How and Why Is the Grotesque Used in Tennessee Williams’ a Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Throughout this semester, we were introduced to varying degrees of literary vogues and themes. From the epiphanies discovered finished American Realism, to the skepticism explored through literary Modernism, to the infringes of social conformity and individualism approached by a Post-Modernistic America and its writers. We gather in had the great opportunity of being exposed to individuals who questi wizd and pushed the boundaries of creativity and expression. Tennessee Williams was an agent and playwright who balanced the enigmatic, macabre, and often cruel revolution of his characters with a poetic grace.He became the keystone of a ardour that is known as southerly gothic. A Streetcar Named appetency became the quintessential macrocosmifestation of the marvelous through the unraveling of the obsolescent South. More specifically, his themes on the conflict in the midst of the sensitive, non-conformist individual against accomplished society, the disintegration of the gray woman, and the divergence among southern gentiles and northern savagery to which all of Williams characters contri to a greater extentovered to in some degree.The grotesque style of literature supplies the ref with a historical as substantially as social perspective. This provides a metaphorical reference to the dying South and the struggle to survive against the progressive tense ideals of the North, all the while, fraught with fall upon to keep the grey identity and self-respect intact. It is stated that A common description (of the grotesque) has to do with causation Southern grotesque is often said to be the literary aftermath of historical misfortune. (Presley 37).If we take into account the surrounding setting of the play, a two-story corner edifice on a street in saucily Orleans which is named godly field and runs between the L & N tracks and the river (Elysian Fields is a New Orleans street at the northern tip of the French Quarter, between the Louisville & Nashville railroad tracks and the Mississippi River. In Greek mythology the Elysian Fields argon the abode of the b slighted in the after spirit. ) The section is poor solely, conflicting corresponding sections in other American cities, it has a raffish hoodwink (Klinkowitz & Wallace 2187), the referee is thrust into the ensuing chaos before any of the characters atomic number 18 even introduced. Williams was very explodeicular about each detail with regards to the style in which he was writing. The drama is not scarce a resultant of the surroundings, but is a symbiotic portrayal of the daily lives that exist in spite of appearance the grotesque. The disorders are threefold vanity, familial conflict, and dream-like confusion (Presley 37).The Southern Gothic, grotesque style of writing can best be characterized by the profound aptitude of an author to evoke feelings of disgust while contrarily evoking feelings of compassion among his/her audience as well as between the characters inside the toy. These emotions are presented and contained within, what seems to be, a lost individual. This character whitethorn also display traits of incontinence due(p) to physical or mental incapability. Literature of the grotesque, according to the authoress, is distinguished by a example or theological vision not unremarkably associated with realistic works.Freaks appear in her fiction, she said, to reflect quite simply what man is like without God (Presley 38). In keeping with the grotesque, Williams A Streetcar Named Desire stretched the boundaries of this theme through the representation of the disintegration of the southern woman. By exploring the fervid extensiveing of his character, Blanche Dubois, and her desires and fears. Grotesque writers are organizationd with the truthfulness that they live in an age whose distortions function as indicators of how far man has drifted from his true prototype as a creature of God.In this vein, Williams explores t he corruption of mankind, along with its difficulties in reconciling its primal nature with the rules of society Blanches charm and smash is overridden by her alcoholism, nymphomania, and general debauchery (Presley, 1). Blanche DuBois provided the extreme case of what it is like to pull away yourself. Blanche was Deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, permanently flawed, unable to face realism, Blanche is for all that thoroughly capable of tyrannical audience compassion, for her struggle and the crushing defeat she endures have the magnitude of tragedy.The inevitableness of her doom, her refusal to back down in the face of it, and the essential gentleity of the forces that endeavour her to it are the very heart of tragedy, No matter what evil she may have done, nor what villainies practiced, she is a human being trapped by the fates, reservation a human fight to escape and to survive with some jot of human dignity, in full recognition of her own fatal human weaknesses and incre asing absence of hope (Crandell 93). The obscure relevance to her deceptions are sole(prenominal) a