Trauma will always play an unfortunate role in society. Artists, poets, and other visionaries tell the stories that reflect this. They articulate the hate and pain that is felt by one or many. The authors Toni Morrison and Tennessee Williams best portray this in their respective characters; Sethe in Beloved and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. Both characters have immense trauma, manifesting in many different ways. One could make the argument that the two are similar, finding commonalities and assuming trauma is a thinly veiled component of character. Yet, that way of thinking could not be further from actuality. Trauma is both heavy and complex. It plays a large role in the thoughts and actions of Sethe and Blanch, but in incredibly different …show more content…
It acts as a buzzword to grab the attention of the masses, so its definition is often obscured. Sethe and Blanche show trauma in its truest form, something that gathers after experiencing distressing or frightening events. It affects their view of themselves and the world, influencing their actions and relationships. Trauma can haunt someone, quite literally in Sethe's case. It seeps into their person, defining their life. This is where Sethe's and Blanches similarities start and end. Beloved, both in spiritual and physical form, haunts Sethe. Whether Beloved is interpreted as a physical being seeking revenge or a manifestation of the generational trauma of slavery, Sethe cannot let go. Sethe feeds into this, as seen by her love for Beloved. Sethe cares for Beloved, making her the first priority. Sethe even finds comfort in caring for Beloved, the parasitic and manipulative behavior of trauma is seen in this. The actions of Beloved put up an illusion for Sethe, forcing her to define her life by Beloved herself. These illusionary beliefs are also seen in …show more content…
Stanley sexually assaults Blanche, along with humiliating her throughout the novel. This forces Blanche to mentally escape to somewhere else. A place filled with illusionary ideas and fantasy. She regresses back to her time with Shep Huntleigh, believing the oil millionaire is coming to rescue her from Stella's apartment. Yet, as the play progresses, it becomes clear that Shep will never rescue Blanche. Blanche is only trying to escape the trauma of her past and present. As Blanche's mental state continues to deteriorate, those around her make attempts to help. This is where the most striking contrast between Sethe and Blanche is found; those around Blanche do not offer the same support as those around
In Tennesse Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire” he explores the idea of how an individual’s resilience is shaped by empathy. A person who is able to have empathy benefits from high self-esteem, reduced loneliness, and a strong sense of who they are, and in doing so become more resilient. Empathy assists resilience through developing strong supportive relationships. Williams’ shows the relationship between empathy and resilience through the character Blanche. Blanche struggles to empathize with others thus making her vulnerable and less resilient to change.
The physical aspect of Blanche’s isolation is introduced by the relationship between Blanche, New Orleans, and Stanley’s apartment. The basis for Blanche’s isolation is set by the relationship she has with New Orleans. Stanley’s apartment and New Orleans provides a stark contrast to Blanche’s fantasy world, and where she comes from. Blanche reminisces to the beauties of Belle Reve, and it is only seen through her eyes. The ‘beautiful dream’ of Belle Reve is a reflection of the world that Blanche wants to return to, and often fantasizes about.
While reading stories, people tend to easily detach fictional characters from different time period from real life and possible situations in the present day due to the characters having what seems like perfect lives. As the writers from Masterplots noted that “A Streetcar Named Desire” is different: “[the author] shows the reality of people’s lives…” (Masterplots) Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” shows that there are many ways to get hurt, emotionally and physically, in which most cruelty never gets justice that, unfortunately, is still occurring today. Within the first scene of the play, abuse can already be found.
The light causes us to see Blanche's imperfections and the truth of her past. As the book is comes to an end, in scene 10 we come to find out that Stanley rapes Blanche. Stella chooses not to believe Blanche which is not a surprise. Stella also has low self esteem and is a battered woman as she has faced brutal beatings from her husband. Being raped by Stanley is Blanche’s ultimate breaking point, as she ends up being committed into an asylum and loses all
From the loss of Belle Reve to Blanche’s dark past in the Hotel Flamingo, Stanley becomes verbally abusive towards Blanche in what he perceives to be deception. In response, Blanche becomes defensive as well as physically, mentally, and emotionally deteriorated by the abuse. Blanche and Stanley also are polar opposites, sharing very contrasting personalities and backgrounds. Stanley is shown to be barbaric and masculine, while Blanche tries to be elegant, feminine, and aristocratic. Stanley comes from a Polish immigrant descent, while Blanche is the definition of a Southern Belle.
