LifeTimeline

Jahdae Thomas

    • A Streetcar named Desire

    • Blue Piano

    • Light

    • Bathing

    • Alcohol

    • The Varsouviana Polka

    • Meat

    • Flowers

    • Belle Reave

    • The Streetcar

    • Shadows

    • Elysian Field

    • Blanche

    • Stanley

    • Stella

    • Cemeteries

    • The Kowalski's apartment

    • Allen

    • Baby

    • Blanche's expensive clothes

    1947
  • A Streetcar named Desire

    Table of Contents
    1. blue piano
    2. light
    3. bathing
    4. alcohol
    5. The Varsouviana Polka
    6. meat
    7. flowers
    8. Belle Reave
    9. streetcar
    10. shadows
    11. Elysian Field
    12. Blanche
    13. Stanley
    14. Stella
    15. cemetery
    16. The Kawolski's apartment
    17. Allen
    18. baby
    19. Blanche's expensive clothes
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Blue Piano

    Throughout the play, the blue piano always appears when Blanche is talking about the loss of her family and Belle Reve, but it is also present during her meeting and kissing the young newspaper man. The blue piano thus stands for depression, loneliness and her longing for love.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Light

    Blanche tries to avoid light of any kind as well as she can. Her reaction to light is shown as an attempt to hide her true nature as well as her fading beauty and youth. By hiding from the light she tries to escape reality, because light represents reality in this play.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Bathing

    Blanche bathes very frequently throughout the play because she says that it calms her nerves. In reality, Blanche sees it as a way of cleansing herself of the things she has done in the past that she isn't proud of.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Alcohol

    Both Stanley and Blanche drink excessively throughout the play. It effects them both negatively in the way that they both behave impulsively and, in Stanley's case, violently when they drink. Blanche drinks to help her forget about her some of the events of her past.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • The Varsouviana Polka

    The Varsouviana Polka is the song that was playing the last time Blanche saw her late husband Allen. It plays at certain parts in the play when Blanche mentions Allen and is feeling guilty and remorseful for his death. It represents the loss of Blanche's innocence.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Meat

    In the beginning of the play, Stanley comes home with a package of meat and tossed it to Stella. This is symbolism of him "bringing home the bacon" which shows that he is the only source of income for the couple and that Stella relies on him entirely.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Flowers

    Flowers are used to show desire and death throughput the play. In Act 5, Mitch brings Blanche flowers as a way to court her but in Act 9, the Mexican women is walking around selling "Flores para los muertos" which means flowers for the dead which symbolizes the relationships between Mitch and Blanche ending.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Belle Reave

    Bella Reave represents Blanche's sanity. Before the start of the play and the family losing Belle Reave, Blanche's life of lies was going exactly the way she wanted it to. After they lost the estate however, her mental state started to deteriorate and that was the beginning of her downward spiral.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • The Streetcar

    Symbolically the name of the streetcar, Desire, is the driving force behind all of the characters actions throughout the play.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Shadows

    In the start of the play, shadows were comforting to Blanche because she wanted to hide her true self from everyone. Toward the end of the play however, the shadows become threatening to her. When Stanley comes to rape Blanche, she sees his shadow and immediately feels as though she has lost before he even fully gets to her.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Elysian Field

    When she first arrives at the Kowalskis', Blanche says she rode a streetcar named Desire, then transferred to a streetcar named Cemeteries, which brought her to a street named Elysian Fields. This journey represents the trajectory of Blanche's life.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Blanche

    Blanche's name means white in French. traditionally, white represents virginity and purity. Tenessee Williams is being ironic because Blanche is the complete opposite of what her name suggests.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Stanley

    Stanley represents the primitive side of humanity. it is said many times throughout the play that Stanley is very animalistic in his actions and the way he speaks to everyone.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Stella

    Stella represents naivety and vulnerability. Although Stanley is abusive to her and she knows he raped her sister, she continues to stay with him. She is so in love with him, that she's willing to overlook everything he's done just to stay with him.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • 2

    Cemeteries

    Cemeteries obviously symbolize death within the play. It is also the name of the second streetcar Blanche used to get to Stanley and Stella's apartment.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • The Kowalski's apartment

    The size and plainness of the life to which Blanche, who formerly lived in a splendid mansion, must adjust to now that the family has lost Belle Reave.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Allen

    Gray area of Blanche's life, between the bright light that she avoids and the darkness she seeks. She loved Allen, but he betrayed her. In New Orleans, she remembers the good and the bad of her relationship with him.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Baby

    The only reason why Stanley felt bad for hitting Stella was because she was carrying his child. That symbolizes how much men depend on women and that he showed his softer side that he usually never shows simply because she was pregnant.
    By Jahdae Thomas
  • Blanche's expensive clothes

    The first time Blanche is mentioned, she is seen in very expensive and classy clothing. I think that represents the way she lies about everything and her dishonesty towards the people in her life. She makes it seem like she is so much better than everyone else but in reality she actually doesn't have any money at all.
    By Jahdae Thomas