Theme Of Dreams In A Streetcar Named Desire

People most often allow their fantasies to overpower and control their realities. In the play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” author Tennessee Williams describes the themes of living in a dream along with the harsh reality of the world. Arthur Miller, writer of “Death of a Salesman,” emphasizes that dreams must always come to an end and when they do, you must let go before it takes a toll on one 's mental health. Although dissimilar in plot, both plays display how the main characters allow their fantasies to cloud their judgement on their reality. Throughout each of the plays, we identify how each of the individuals had a fear of their own reality and never wanted to live in it. As the reality of their lives continues to find its way in, they allow their American dreams to influence their judgement. Even though the American dream doesn’t exist, people fixate on living the perfect life. Some may argue that their fantasies are actually their reality; however there are several indications that allow us to see that this is untrue. Blanche DuBois, a character in “ A Streetcar Named Desire,” is one who seems to demonstrate this. In the play, Miller describes Blanche as an older woman roughly in her thirties who believes she is still young. She fantasizes about all the things she wished she had accomplished in her youth and lies about doing so. In the play, Blanche has many moments in which she acknowledges that she is lying, but will continue to force herself to believe that her