Wednesday, February 10, 2016

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, is a play based on Blanche DuBois, a woman who attempts to appear pure, but is flawed in many ways. After losing the family home and with no where else to go, she turns to her sister Stella and moves to New Orleans to live with her. Stella welcomes Blanche while Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski, is indifferent and rather rude to Blanche. After Blanche meets Mitch, one of Stanley's friends, she starts to fall in love with him. Blanche has to overcome her past demons and face her new ones in the struggle of living with her sister and her abusive husband which fighting alcoholism.

When I first started reading the play I thought it was terribly boring. The first few pages were rough to get through and I felt like it was never ending. But as soon as you get through it you finish it without realizing how fast it's going. Throughout the entire play I couldn't help but sympathize with Blanche. The end had me jaw- dropped and in complete and utter shock. I would recommend this play to anyone who tends to like the authors from The Lost Generation of Writers.

Reviewed by Nayri T., Grade 11
Casa Verdugo Library

1 comment:

Renia said...

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play that centers around Blanche DuBois, a woman from the Old South (Laurel, Mississippi), who moves with her sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley in New Orleans after dealing with problems in her personal life. When Blanche first gets to their apartment building, she is shellshocked, since, prior to the issues in her life, had a very affluent way of living. Everything is not as it seems when Blanche arrives, and that is when chaos ensues.

I had the absolute privilege to read this play in my AP Language class this year and it was honestly one of the best pieces of literature I have read this year. From showcasing themes of love to illusion to desire, this play has it all. Don't let the work being a play scare you off; the story, at its core, is so incredibly interesting and thought-provoking you won't be able to put it down until you finally find out what happens. I highly recommend this play to all readers as it is an American classic that simply cannot be ignored.

Reviewed by Melody, Grade 11
Montrose Library