podcast final 1

Blanche Dubois is the main character in "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. She is a kind southern woman who comes to New Orleans in search of a better life. Blanche is sophisticated but also a liar and struggles with her sexual impulses. She has suffered heartache, violence, and loss, including the loss of her ancestral home, her husband's suicide, and being raped by her sister's husband. Blanche's mental state deteriorates, and she is sent to an asylum. She meets her sister Stella in New Orleans but is unhappy with her living conditions. Blanche has a history of destructive behavior and engages in risky relationships. When she meets Stella's husband Stanley, their relationship turns sour, and he eventually rapes her. Stella doesn't believe Blanche and sends her to the asylum. Blanche loses touch with reality and leaves with a male doctor, leaving Stella behind. Despite her choices, it's important to understand the traumatic events that led to Blanche's mental Hi, my name is Crystal Parker, and I will dive into the character of Blanche Bois. Blanche Bois is the main character and protagonist in A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams. Blanche is a kind southern woman who comes to New Orleans to find her sister, hoping for a better life than the one she had been living. She is sophisticated in the definition of beauty, while also a liar and struggles to control her sexual impulses. Blanche is running from her past and has made a plethora of bad choices, while also being a survivor of heartache, violence, and loss. Blanche has suffered a traumatic series of events. She lost her ancestral home at Belle Reve, her husband committed suicide, and her sister's husband raped her. These events led to the mental breakdown, and she was sent to an asylum. Blanche's character first appears when she walks into the street of New Orleans, dressed elegantly and appearing lost as she searches for her sister Stella. Stella and Blanche lived together at Belle Reve until Stella left to start a new life, leaving Blanche to attend to their family and home. Blanche was bitter about Stella leaving her to care for their dying father and mother. Blanche describes these deaths traumatically, saying to her sister, You just come home for the funeral, Stella, and funerals are pretty compared to death. Funerals are quiet, but death is not always. Sometimes their breathing is hoarse, and sometimes it rattles, and sometimes they even cry out to you, Do not let me go. At Belle Reve, Blanche adopted a luxury and class lifestyle. Unfortunately for Blanche, she lost Belle Reve and the lavish lifestyle that went with it, while caring for her dying family. When Stella asks Blanche how she lost the home, she says to Stella, Death is expensive, and I was my pitiful salary at the school. Yes, accuse me, sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go. I let the place go? Where were you? In bed with your pullet? The loss of the family home did not keep Blanche from trying to continue the appearance of luxury, nor did it keep her from going to Stella in New Orleans. Once in New Orleans, Blanche finds Stella. Blanche carries herself as luxurious on the outside, but she is insecure and broken on the inside. Blanche is unhappy with Stella's living conditions, and despite her efforts not to, she comments to Stella about how she lives. Blanche is a vain woman and makes subtle remarks about Stella's living conditions. She had become a heavy drinker, often denying her dependency on it, and walked through her days on the verge of junkiness. By this time, Blanche, in addition to losing her home in Belle Reve, had lost her husband to suicide. She considered him her true love and found him with another man. After she confronted him about it, he took his own life, and Blanche felt responsible for the death. Blanche had become insecure and engaged in risky relationships with men. One of these relationships was with a student, which resulted in being forced to leave her job. Blanche lies to Stella about her destructive behavior, but Stanley is suspicious of her almost as soon as she arrives. Blanche sought the approval from Stanley. When Blanche meets Stanley for the first time, they exchange introductions, and she admittedly flirts with Stanley. As the two characters become acquainted, Stanley becomes suspicious of Blanche and starts confronting her. The relationship between the two turns sour and ends dramatically for Blanche when Stanley rapes her. Stella chose not to believe what Blanche was telling her about Stanley raping her. Stella told Eunice, I could not believe her story and go on living with Stanley. Being raised by Stanley and having her sister not believe her or support her was the final straw for Blanche, and she lost touch with all reality. Weeks passed, and Stella decided to send Blanche to the asylum. As it began helping her get ready, Blanche continued to be out of reach with reality and believed she would stay in the country with an old flame. Once the doctor got Stella home to take Blanche to the asylum, she realized it was not who she was expecting and became desperate to get away from the doctor until she got a glimpse of the doctor. He appeared kind, and Blanche, consistent with her character, accepted the kindness and attention the male doctor gave her, allowing him to lead her out of the home and ask that he make the female nurse let go. Despite Stella's cries, Blanche did not look back. In conclusion, Blanche Dubois has endured a series of traumatic events that could bring the sanest of people to lose touch with reality. It is easy to place blame on Blanche. While she is responsible for her choices, it is important to understand that her life choices have been in response to the death of her husband and parents, the loss of her job and family, and the rape of her sister's husband with no one there to help her work through the life-altering events. It is important to look at Blanche with compassion and a better understanding of her mental state. If I could imagine an ending to this story, I would hope that Blanche receives the help she needed from the doctor, from the asylum, and can move on to live a life that brings her great joy and peace.