portion of wherefore Blanche represents the grotesque.Her necessity to cling to the old southern ways (with a death grip) allows her to cling to her own sanity. She exudes conceit to the fullest extent, but is unable to see the damage that it is causing to herself and the people round her. In the very first scene, Blanche describes the deprivation of Belle Reve. She goes on to embellish the issue as a soulfulnessal encounter with death, to which she is the only(prenominal) witness to and the only effected party I, I, I, took the blows in my face and my body All of those deaths The long parade to the graveyard Father, mother Margaret, that dreadful waySo massive with it, it couldnt be put in a coffin barely I had to be burned like rubbish. And, oh, what gorgeous boxes they jammed them away in Unless you were at that place at the bed when they cried out, Hold me youd never s uspect there was the struggle for breath and bleeding. You didnt dream, but I saw Saw Saw. (Williams 2193). This description was a weak cry for compassion or an attempt to restore the relationship with Stella, but through a premeditated state of self preservation. The grotesque narcissism with which she approaches the loss of the estate and their relatives only happened to her.It is this over dramatic perception that reinforces the authors emphasis on the Southern Gothic or grotesque style apparent throughout his play. The culmination of the loss of Belle Reve, her husbands suicide, and, later, her dismissal from her job, could have contributed to her new state. But it in the end, she chose not to face her demons, she opted to hide behind the ruse of entitlement associated with old Southern Society that turn out to be her ultimate demise. If there is any character in in advance(p) dramatic literature whose identity is bound up in such fantasies and sees erself as unique, speci al and entitled, it is Blanche DuBois, whose very name conjures up images of French, chivalric romances.Furthermore, it is pull that she identifies with the role of the Southern Belle and, in fact, retreats to memories of herself as Southern Belle when confronted with death and trauma. Ironically, from Blanches point of view, although the Southern Belle is fundamentally superior, she is also, simultaneously, a vulnerable, even fragile figure, in need of constant attention and care, dependant on others. (Ribkoff & Tyndall 327). The drive why the grotesque is so important to the decline of the Southern woman, and this particular character, is because there is this realization that there are no happy endings. Blanche is happy to joy in her own self destructions and with this she is libel to take down everyone within her distinct vicinity. Blanches character is deprived of the one thing that she longs for which is whop and by reaching for the facade of the Southern Belle, she does m ore damage because she is the ace antithesis of the Southern Belle.There is also a lot of symbolism associated with Blanches decline. Throughout her short time at her sisters apartment, it is apparent that she was taking a lot of baths through the progression of the story. As more information gets divulged about what really happened in her past, it is almost as if she is trying to maintain that she is a Southern Belle. She is trying to convince herself that she is still cull or that she can wash away her past through her normal bathing. There is also the issue of light.Blanche does her best to conceal herself from the light of reality by placing paper lanterns over lamps to soften the light So, too, in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche is described (in the same stage direction ) as twain attracted to and repulsed by light. On the one hand, she is described as moth-like in appearance. same to the moth, she is strangely attracted to that which has the power to destroy her. On th e other hand, her delicate viewer must avoid a strong light.To avoid it, she dresses au naturel(p) light bulbs in paper lanterns, and when she goes out, with Mitch for example, it is always at night. (Crandall 95). This pertains to her willingness to escape reality and is yet another way that Williams exhibits the grotesque through his writing. In just examination of Blanche, her dependency on men is another portrayal of the grotesque. She is invariably looking for and acquiring the affections of men and seems to feed upon the generous nature of Mitch, Stanleys friend.Here we see the grotesque outlined in the form of womanish dependence on the male figures in their lives. At one point, Blanche rejects the aggregate of her sister with that of the abusive Stanley Kowalski. She fantasizes about an alternative life with the financial handicap from Shep Huntleigh, but this still emphasizes a need for the support to exist from a male figure. Even though this wouldnt be a still s ituation for Stella, this would free her from her dependency on Stanley.This reiterates the progression from the old to the upstart south, but isnt a source of stability for Stella. She still demand to rely on Stanley and in doing so we see the indignity of the human aroma due to