But this journey leads her to a dark end, a mental asylum, sadly quite close to a cemetery. Streetcar named Cemeteries is the old, disgraced Blanche, which she left behind–dead, so to speak–in her hometown of Laurel, Miss., to begin anew in New Orleans. His themes and issues are complex, so he uses symbols and colours to highlight events and important issues, thus helping his audience. A Streetcar Named Desire . This helps the audience to link certain scenes and events to the themes and issues that Williams presents within the play, such as desire and death, and the conflict between the old America and the new. Tennessee Williams’ use of symbols and motifs throughout his masterpiece, The Streetcar Named Desire added another dimension to assist the audience in their understanding of the play. These symbols and metaphors mostly affect Blanche’s characterization. Formalist Critics Formalist critics often use imagery and symbols Find how the symbols connect to a larger theme in literature Read closely, follow recurring events, figures of speech attempting to piece together a greater meaning Understand how the symbols and imagery reveal By doing this gesture(throwing meat), Stanley states his sexual ownership over Stella. Tennessee Williams’ use of symbols and motifs throughout his masterpiece, The Streetcar Named Desire added another dimension to assist the audience in their understanding of the play. Every symbol and metaphor shows Blanche’s different desires to us. She wants to live a life that pairs with her traditional southern belle personality. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Blanche does not want to live a realistic, normal life. The characters in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire represent the multi-faceted nature of the South.While Blanche represents an old-world ideal—she formerly owned a plantation called Belle Reve and has a patrician affectation—, the other characters, including Stanley, his friends, and other inhabitants of the quarter, represent the multi-cultural reality of a city like New Orleans. Useful Info: Major Themes: The Characters: Key Quotations The characters in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire represent the multi-faceted nature of the South.While Blanche represents an old-world ideal—she formerly owned a plantation called Belle Reve and has a patrician affectation—, the other characters, including Stanley, his friends, and other inhabitants of the quarter, represent the multi-cultural reality of a city like New Orleans. Stella ’s response of delight in catching … Background: New Orleans: Tennessee Williams . This streetcar can also suggest that life is over for the new Blanche as well, for she is damaged property edging toward madness. Every symbol and metaphor shows Blanche’s different desires to us. Most likely, they've picked up on the sexual reference behind the gesture of this process. A symbol is meat- In Scene One, Stanley throws a package of meat at Stella for her to catch.When Stanley hurled the meat at Stella, Eunice and the Negro woman began to laugh. Blanche views things in an unrealistic way, as though she wants to live a dream. These symbols and metaphors mostly affect Blanche’s characterization. Symbolism in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Essay example 3841 Words 16 Pages During the late nineteen-forties, it was common for playwrights such as Tennessee Williams to use symbolism as an approach to convey personal thoughts, through the … She does not want to face her problems; she wants everything … Start studying A Streetcar Named Desire Symbols. Also, when Blanche first arrives in New Orleans, she says "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemetery" which could represent her crave to find stability and to create for herself a better lifewhen moving to this new city. A moving story about fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her lapse into insanity, A Streetcar Named Desire’ contains much symbolism and clever use of colour. Looking deeply into his play, we see that not only is A Streetcar Names Desire’ full of symbolism, the play itself is symbolic of the … In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Blanche Dubois is one clear example of the use of symbolism.