Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes both the character of Blanche Dubois from the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" and that of Willy Loman from the play "Death of A Salesman". The paper highlights how Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams use symbolism to convey their characters' obsession over achieving the American dream. The paper then looks at the 21st century and discusses how like Blanche Dubois and Willy Loman, many Americans struggle with the fading American dream of happiness, and with being able to distinguish fantasy from reality.

From the Paper:

"Blanche Dubois portrays a character that is aging before the reader's very eyes. While her disposition seems noble and true at the surface, the fact that her sexual desire has led to many male callers makes for a definition of her realized character. It is assumed that once upon a time, Blanche was a noble southern belle. However, in the present timeline of the story her desires, multiplied with the alcohol consumed leaves a fragile shell of a woman that is truly dependent on men for support and daily interaction. Constantly living in the past can be characterized by Blanche stating, "...would you think that I was once considered to be attractive" (Williams, 1951). After her young husband committed suicide, the story depicts Blanche as a morally corrupt woman whose only outlet is to commit random sexual acts with various men. For Blanche, the security blanket that this behavior established was a direct result of her dependence on men, but differs from the normal dependencies of the time--which can be seen with money and security."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Miller, Arthur. (1949). Death of A Salesman. Penguin Group Publishing. New York, New York.
• Williams, Tennessee. (1951). A Streetcar Named Desire. Signet Publishing. New York, New York.

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