A Streetcar Named Desire 4

In the final chapters of the play, a very terrible thing happened to Blanche. She was raped by Stanley one night while Stella was in the hospital preparing to have a baby. When Blanche confronted Stella about the situation, Stella did not believe her. Instead, Stella decided to send Blanche to a mental hospital and continue to live her life with Stanley.

Ever since Blanche first came to live with Stella and Stanley, she completely ruined their relationship. Stella and Stanley were very close before Blanche came, but as time grew on, Blanche caused the two to drift apart. Blanche would constantly get in weird moods and drift in and out of reality. With Stella constantly trying to help her sister, she did not have as much time for Stanley. Stanley would become increasingly paranoid and frustrated with Blanche.

Stella was right to send Blanche to a mental hospital. Blanche was obviously very emotionally unstable and needed some professional help. Stella and Stanley need some time alone to rekindle their relationship, especially with a new baby.

A Streetcar Named Desire 3

In these chapters, Blanche reveals more details about her first marriage. She married at the young age of sixteen, and she was madly in love with her husband. Then, one day, she came home to find her husband in bed with a much older man. Apparently the two had been friends for a very long time. Blanche tried to pretend nothing happened, and all three of them went out to a casino that night. After a couple of drinks, Blanche approached her husband and said how she felt about the situation and how disgusted she was. The boy ran out of the casino and shot himself in the head. Finding this out about Blanche’s past was a little shocking at first; however, it always seemed like Blanche was hiding something. She was very insecure about the love letters she had from her husband and wouldn’t even let Stanley look at them. This incident that Blanche witnessed could also be an indicator of why she was on a leave of absence because earlier in the novel, she admitted “It would be nice to keep you, but I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children.” (pg. 84) She saw the older man in bed with her young husband, so she could have been doing just that with her students.

A Streetcar Named Desire 2

Blanche does not approve of Stanley because she does not like the way the he treats her sister, Stella. Stanley constantly beats on Stella for the smallest issues. Then, later, he goes back to Stella to apologize, and Stella accepts it. She claims that that is just the way he is. She also told Blanche about how Stanley went around the room smashing lightbulbs with her shoes on their honeymoon. Blanche sees Stanley as a vulgar man with no respect for Stella. She thinks that it is crazy that someone like Stella, born and raised on Belle Reve, could put up with a man like Stanley. Blanche does not like Stanley one bit and continually referred to him as a brutish man. He constantly humiliates and beats Stella, yet Stella comes running back every time thinking that it is just the way that Stanley is.

A Streetcar Named Desire 1

When we first meet Stanley in the novel, he seemed like a relatively normal guy who loves women and likes to go out with his buddies. After reading Scene two and three, we discover a new side to Stanley. In Scene two, Stanley proves that he is untrustworthy because as soon as he got home, Stella told him not to mention her pregnancy to anyone; however, a couple minutes later, he ends up sharing that bit of news with everyone. Stanley is also insecure because he constantly questioned why Blanche had so many clothes and whether or not she sold Belle Reve. Then, in Scene three, when Stella and Blanche return home, Stella tells Stanley that it was time to call it a night and stop playing poker. Stanley refused and told Stella to go upstairs to Eunice as he slaps her on the butt. Stanley is a disrespectful and untrustworthy man. Finally, the final piece of Stanley’s personality that we encounter is a bit of aggression. Stella and Blanche were talking in one room while Stanley and the boys were playing poker. Blanche turned on the radio, and Stanley stormed out of his seat to shut it off. Later, Stella started yelling at Stanley to keep the radio on because Blanche wanted to listen, and Stanley started violently beating her. In conclusion, the reader learns that Stanley is violent, untrustworthy, and disrespectful in Scenes two and three.

Essay Ideas

For the essay, I will probably start off by describing Norma and Willy. I will go over their personalities, habits, etc. Then, I will go into more depth by comparing and contrasting Norma and Willy. Finally, I will critique the poem written by Langston Hughes. In 1951, Hughes wrote a poem about a dream deferred. He claimed what happens to a dream when it is put aside. He asks several questions throughout the poem such as “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” or “Does it stink like rotten meat?” I will relate this poem to Norma and Willy. Overall, my main objective is going to be to describe Willy and Norma’s failed dreams. I will go into depth about why they do not succeed and their reactions to it.

