Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Discuss the significance of imagery and symbolism in developing setting, character and theme in the opening scene of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Discuss the significance of imagery and symbolism in developing setting, character and theme in the opening scene of A Streetcar Named Desire. Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is a play in which imagery and symbolism are fundamental for its development and interpretation, since these elements affect, setting, character and theme in different ways. By imagery is meant the use of phrases, actions or elements in literature which suggest feelings and ideas, that is the use of concrete descriptions which appeal to the senses so that it can be seen or sensed what is being written about. By symbolism is meant a particular kind of sign where the object represented, represents not itself but other objects or qualities. So it is understood that imagery covers more than symbolism, in other words, symbolism is found many times inside imagery, it may be said that it depends on it. Between many others, the symbols and imagery involved in A Streetcar Named Desire, the most important are the names of the characters, colours, music, clothes, actions, staging and other symbols. All these elements refer to setting, characters and theme. How does imagery and symbolism develop in the setting? Setting means the place, atmosphere and time where the play takes place, and inside they fit the music, staging and time from the elements mentioned before. ...read more.

Middle

Finally, the name of the streetcar, 'Desire', which is directly one of the most important themes of the play. Imagery and symbolism affect the characters since the name of the character, their clothes and actions, which are related with certain colours, are important in the development of these characters. Starting with their names, both Stella and Blanche DuBois suggest symbols since Stella means star, giving her the quality of delicacy and softness, a softness which may be later negative for her. Blanche means white, suggesting purity, ironically, since Blanche is not pure, not in a sexual way, since she has been married and because of her desire towards men; nor in a mental one, since she lies too much. About clothes, Blanche's white dress again suggests purity, but also suggests her social class, which is supposed to be higher than Stella's and Stanley's who are more humble. Stanley uses denim jeans and bowling jacket which clearly represents working class. The actions involved in the development of imagery and symbolism in the characters are, for example, Blanche's sitting, her whisky drinking, her jumping, etc, actions which show her nervous personality of a stressed woman. "Blanche sits in a chair very stiffly with her shoulders slightly hunched and her legs pressed together...as if she were quite cold..." ...read more.

Conclusion

Another important theme is the role of women in society. Women were seen as inferior objects, with very less rights or freedom to do what they wanted, men were always giving orders or shouting at them all the time and they didn't have the chance to work. This is clearly shown in Stella and Stanley's relationship and living situation. An example of this is when Stella and Blanche were trying to have a nice time by hearing music and laughing, fact which later ended up in Stanley hitting his wife (third scene). And as a last theme is the one of appearance and realities, and Blanche Is the best example for this. She lives her life according to her physical appearance and not only in the physical sense, but also in the sense of fantasies. She lives her whole life as a fantasy, without wanting to accept her reality. It is important to state then, that Tennessee Williams succeeds very well in playing with certain symbols in order to create symbolism and imagery in his play A Streetcar Named Desire. These may sometimes be complex and at other times simple symbols, making the play more entertaining, making the audience more interested and think about society, people in it and problems affecting its right way of functioning. Javiera Uribe III�B 1375 words ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level A Street Car Named Desire section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level A Street Car Named Desire essays

  1. Language in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.

    But he still believes in dominating Stella throughout the play. When Blanche refers to him as a 'pig' Stanley is naturally insulted, but by acting and behaving like one he does nothing to help himself. Stanley's language may not always be grammatically correct, but that adds to the depth of the character.

  2. A Steercar Named Desire - Blanche's Psychological Breakdown.

    When she was young she lived an eloquent life in a mansion, but she eventually lost it due to unpaid bills. She tells everyone this part of her history but neglects to tell them what she had done during the interim period, before she came to Elysian Fields.

  1. How important are illusions and fantasy as themes in 'A Streetcar Named Desire?'

    The audience never actually get introduced to him, so we wonder whether he is just an illusion and fantasy she has created for herself. Blanche mentions Shep particularly in her times of desperation and near the end of the play, when Stanley is interrogating her, Blanche gets confused about him and this makes the audience question his existence.

  2. A Streetcar Named Desire - scenes 2 and 3 reviewed.

    It is a public statement of ownership and control. It is degrading. It can also be seen as an animal idea of scent claiming his property. * Blanche; 'I think I will bathe.'- It is an act of cleansing. * This is one of the only scenes where we feel that Blanche might regain control over Stella.

  1. The Attitude to and Treatment of Women in A Streetcar Named Desire.

    An effective example is the different approaches of the two women to the loss of their childhood home. Blanche is extremely reluctant to admit the truth, and even when she does so, she is very vague; "...it slipped through my fingers".

  2. A streetcar named desire - Exploration notes context/structure/language/plot&subplot/visual aural spatial.

    Tennessee, too, became an alcoholic in later life, so this obviously had great effect on his work and what he wrote. * His mother Edwina - was a depressive, especially after the family moved from a rich life in the South to a very poor one in the North (a

  1. The six texts represented and compared here are Macbeth, A Streetcar Named Desire, 'Enter ...

    This is portrayed in the quotes where Blanche says to Stella, "There's something downright bestial about him" and "Don't hang back with the brutes!" The reader feels sympathetic towards Stella as she is forced to believe her husband's version of events rather than Blanche's due to the submissive role in her marriage.

  2. Examine Williams' use of imagery and symbolism in A Streetcar Named Desire

    It also returns at the end of scene ten when Stanley rapes Blanche. The symbolism Williams uses in the opening scene of A Streetcar Named Desire gives the reader more insight into the main characters of the play, makes them more vivid and also hints at the outcome for these characters.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work