"A Streetcar Named Desire" and its Themes and Symbols

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Tennessee Williams uses three elements - themes, motifs and symbols - to transform "A Streetcar Named Desire" into a literary classic.

Paper Outline:
Introduction
Themes
Fantasy vs. Reality
Sex and Death
Men
Motifs
Light
Bathing
Drunkenness
Symbols
Shadows and Cries
The Varsourviana Polka
"It's Only a Paper Moon"
Conclusion

From the Paper:

""It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular ballad Blanche sings while she bathes. The song's lyrics describe the way love turns the world into a fictitious fantasy. The speaker in the song says that if both lovers believe in their imagined reality, then it's no longer "make-believe" (Falk 2). These lyrics summarize Blanche's approach to life. She believes that her lying is her only means of enjoying a better way of life and is harmless. She comments, "I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell the truth. I tell what ought to be the truth" (Williams 2029). "

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