Streetcar Named Desire[Paperback,1989]

by Tennessee Williams

Book Overview

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is one of the most remarkable plays of our time. It created an immortal woman in the character of Blanche DuBois, the haggard and fragile southern beauty whose pathetic last... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Unknown Binding
• ISBN: B004PH3NC6
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Signet,1989.
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Fickle Bird Of Youth

The first couple of paragraphs here have been used as introduction to other plays written by Tennessee Williams and reviewed in this space. This review applies to both the stage play and the film versions with differences noted as part of the review Perhaps, as is the case with this reviewer, if you have come to the works of the excellent American playwright Tennessee Williams through adaptations of his plays to commercially distributed film you too will have missed some of the more controversial and intriguing aspects of his plays that had placed him at that time along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller as America's finest serious playwrights. Although some of the films have their own charms I want to address the written plays in this entry first (along with, when appropriate, commentary about Williams' extensive and detailed directing instructions). That said, there are certain limitations for a political commentator like this reviewer on the works of Williams. Although his plays, at least his best and most well-known ones, take place in the steamy South or its environs, there is virtually no acknowledgement of the race question that dominated Southern life during the period of the plays; and, for that matter was beginning to dominate national life. Thus, although it is possible to pay homage to his work on its artistic merits, I am very, very tentative about giving fulsome praise to that work on its political merits. With that proviso Williams nevertheless has created a very modern stage on which to address social questions at the personal level like homosexuality, incest and the dysfunctional family that only began to get addressed widely well after his ground-breaking work hit the stage. "Sweet Bird Of Youth" is a case in point. Not for the first time, a seemingly 1950's style All- American boy Chance who has left his hometown, his home town girl and his roots behind to drift in that endless spiral toward fame- Hollywood and the movies, naturally- comes back to claim what is his by right. On this little hometown reunion Chance is in the service of one aging and fretful actress who has her own issues with that elusive `bird of youth'. In his return to town it appears that Chance has stirred up a hornet's nest with the local political establishment in the person of one red-neck preacher turned politician in order to better do "god's work", old Tom Findley. The object of this dispute is one Heavenly Findley, old Ton's daughter and Chance's left behind paramour who is now the subject of some scandal (due to the amorphously stated need for female-related medical treatment due to Chance's irresponsibility). Along the way we get to see how political power is distributed in a small Southern town as well as the inevitable tempting of the fates by Chance in order to win the `brass ring' before it is too late (apparently somewhere over thirty, by my reckoning). At play's end though, where he is between a rock and a hard place, Chance may not ge

Desire

The fact that a life can be ruined by a series of unfortunate events becomes realistic, as Blanche becomes a victim. At first, I despised her because of her promiscuity, but afterwards I noticed that her actions were rooted from her inescapable past. During the 1940's and after the World War II, many people were in desperation trying to find jobs and create a better life. However, as a result of this mindset, some did not succeed and ended up living in a life of disaster. Such calamity resulted in not only financial misfortune, but also social and mental failure. Everyone seemed to scramble to quickly find a great life, but little did they know, the truth of the reality was that not everyone could succeed at the same time. As a result, many hoped for too much, plunging in a world of delusion. Avoiding reality, several other were just assuming fortunes would find them, creating self-fulfilling prophecies. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams wants to depict exactly that tragedy resulted from constant escapades to fantasy by employing Blanche as the typical woman who just lost her grip on reality. Blanche has lost control ever since she found out that her husband was homosexual. Unable to cope with that reality, she just drifted onto another world. She refused to believe that fact and continued to fulfill her desires elsewhere. Everywhere she went, she looked out for ways to satisfy her sexual pleasures. In one instance, she had an affair with a student, as a schoolteacher. Such activity was frowned upon by society, but she did not mind, because she was looking for a way out. After moving to her sister Stella's house, she quickly spots a male named Mitch. In hopes of finding her knight in shining armor, she tried to woo him into getting married. However, Stanley quickly disclosed all Blanche's dirty, stained history in order to stop Blanche and Mitch from going any further. Afterwards, Stanley decides to rape her, and even then, Blanche seems to be lost in world of fantasy. She is unable to stay compose and cope with reality. Everybody seems to think she is crazy, including her sister Stella. At the end of the play, she admits to the doctor she is too gullible and trusting of everyone, assuming everyone would make her life better, creating a false reality that would only make matters worse, revealing the notion that the escape to fantasy would only ruin one's life. Tennessee Williams argues that fantasy is only a false depiction of the world in its most rudimentary image, which causes one to lose control of the complications of reality, inevitably resulting in a disaster. Despite the mature content, this book should be read, because it exposes an intriguing take on life.

Like the rest of Williams' writings- absolutely brilliant

Don't see the movie instead of reading the play, in fact, don't see the movie at all, because it is TERRIBLE. It changes the ending completely, and lacks the overall spirit of the play. With "Sweet Bird of Youth," Williams has created something touching and brilliant. If you like Williams' other plays, you will like this, but if not, you won't. A wonderful dramatic landmark. Amazing.