Rey's complete journal #3 reposted: A Streetcar Named Desire

Journal#3
I know I’m not supposed to use anything except the proper English language but OMG! The play was absolutely brilliant! Where do I begin? There are several things I want to discuss such as Blanche and Stella’s relationship, Blanche and Stanley‘s relationship at the end of the play and Blanche and Mitch’s intense dialogue scene. Also, several other significant points that I want to bring up was the vendor who was selling flowers for the dead, Blanches late husband, Blanches life prior to her visit and of course the ending.

The relationship between Stella and Blanche is very delicate and intricate. The tiniest upset could break them. Throughout the whole play, Stella took care of Blanche. She fetched her soda whenever she wanted it and helped her accommodate to her tiny home. She even spoke out of turn towards Stanley for Blanche. That shows that Stella truly cares and worries for Blanche. However it seems as though Blanche completely acts as if its Stella’s job to wait on her hand and feet. Blanche and Stanley’s scene was very thought provoking! The sexual innuendo was too much to handle at 2 A.M while I was reading it. I can not believe that Stanley raped Blanche. However this raises several questions and concerns. Can it really be called rape? Although Blanche made a fuss of the ordeal, the entirety of the play made me assume she was a sexually frustrated woman and was willing to get it from anyone. When Stanley said “we’ve had this date for a while now”, it almost blew my mind! My instincts from my previous journals were right! I had said earlier that there was a huge “fireball of heat and tension”. I just didn’t know that tension would lead to sex. Also it was Stanley who came on to Blanche, not vice versa. Blanches relationship with Mitch was kind of awkward I felt. I felt as if Blanche only wanted to be with Mitch because it was the easy way out. Clearly Mitch was enthralled by Blanches faux-aristocratic exterior and I feel Blanche took advantage of that fact because since she couldn’t have her husband, he was the next best thing. They ended on an awkward note though.

Blanches late husband is also intriguing! The story of Blanches late husband was a key part in understanding Blanche. Her insecurity most probably comes from the fact that her husband had relations with a man while they were married. That must have been a huge blow to her self-esteem. I understand how Blanche must have felt as a similar scenario happened with me. After an ordeal such as that, it explains why Blanche went on a spree with men around her town. After their family died and she lost the plantation, what else could an insecure woman do but to chase down every temporary high to satisfy her. To quote Blanche, she repeatedly calls her late husband a “young boy”. Perchance she uses the term young boy because when you are young, you don’t know exactly what you want. Because he got married to Blanche and had an affair with another man, Blanche calls him a young boy because he still did not know exactly what he wanted despite the fact that they were already wed.

The one part of the play that confused me was the old woman who was selling flowers for the dead. I don’t understand exactly why she was there. However perhaps the woman can be a symbol for the death of Blanches sanity. This is because directly after that scene, Blanche is “raped” by Stanley. After her and Stanley have their moment, it becomes completely apparent that Blanche is insane. There were several points throughout the book that hinted Blanches insanity however by the last scene, it became blatantly apparent. Their would be music that would play from the blue piano, depending on the mood of the situation (ie. The music would go from fast to slow depending on what was going on). I’m pretty sure that the music was only heard by Blanche. Also, by the last scene, Blanche was convinced that her ex-beau was going to come for her even though clearly he wasn’t. When the doctor and nurse came, she broke down on the floor struggling. Clear signs of insanity. It was unfortunate that Blaire had to go like that. What im not sure of was Stella saying that she could not live with Stanley if what Blanche said were true. Since she sent Blanche away, does that mean she took Stanley’s side?

One last thing that was a point of significance was the variation between the play and the movie. (which might I say, was really good. Marlon Brando was a 18th century Adonis) At the end of the play, Stella returns to Stanley after Blanche is taken away. In contrast, the film ends with Stella running up the stairs to Eunice’s apartment vowing never to return to Stanley. What I would like to open up to discussion is “why would the directors want to make such a dramatic change from the play to the film”.