Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire: A Reaction, Assessment of

Literary Value, Biography of the Author, and Literary Critism

Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire contains more

within it's characters, situations, and story than appears on its surface.

As in many of Williams's plays, there is much use of symbolism and

interesting characters in order to draw in and involve the audience. The

plot of A Streetcar Named Desire alone does not captivate the audience. It

is Williams's brilliant and intriguing characters that make the reader

truly understand the play's meaning. He also presents a continuous flow of

raw, realistic moods and events in the play which keeps the reader

fascinated in the realistic fantasy Williams has created in A Streetcar

Named Desire. The symbolism, characters, mood, and events of this play

collectively form a captivating, thought-provoking piece of literature.

A Streetcar Named Desire produces a very strong reaction. Even at

the beginning of the play, the reader is confronted with extremely obvious

symbolism in order to express the idea of the play. Blanche states that

losing, principally to Mitch the potential ally of Blanche,

reader is as drawn into Blanche's illusion as much as Stella is, and just

most crucial scenes are presented within the framework of poker

incompetence, and horror of the game itself." (Quirino, 62)

reality. Tennessee Williams's world in A Streetcar Named Desire, and the

and not in a view warped by Blanche's efforts to make herself seem more

To trace the visionary company of love, its voice

It's a Barnum and Bailey world, Just as phony as it can be

characters within it, become so familiar and fascinating to the reader that

reveals to the audience the way Blanche views the world. Tennessee

his father was on the road as a shoe company salesman. Williams and his

whose stakes are survival in the kind of world the play posits.

characters. As the play develops, the audience sees that Blanche is less

she is doomed to live with her reputation. This final outcome for Blanche

themes. One theme of the play could be that time is precious, and to waste

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2579
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)