A Streetcar Named Desire Study Guide

A Streetcar Named Desire Study Guide

Original title:
A Streetcar Named Desire

Prepare to discover the jewel of American literature impersonated in a play of Tennessee Williams. “A Streetcar Named Desire” is about a confrontation of two or even three different modes of life that happen to be close by but are so far away from each other at the same time.

Some might say that the play is a sad but very common life story. That is why the book leaves the biggest footprint – because it talks about ordinary life stories. At the beginning, the reader meets two sisters, Blanche and Stella DuBois. Blanche married early, but her marriage turned into a personal tragedy for the girl when her husband committed suicide.

Blanche isn’t recovering from the tragedy well. She left her teaching job because of nervous breakdowns, lost their family home, and is acting weird. Through her troubles, the reader discovers an infantile lady that lacks an internal stigma and is seeking meaning and happiness in casual relationships and material things. Slowly but surely she is ruining her reputation and financial standing.

Stella married a man outside from her family’s circles and became Kowalski. She is following her husband in every endeavor, opinion, and action, adjusting her wishes and desires to him. Sometimes she tolerates too much. She loves her husband sincerely and not even the violent clashes between them open her eyes.

Now imagine what would happen if the two sisters started living together. They aren’t doing a very good job supporting each other. We can argue whether it’s because of their social differences or personal odds. And we can have different opinions about who is to blame. But the fact that a gap between them ruined their lives is undeniable.

There’s a reason why this book received Pulitzer Prize in the drama area. It has seen numerous Broadway productions and was called by many critics the best play of the twentieth century. You might not like it, but you will definitely appreciate it, so start reading now.

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Within the play Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, the lives and relationship of Blanche DuBois and Stella Kowalski are plotted out in a scene of events that depicts astute betrayal and out of the ordinary family matters. Based on the time period of this play, that being of the...

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