Analysis Of The Play Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Analysis Of The Play Streetcar Named Desire - Essay Example The play discusses how Blanche’s life was full of menaces. She had just been sacked from work and realized that her husband was a homosexual. Later on, in the play, Stanley raped Blanche, and this resulted in a nervous breakdown. The character of Blanche is based on Williams’ sister, Rose Williams, who had mental health issues (Williams 9). The main characters of the play are Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski, Stanley Kowalski, Harold â€Å"Mitch† Mitchell, and Eunice. Blanche DuBois is Stella’s older sister (Williams 3). DuBois was a high school English teacher. She is a fragile and loquacious woman around the age of 30. After the death of Reve and Belle, the DuBois family, Blanche goes to New Orleans to the Kowalski apartment and reveals that she is totally destitute. Stella Kowalski, on the other hand, is Blanche’s younger sister around the age of 25 (Williams 4). Stella has the same timeworn titled heritage as her sister DuBois. Stella is more poised with self-beauty and considers aging a curse (Williams 15). Stanley Kowalski is Stella’s husband. He is the epitome of a significant force. Stanley is loyal to his friends, adores his wife, and is cruel to Blanche. Harold Mitchell is Stanley’s army friend and poker buddy. Mitchell courted Blanche until he discovered she had lied about he r past, which made him leave. Finally, Eunice is Stella’s friend and also landlady. Eunice represents the lower class. A key theme that is dominant in the play is the relationship between sex and death. Blanche’s fear of death portrays itself in her fears of lost beauty and aging skin (Williams 12). Blanche refuses to appear in the harsh light, which reveals her real looks, and to tell anybody her true age. She appears to believe that through asserting her sexuality, particularly to men, she might be able to overcome death and revisit the  teenage life which she experienced before her husband’s suicide. According to Blanche, sex is the cause of death. Throughout the play, Blanche has memories of her ancestors who passed away due to the act (Williams 12).