How is Blanche Dubois rendered a sympathetic character? 'A Streetcar named Desire'

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Vikky Summerhill. English Literature Block C.

How is Blanche Dubois rendered a sympathetic character?

        

The three-act play ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ develops character and theme.  The social and historical content reveal the character symbolically along with the narrative technique and idiolect.  The text is written more like a novel then a drama, and has to be read to be fully appreciated.

Blanches fear of light is put to use both literally and figuratively emphasising her need to escape reality.  Her introduction describes her as a moth.  The comparison of Blanche to this creature creates the idea of Blanche bringing about self-destruction, like the moth that is attracted to the light that destroys it.  The light is a source of realism, a quality Blanche rejects for her fantasy world.  “I wont be looked at in this merciless glare!”  Blanche prefers things to be kept in the dark, where they can be kept secret to make life bearable.  Blanche tries to escape her past as she does reality, but the unjust society and her own guilt prevent this and trap her in the past, replaying over and over in her mind.  “There now, the shot! It always stops after that!”  Blanche has authorial narrative, she realises the symbolism of the candle and the train illustrating her tragic background and uses it to dramatise her story in order to deceive Mitch.  “Never for one moment…kitchen candle.”  Alan deceived Blanche and now Blanche is deceiving Mitch.  The victim becomes the perpetrator, yet this cycle of deception is set to end in tragedy.  One disaster follows another leading to the dark future that Blanche talks about, and which Stanley represents.

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        Stanley Kowalski lives in a world without refinements and is the antagonist to Blanches world of illusions.  Blanches dislike of reality explains her love for literature.  “Never arithmetic sir; never arithmetic.”   This distinguishes a link between the character and the author.  Blanche is a highly literate character, which shows in her use of archaic language, usually found only in literature.  “I ran out – all did!”  Blanche views the world as a fairytale and is often lost between reality and the 19th century books she reads.  This gives Blanche a distorted view of reality; she views things how they should ...

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