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A Streetcar Named Desire Analysis

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Music plays a huge role in the plot and character developments throughout A Streetcar Named Desire by revealing hidden truths about the characters. The inclusion of the musical composition It’s Only A Paper Moon leads to deeper discoveries: the exposures of Blanche and Stanley’s true identities. By contrasting It’s Only A Paper Moon with Stanley’s aggressive dialogue during scene seven, Tennessee Williams forces viewers to side with Blanche and her internal belief that in order to live a life where you are truly happy, it is necessary to forsake some truths and start anew. Williams ' choice of having Stanley brutally unveil Blanche’s secrets contrapuntally with Blanche singing a sweet tune in the tub serves to expose Blanche and Stanley’s inner selves in order to create a strict contrast between the two. As soon as Stella mentioned Blanche soaking in the tub to Stanley after he entered, Stanley began to mock Blanche by mimicking her and saying, “Soaking in a hot tub?” (117). Stanley’s remarks persisted to the point where even Stella had to tell Stanley to “stop picking on Blanche” (118). Stanley’s actions established the idea in the minds of the viewers that he behaves in a very childish manner and is obsessed with having power. His power obsession can be seen on page 118 when Stanley exclaims to Stella, “You know she’s been feeding us a pack of lies here?”. Stanley continues to taunt Stella with information known only to him, which in turn gives Stanley the power of

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