sacrifice. It is also a theme of Williams that the remotion of the simply domain life, and into the throngs of a bustling city, create the setting for the grotesque situations that these characters find themselves in. Williams intellection that in moving away from the country life, we are separating ourselves further from the life that God had intended us to live.There is a quiet simplicity that is associated with working the land in the country and in moving to the housings of a large city, there is room for trouble. This is also apparent through the loss of Belle Reve. When Blanche falls into misfortune and loses the house, she is forced into a life of less prestige and honor. She loses her job as a teacher due to moral discrepancies, she is called on at the hotel that she is staying at by many men, and she is forced to move in with her sister in New Orleans.This transition represents a removal of all that is decent and good with humanity and confines us to the secure quarters of a city where we lose ourselves. Stanley Kowalskis character impresses upon the reader an animalistic quality that can only be implied to represent the conflict of the divergence between southern gentiles and northern brutality. As much as Blanche is the representative of dreams, Stanley is the emissary of quotidian reality. His Napoleonic Code and the State of atomic number 57 are the realistic counterparts to Blanches more ephemeral Belle Reve.Whereas Blanche values culture and its refinements-art, poetry, and music-Stanley indulges in more primitive pleasures-eating (bringing home meat from the kill) drinking, to the point of intoxication and sleeping with women. He knows what his pleasures are and indulges them, often to excess. He enjoys life to the fullest-be comfortable is his motto. In his drunken paroxysms, he easily forgets himself, and becomes one with his buddies. He is, for the most part, spontaneous and unselfconscious (Crandall 97).In the climax of the play, we gestate witness to Stanleys submission to the atavistic urges and northern brutality by the rape of Blanche. As the story progresses, Mitch (Stanleys friend) exhibits how the loss of the Southern pagan adds to the grotesque setting with which all of the characters exist in. At the end of the play, we are made aware that Blanche is being committed to an insane asylum. As the indemnify starts to take Blanche away, Mitch had an opportunity to intervene, but he didnt.He felt a great deal of sympathy for Blanche, but chose to not act on those feelings and instead Blanche is committed. The reason that this is such an important example of the loss of the Southern gentile was because he had the opportunity to act and didnt step up to defend Blanche. Southern gentiles are all about honor and dignity. With the loss of these important qualities within him, he has just let Blanche succumb to the nefariousness that has shrouded her since she arrived at Stellas apartment.Even though Blanche didnt see the scrapper within Mitch, they had a bond between them. They were both looking for making love and for someone to take care of them. With him not coming to her rescue, the true Mitch is presented-a person who is devoid of the heroism that Blanche so desperately needed. On the conflict between the sensitive, non-conformist individual against conventional society, we have to re-examine Blanche Dubois. From the beginning of the play, we are well aware of Blanches sensitive, non-conformist characteristics.She is someone who was unwilling to uphold he civilities that should exist within each person. In her having tarnishing relations with a pupil of hers, she sacrifices the only thing that she had left- her dignity. However defensive Blanche becomes, from the moment she enters the stage until the moment she leaves it, she is in search of direction and empathy or kindness of others in order to work through the traumas of the past and present. Ultimately, this search for understanding is he main reason she comes to New Orleans and not simply for a place to stay (Ribkoff & Tyndall 327).The climax of the grotesque within this play seems to come as a result of Blanches sensitive, non-conformist attitude towards life. Her inability to accept responsibility for her current situation is the catalyst to the way that Stanley shows no tolerance for her. Stanleys brutalities, along with his intolerance for Blanches current state of mind, clash to create the last grotesque act of rape later in the play. Many critics guess Stanleys rape of Blanche precipitates her descent into madness.According to Mary Ann Corrigan, this descent is part of the overall trajectory of the play in each of t he plays 11 scenes Blanche moves inexorably closer to the disintegration of her mind and the total rejection of reality (Humanit 334). After the disintegration of the world that Williams created in A Streetcar Named Desire, we are left with the sweep over themes of the struggle for human affection, dignity, and resolve. Through this in-depth dissection of the characters, plot, and settings, emerge the themes that exemplify the Southern Gothic/grotesque style of writing.