tennessee williams's illusione
This essay studies Williams's heroines who are unable to face their reality so they retreat into illusionary worlds created by themselves. Laura in The Glass Menagerie and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire are the most outstanding examples. They are so fragile that facing reality will destroy them. Their creation of illusions makes them feel safe away from the real world they cannot cope with, and the harsh realities that destroy both their dreams and hopes. In the Wingfields, Laura is the lost child. Because of being crippled, she cannot face the outside world. She is always afraid of relationships and is terribly shy. In addition, she always feels rejected and inadequate. In short, she has an inferiority complex. Her only way out is to retreat into a world of her own creation. Living in a world of tiny glass animals is her way of escape. "They are her escape mechanism as the movies are Tom's and the past is Amanda's" (Griffin 29). Those glass animals stand as a symbol of Laura herself. They are so fragile, and even unique. Her separation gradually increases till she becomes like a piece of her glass collection." she lives in a world of her own- a world of- little glass or
Blanche tries to compensate the loss of Allan through her intimacies with strangers. She is also dismissed from the high school where she works because of a relationship with one of her students, a seventeen years old boy. Belle Reve the plantation, symbolizes the past, both personal and collective, that is now onlya beautiful illusion; likewise, Vieux Carre, the cramped apartment of the present, stands for the threatening reality in which Blanche feels cornered. " (scene five) Laura is totally unable to bear the group contact in the business school, so she drops out. She prefers just walking, because as she tells her mother "It was the lesser of two evils, mother . Her sexual relations are basically with young men as a reminder of Allan. It stands in contrast with Vieux Carre, the apartment she is now living in. At a moment of disgust, she drives him to suicide by revealing that she knows the truth about him. Bathing, dressing and drinking alchol are her means out. she searches for protection through love making. (Debusscher 173) The loss of Belle Reve is a significant step towards Blanche's creation of illusion.
Common topics in this essay:
Belle Reve,
Allan Blanche,
Mitch Blanche's,
Amanda's Griffin,
Jim O'cconner,
Wingfields Laura,
Desire Williams's,
Rosamond Gilda,
Named Desire,
Vieux Carre,
belle reve,
streetcar named desire,
glass animals,
glass collection,
harsh reality,
named desire,
illusion blanche,
reality blanche,
bathing suggests,
streetcar named,
vieux carre,
|
Acceptance Essays
