT.

Following their climactic confrontation, the play implies Stanley rapes Blanche. But Warner Bros. felt this was too dark for the movie. Williams and Kazan sparred with the studio over this. The former argued, "[The] rape of Blanche by Stanley is a pivotal, integral truth in the play, without which the play loses its meaning which is the ravishment of the tender, the sensitive, the delicate by the savage and brutal forces of modern society." Like in the play, this grievous crime occurs between scenes, but its implication is clear by the violent events that lead up to a fade to black.

13. ONCE AGAIN, HOLLYWOOD TACKED ON A HAPPY ENDING.

The compromise on including the rape was that Stanley would have to be punished for the act. So just as they did with The Glass Menagerie, Warner Bros. softened the end of William's acclaimed tragedy with a script change. In this case, a line is included, where Stella declares she won't go back to her abusive husband. It's a stark contrast to the play, which concludes with the stage direction "He kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her blouse," as Stanley coos to her. Williams would go on to say the adaptation was "only slightly marred by [a] Hollywood ending."

14. THE FILM MADE A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE ICONIC.

Brando's tour de force performance may not have won him the Oscar, but his brutish performance, tight white t-shirt, and signature "Stella!" cry made the movie one that would not be forgotten. Today, the play is considered a classic, and has been revived on Broadway eight times. In 1999, the movie adaptation was added to the National Film Registry, which aims to preserve "culturally, historically or aesthetically" works of cinema. And in 2005, the American Film Institute included Kowalski's agonized scream of "Stella! Hey, Stella!" among its 100 greatest movie quotes of the last 100 years. It came in at number 45.

15. EVERY SPRING, NEW ORLEANS THROWS A FESTIVAL IN HONOR OF THE PLAY.

Called the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, the annual five-day event celebrates Williams's world-famous work, showcases emerging writers, and provides educational opportunities for literary students. It also offers tours of the French Quarter locations where Williams walked, conversed and worked, like the Hotel Maison de Ville, the restaurant Galatoire's, which gets a mention in Streetcar; and the apartment where he lived with Pancho, which overlooked the Desire line.

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15 Facts About Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire

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In a sweltering New Orleans, a wilted Southern belle collides with the dysfunctional marriage of her sweet sister and brutish brother-in-law. This is the plot of Tennessee Williams's classic play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947. But the story of its making and legacy is even wilder than Stanley Kowalski's screaming.

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- Tennessee Williams began his playwright career at a very young age, publishing his first work at 16 when he won a local essay contest in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. He later went on to attend the University of Missouri but ended up moving and graduated at the University of Iowa in 1939. Williams then moved to New Orleans where he received location inspiration for many of his future plays. His success as a playwright encouraged him to move to Hollywood and become a full time screen-writer.

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Tennessee Williams, original name Thomas Lanier Williams, (born March 26, 1911, Columbus, Mississippi, U.S.-died February 25, 1983, New York City), American dramatist whose plays reveal a world of human frustration in which sex and violence underlie an atmosphere of romantic gentility.

Williams became interested in playwriting while at the University of Missouri (Columbia) and Washington University (St. Louis) and worked at it even during the Great Depression while employed in a St. Louis shoe factory. Little theatre groups produced some of his work, encouraging him to study dramatic writing at the University of Iowa, where he earned a B.A. in 1938.

His first recognition came when American Blues (1939), a group of one-act plays, won a Group Theatre award. Williams, however, continued to work at jobs ranging from theatre usher to Hollywood scriptwriter until success came with The Glass Menagerie (1944). In it Williams portrayed a declassed Southern family living in a tenement. The play is about the failure of a domineering mother, Amanda, living upon her delusions of a romantic past, and her cynical son, Tom, to secure a suitor for Tom's shy and withdrawn sister, Laura, who lives in a fantasy world with a collection of glass animals.

Williams's next major play, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), won a Pulitzer Prize. It is a study of the mental and moral ruin of Blanche DuBois, another former Southern belle, whose genteel pretensions are no match for the harsh realities symbolized by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.

In 1953 Camino Real, a complex work set in a mythical, microcosmic town whose inhabitants include Lord Byron and Don Quixote, was a commercial failure, but his Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), which exposes the emotional lies governing relationships in the family of a wealthy Southern planter, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and was successfully filmed, as was The Night of the Iguana (1961), the story of a defrocked minister turned sleazy tour guide, who finds God in a cheap Mexican hotel. Suddenly Last Summer (1958) deals with lobotomy, pederasty, and cannibalism, and in Sweet Bird of Youth (1959) the gigolo hero is castrated for having infected a Southern politician's daughter with venereal disease.

Williams was in ill health frequently during the 1960s, compounded by years of addiction to sleeping pills and liquor, problems that he struggled to overcome after a severe mental and physical breakdown in 1969. His later plays were unsuccessful, closing soon to poor reviews. They include Vieux Carré (1977), about down-and-outs in New Orleans; A Lovely Sunday for Crève Coeur (1978-79), about a fading belle in St. Louis during the Great Depression; and Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980), centring on Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, and on the people they knew.

Williams also wrote two novels, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950) and Moise and the World of Reason (1975), essays, poetry, film scripts, short stories, and an autobiography, Memoirs (1975). His works won four Drama Critics' awards and were widely translated and performed around the world.

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Tennessee Williams | Plays, Education, Biography, & Facts

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Tennessee Williams (1911-83) was an American dramatist whose best-known plays include A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. His work reveals a world of human frustration in which sex and violence underlie an atmosphere of romantic gentility.