Paper # 2 (Elements of Literature)

Nefi Navarro

English 102

Prof. Brady

February 15, 2011

Symbolism and Motifs

            Symbols and motifs are highly important elements that the author may determine as necessary in order to illustrate higher ideas. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams presents two key elements within the role of his character to really get his point out to his audience. Those two aspects include the symbol of the Polka music as it relates to Blanche, and the motif of the light in regards to Blanche.

            Blanche, after being fired from her job, moves to New Orleans where her brother- in- law and her sister live. Besides Blanche’s sufferings having experienced numerous deaths and being evicted from her wealthy plantation, she fails to get a glimpse at reality. From the second Blanche moves in with Stella, she presents herself as if she were this wealthy, higher than average person; she even begins to judge her new home and Stanley, her brother-in-law, despite the fact that she is a guest in their home. Being much older than Stella, Blanche feels terrible and hurt by her horrible past, so she decides hiding in dim lighting will hide her true self. Williams illustrates this symbol of light as a great way to show a character who is afraid to reveal her true inner self.  Blanche says, “I can’t stand a naked light bulb” (Williams 60). She is afraid of her age and her past and masks her age and experience by remaining in the shadows. The light is destructive because it reveals who she really is. Blanche has convinced herself that the past ten years of her life have not affected her or did not occur. Blanche creates a defence by try to follow up in life has if she is this hot shot and creates all these lies to help her self esteem. This imagination or magic in which Blanche tries to live by would become almost impossible with Stanley shedding light in her every move reveling her inner self. He discovers her pinpoints and pressures her till the point she actually regains her sense of reality. Stanley’s savage, brutish behaviors towards Blanche, leads to her downfalls. This is when she hears the Polka music from her past.

            Blanche was once married to a man whom later commited suicide because he was homosexual. This marked Blanche’s life, but what tends to occur is that Blanche is reminded of her tragic past as she hears this Polka music which was the last thing she heard before her husband took his own life away. Blanche a keeper of imagination not reality trys to hide her pass but she is constantly reminded or presented with the truth, which reveals her vulnerabilities. For example, Stanley questions Blanche of her past and she suddenly begins to hear the Polka music and replies “the boy-the boy died…I’m going to be sick” (Williams, Scene One, page 28). Whenever she hears this music she feels remorsed by her husband’s death and fall deeper in to this world of lies. 

            Williams presents both symbolism and motif in the play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The author uses these great elements to clearly demonstrate Blanche’s vulnerabilities within the play.As Stanley pinpoints Blanche, he becomes this symbol of light which weakens the soul of Blanche more and more till the point the truth is exposed. This also triggers her to hear this music that plays when her memory is linked to he passed which she tries to avoid. Tennessee Williams, a great play writer uses the great elements of symbols and motifs, to exemplify higher ideas.