As nouns the difference between fantasy and illusion is that fantasy is that which comes from one’s imagination while illusion is (countable) anything that seems to be something that it is not.
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How is fantasy presented in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Tennessee Williams portrays illusion and fantasy to show as struggles that a character accepts to deceive themselves of their acceptance and innocence of reality. In his play A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche has centered herself around illusion and fantasy as a mechanism of self-defense against the cruel reality.
Why is fantasy important for Blanche?
I want magic! (Williams, 117). Blanche does not care if this magic is factual or not. The importance of magic to Blanche is that she has the choice to choose fantasy which allows her to believe in and hope for something better than harsh world. She is aware of that, making the world as attractive as sh…
How important are illusion and fantasy as themes in the play A Streetcar Named Desire?
Illusion and Fantasy in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. An illusion is fake belief whereas fantasy is imagining fanciful visions. Both these themes are important in the play because they show how they can be mistaken for reality by each character in the play. Stella isn’t as happy as it may seem to be.
In what way is Blanche’s world an illusion?
Blanche immerses herself in the past, at least as she imagines that past, and refuses to cope with quotidian facts. … Blanche’s world of illusions include gentlemen callers, rich and powerful men, genteel and Old South mannerisms, the beautiful Belle Reeve, and everything that encompassed her old self.
What is Blanche’s fantasy?
But Blanche’s make-believe world does not overtake reality: her fantasy version of herself crumbles. At the end of the play, Blanche is taken to a mental asylum, permanently removed from reality to her own mind.
Is Blanche delusional?
Blanche often uses her imagination as a defense mechanism from her pain from loss and from dangers. This imagination is so vivid that Blanche is able to create a reality where almost anything can happen. Blanche’s addiction to alcohol is common throughout the play and serves as a key factor to her delusions.
Why does Blanche want magic?
She doesn’t want realism. Instead, she prefers the magic of illusion. And rather than the truth, she lives for what ought to be. Thus forcing Blanche into the light makes her see things in their ugly realism that is, it makes her see how her life actually was instead of how it ought to have been.
How is Stella delusional?
Within Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire play, Stella Kowalski suffers from self-inflicted delusion. In other words, Stella repeatedly refuses to accept reality. … Stella also holds that, despite her suffering, she has to condone Stanley’s irresponsible behavior.
Who is more delusional Blanche or Stella?
Her perceptions can be seen as an idealized view of her past and fantasy of her future. Later on, however, she seems to believe her own lies, and the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred. Stella seems to be more rational. By the end of the play, though, Stella is also delusional.
What is the main theme of A Streetcar Named Desire?
A Streetcar Named Desire presents a sharp critique of the way the institutions and attitudes of postwar America placed restrictions on women’s lives. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South.
Why is Stella taking Blanche out for the evening?
Stella is taking Blanche out for the evening because Stanley is having his friends over for poker night. Stella doesn’t want Blanche to see their drinking and cursing manner. … Stella asks Stanley to understand and be nice to Blanche because knows that Blanche will agitate Stanley.
What does Blanche tell Stanley about illusion and truth What truth does she tell Stanley?
After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion, but when a thing is important I tell the truth, and this is the truth: I haven’t cheated my sister or you or anyone else as long as I have lived. … In a manner of explaining herself to Stanley, Blanche says, A woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion.
What is plastic Theatre Streetcar Named Desire?
Plastic Theatre is the use of props, noises and stage directions to convey parallels with the characters and their states of mind on stage. … A Streetcar named Desire was one of the earliest and most famous plays which represented the Plastic Theatre genre.
What do Stanley’s Pyjamas represent to him?
The special silk pyjamas symbolize Stanley’s sexual prowess, but they also symbolize the purity of his wedding night with Stella. … Stanley asserts his dominance cruelly over Blanche. Just as Mitch ripped the paper lantern off the bulb, Stanley tears off Blanche’s fabrications to reveal that he knows the truth.
What defines reality in Streetcar?
Illusion And Reality In A Streetcar Named Desire, By Tennessee Williams. Reality is the state of things as they exist.It ‘s what you hear, see and experience. The idea of illusion/fantasy vs.
How does Stanley use illusion against Blanche?
In Scene 10 Stanley at first pretends to believe Blanche’s story about being invited by Shep on a Caribbean cruise. … However he is just playing with Blanche, and soon reveals that he has learned the truth about her behavior in Laurel. Stanley, thus, uses illusion as a weapon against Blanche.
How does Stanley represent reality?
The character Stanley represents the theme of reality. Stanley Kowalski is the simple blue-collar husband of Stella. His actions, reactions, and words show reality in its harshest most purist form. His actions are similar to a primitive human.
What is Blanche lie?
Blanche lies about her drinking, she lies about her age, she lies about losing her job, and she lies through omission about a past that seems tragic in the play but like punishment in the movie. … Stanley thinks Blanche is lying about the loss of the family’s estate in order to cheat him and Stella.
What is the dramatic flaw in the character of Blanche?
At surface level, this may definitively suggest that she possesses a tragic flaw of hubris, which is at the root of her susceptibility to the conflicts she faces throughout the play, and leads to her eventual destruction.
Why is Stanley so concerned about Belle Reve?
Stanley is more interested in the bill of sale from Belle Reve. Stella’s mention of the loss of Belle Reve seems to convince Stanley that Blanche’s emotional frailty is an act contrived to hide theft. He thinks Blanche has swindled Stella out of her rightful share of the estate, which means that he has been swindled.
How does Blanche imagine herself dying?
How does Blanche imagine herself dying? Blanche imagines that she will die at sea from eating a dirty grape with a handsome young ship’s doctor attending to her every wish. … Blanche has always depended on men for her emotional and financial security. This has not worked out well for her.
Why does Stella love Stanley?
She often finds herself taking refuge at her neighbor Eunice’s (who is often abused by her own husband as well) home, only to return to Stanley when he cries for her to take him back. It is clear in the play that Stella is attracted to Stanley’s passionate, animal nature, and that is why she stays with him.
Does Blanche go to a mental hospital?
A psychiatric doctor and nurse arrive to take Blanche to a hospital for mental patients. At first, Blanche thinks that her wealthy friend Shep Huntleigh has arrived. However, once she sees the strange woman she begins to panic. She runs back into the bedroom.
Why does Stanley get out his silk pajamas?
Stanley gets out his silk pajamas because they are a symbol of celebration. He wore the pajamas on his wedding night and is wearing them on the night of his child’s birth.
Who is the victim in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Blanche Dubois is the central victim of mistreatment even though she had tried to make Stanley the victim. She displays her self as fragile and moth like, dealing out her share of insensitivities that happened during her younger days.
Why did Mitch marry Blanche?
Though they come from completely different worlds, Mitch and Blanche are drawn together by their mutual need of companionship and support, and they therefore believe themselves right for one another. They also discover that they have both experienced the death of a loved one. The snare in their relationship is sexual.
Is Stella a victim?
By modern-day standards, Stella is the victim of domestic violence, but in the play, her decision to return to Stanley even after he hits her is not judged as definitively right or wrong.
Why does Stella not believe Blanche?
Stella says she can’t believe the story if she wants to go on living with Stanley. She doesn’t say that she thinks Blanche is lying; rather she’s consciously choosing to think Blanche is lying so her life can continue without interruption. … On the other hand, Stella really doesn’t have another option.
What do you two think you are a pair of queens?
What do you two think you are? A pair of queens? Remember what Huey Long saidEvery man is a King! And I am the king around here, so don’t forget it!