The novels Beloved and As I Lay Dying by Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, respectively, compare and contrast in many different ways, such as when it comes to trauma, and other traumatic events, such as the former taking place during slavery and the latter taking place after the war, and they are similar because they show the traumatic events, and PTSD that people face due to the different traumatic events that they have experienced. For example, they are identical because they both show characters being traumatized due to the event they faced. Still, the difference is that while Sethe, Beloved, and Denver are recovering from their trauma from slavery, Anse, Arthur, and Addie are recovering from their trauma due to the war. The similarity
Many people tell lies to make others feel empathy for them. Weak people buy into these lies and get develop and weak adaptation towards them. Whilst others ignore the empathetic feelings toward them and become strong against them or the forces against them. In Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire” we can see two male characters have contrasting resilience toward Blanche Dubois, this resilience is directly tied in with the empathy they feel towards her life story.
Stanley was mad that Blanche just moved in and he did not get any say over the matter. So, even though Stella wants Blanche there, he buys a ticket to send her back home. This leads to a negative outcome because it upsets both Stella and Blanche and leads to Stanley hurting Stella so badly, she has to go to the hospital. Because of Stanley’s desires, cause problems between him and Blanche. Instead of getting him what he wants, it just causes Blanche to be upset and therefore pushes Stella further away from him and ruins their
In Beloved by Toni Morrison, the author often utilizes many different writing techniques to emphasize the story’s main idea that one cannot let past mistakes dictate one’s life and future. Morrison’s application of nonlinear exposition in Beloved helps convey the novel’s main theme by allowing the reader to witness Sethe’s journey to self-acceptance through her personal flashbacks and Paul D.’s point of view. From the beginning, the author incorporates a flashback to illustrate how Sethe is burdened with guilt from killing her baby daughter. Morrison makes it clear to the reader that Beloved is constantly on Sethe’s mind.
It is what is haunting Blanche’s life, it is what has made her mentally unstable. Throughout the play, she has been hiding her past from people so she looks like
Both Blanche's family and Belle Reve represent her dream to indulge in a sophisticated, high class, and luxurious life. When all of Blanche’s family dies and Stella leaves, Blanche loses the first piece of her “beautiful dream.” She no longer has the money to support herself, since her educational career provides insufficient funds. After the tragic loss of her husband, Blanche loses Belle Reve and loses her job, symbolizing that her “beautiful dream” has been fully crushed and the only remnants of her dream are the lies she feeds herself. This fall of social class leads Blanche to carry a tone of classism.
Blanche is a master of illusion and deception, and she is constantly trying to hide her past and present a false image of herself to those around her. Stanley, on the other hand, is brutally honest and direct, and he sees through Blanche's lies and deceptions. “Don’t you think I know that you’re trying to put something over me?” This quote reflects Stanley’s suspicious and increasing awareness of Blanche’s deception and his determination to uncover the truth as he refuses to be taken by her charm and sophisticated manners. On the other hand, Blanche, “I don’t want realism.
She is very permiscuous and often comes as being flirtatious with other men. Blanche tells stellas that she and Stanley got back together after she flirted with him.. Blanche portrays herself as a virgin with a crush so that Mitch will follow her wherever she goes when she meets Stanley's poker-playing friends. Blanche
Every person is different in their own way, which makes every relationship unique and complex. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Stella and Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski are the three main characters. Blanche desperately relies on her sister to take care of her in a time of darkness, while she intrudes into Stella and Stanley’s new life in New Orleans. Throughout the play, Stella and Stanley’s relationship is characterized as traditional, young love. On the other hand, Stella and Blanche are being brought back together by the loss of their plantation and the deaths in their family.
She refused to leave him when Blanche insisted and didn’t believe Blanche when it came to her being raped. Blanche, Stella, and Stanley all have the same want to be desired. The ways they act and treat each other back that up. Blanche feels the need to be desired by everyone around her, Stanley by Stella and others, and Stella by Stanley. Their lives revolve around desire.