Norma vs. Willy

Norma Desmond and Willy are two very similar characters. They both are people that used to be “big” and are still pretty caught up with it. In the movie, Norma says, “I am big, it is the pictures that got small!” She was once successful and thinks she still is. Willy was the same way. He always bragged about how good of a salesman he is/was. He also thought he was going to die the “death of a salesman” where everyone would come to his funeral; however, only his family, Bernard, and Charley came. Another similarity is that Willy and Norma are both a little weird. Norma has a dead monkey in her house that she wants to put in a coffin and bury in her backyard, and Willy has “memories” that sometimes interfere with his everyday life.

Death of a Salesman 7

Willy’s final actions in the novel were certainly not notable. Committing suicide is a sign of weakness. By killing himself, he thought he would please his family by granting them with $20,000 through his life insurance. He did not consider how much it would hurt his family. The only notable thing about Willy’s suicide is the fact that he pursued it because he thought he would be helping his family; however, it did not. Biff wants to go do his own thing and will not even be around the family much more. When Biff confronted Willy to tell him that he was leaving, Biff started crying. By crying, Willy assumed that Biff loved him. Willy then made further assumptions that by killing himself, Biff would step up to the plate and take care of the family; however, this is not the case. Committing suicide shows how weak Willy was. Overall, Willy’s reasons for killing himself proved to be inaccurate.

Death of a Salesman 6

We learn that Biff has flunked math in this part of the novel. He goes to see his father, Willy, who is on a business trip. When Biff arrives at the hotel, he tells his father how he has flunked math. He begs Willy to go home right then to talk to Biff’s math teacher about changing the grade. Willy tells Biff that he will get his math grade changed; however, if he is unable to, then Biff will have to take summer school. Biff agrees, but he soon notices that Willy is not alone in his hotel room. There is a woman in there as well, naked. Willy tries to play it off saying that the woman is a buyer and that her room is being painted. He claimed that she just came to his room to shower. Biff just stands there in awe. He is especially mad at Willy because he gave the woman Linda’s stockings. This encounter with the woman severely strained Biff and Willy’s relationship. Biff no longer wants Willy to go back home to talk to his teacher. Also, we later learn that Biff did not even want to go to summer school to make up his math grade.

Death of a Salesman 5

In this section of the reading, Charley comes to Willy and offers him a job. It pays fifty dollars a week, and it has the added bonus of Willy not having to travel anymore. Willy does not accept the job because he is jealous of Charley, especially of Charley’s son, Bernard. Bernard was always a dorky, nerdy kid when he was younger; however, today, Bernard is a very successful man with a family. Willy is embarrassed of that because he always thought that Bernard would not be successful because he was not well-liked. Willy thought his two sons, Biff and Happy, would be much more successful because they were popular. Willy does not want to take the job because he does not want to lose his integrity. I do not think that this is the right decision because of the simple fact that Willy is without a job. He is making no kind of income and is unable to support his family. Willy should have taken the job so he could receive a steady flow of money and not have to travel anymore, especially considering the mental condition that he is in.

Death of a Salesman 4

Ben is Willy’s older brother and is much wealthier than what Willy is. I think that Ben is a positive influence on Willy. Ben is a successful man and is someone that Willy should look up to. Ben also wants Willy to be successful. He wants Willy to join him on his Alaskan adventure to try to make a good sum of money in the diamond mines. On the other hand, Willy easily becomes consumed by material goods. He believes that his sons will be successful just because they are popular and well-liked. Willy has to understand that it takes hard work to become successful as well. I think that Linda thinks the Ben is a bad influence because throughout the novel so far, she is trying to get Willy to find a stable job in New York so he does not have to travel as much. She wants him to stay close to home as he ages. Therefore, she does not want Willy to become like Ben and go off searching for wealth in diamond mines. She wants him to stay with his job and be close to home.

Death of a Salesman 3

In this section of the novel, Happy and Biff decide to embark on a business adventure. Happy thinks that he and Biff should ask Bill Oliver for a business loan. By doing this, Happy and Biff would not only have decent jobs, but they would make their father happy as well. Happy creates a business proposal for a campaign to sell sporting goods. Willy, their father, thinks that the boys are going to be great candidates for the new business proposal. He believes that because they are attractive and well-liked, they are going to be successful. I do not think that this new business is going to work out very well. We learned earlier in the novel how Biff only wanted to work on a farm. He was never satisfied with working in an actual office environment; therefore, I do not think that he will be able to hold up his end of the bargain. Happy may be able to follow through with this business proposal, but he would also have to forget his other job. Also, Happy is very materialistic, and if the business is not successful, he may want to follow through with it.