Many people live their lives striving for an ideal. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary describes an ideal as "A moral standard of perfection". It is an individual belief of some kind of perfect life. Many people live their life trying to achieve their idea of perfection. An ideal may be shown through physical, intellectual, moral, practical, or emotional actions. Literature offers many examples of how individuals are influenced by an ideal.
             A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, for example, shows how individuals are influenced by an ideal. The three main characters, Blanche, Stanley, and Stella, have lives that revolve around their individual ideals. Tennessee Williams develops ideals for his character's to strive for and throughout the play he shows his reader's how these ideals affect there individual lives.
             Tennessee Williams portrays Blanche to be very concerned with her image. Blanch feels that she must portray an image of perfection at all times.
             Myself, Myself, for being such a liar! I'm writing a letter to Shep. 'Darling Shep. I am spending the summer on the wing, making flying visits here and there. And who knows, perhaps I shall take a sudden notion to swoop down on Dallas! How would you feel about that? Ha-ha! [She laughs nervously and brightly, touching her throat as if actually talking to Shep] Forewarned is forearmed, as they say!' – How does that sound?" (Scene 5, Page 74)
             Blanche has not actually taken any flying trips. Blanche lies to Shep in order to maintain her image of perfection. She doesn't want to let Shep know what her life is really like living with Stanley and Stella. Instead, she makes up stories about her many flying visits.
             Blanche lies many other times throughout the play in order keep her perfect image. One such time was when she was talking to Stanley about Shep Huntleigh.
             Mr. Shep Huntleigh. I wore his ATO pin in my last year at...