Rhetorical Analysis Of Blanche In 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Blanche is describing a time when she was a “very young girl” and her lover “just a boy” (Williams 114), likely both in age and maturity of life. She feels guilty about the end of a past relationship, made clear at the beginning of the passage when she describes him as “a boy, just a boy” (114). The repetition of the word ‘boy’ suggests a borderline frantic and somewhat disbelieving point of view about the situation.

Blanche further demonstrates her frenzied recollection when she describes her past lover: “There was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and tenderness” (114). The reader expects a colon after the word ‘boy’ as she begins to list his qualities. However, her speech reflects her wild stream-of-consciousness thought process and is more a formless expression of his being than a formal list of characteristics.

The passage also contains a distinct lack of punctuation throughout, further

In her description of the inception of the discussed love, Blanche describes it “like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow” (114). This imagery introduces the juxtaposition of the love. It is described as ‘light’, suggesting is alleviated a personal darkness for Blanche. However, it is also ‘blinding’ and too overwhelming to be truly enjoyed. The beginning of the love, and the overall concept of it, are incredibly appealing to Blanche and they make her happy. Although, because the love is so blinding, it eschews Blanche’s vision and she fails to see the true nature of her lover and the situation. Blanche is describing a situation where she truly experienced too much of a good thing. Additionally, the metaphor of her love being “in the quicksands” (114) creates a mental image for the reader of someone struggling to make the love work, but not being able to. The love was doomed from the start to eventually sink into