Streetcar Named Desire

3 Pages 715 Words

“A Streetcar Named Desire”

William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, in an essence, contains what good literature should. He speaks about the universal truths. Three of these in particular, are reflected in, “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Love, pity, and pride all play an important role in the actions and feelings that take place throughout the story.
Love is what fuels the story, and starts some of the conflicts. Blanche is in desperate need of love when her husband commits suicide because of something she says to him So she turns to strangers. Here she’s flirting with a young delivery boy, “Now you run along, now quickly! It would be nice to keep you, but i've got to be good- and keep my hands of children”, scene 5 pg 196. Her promiscuity is what gets her fired from her teaching job and shunned in her prominent New Orleans town. While on the other hand, Stanley and Stella’s love is pure, almost animal like, how they need one another so much. Here Stanley yells for Stella after a fight, “Stella! My baby dolls left me! I want my baby! Stella! … Stella!” scene3 pg 179. This shows their need for one another. Blanche and Stella love one another very much. They’ve been through a lot, the loss of family, money and the loss of Belle Reve [the families estate]. Here Blanche and her greet one another, “ Stella, oh, Stella, Stella for star, how i’ve missed you! “, scene 2 pg 152. They had a warm relationship, even though they had differences.
No one ever wants to be pitied; it’s almost a type of failure. Stella and Stanley are happy together, but Blanche pities her sister for marring a poor polish immigrant. Here Stella is trying to make justice to why Stanley hit her. “He didn’t know what he was doing. He was good as a lamb when I came back, and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.” scene 4 pg 183. She didn’t want Blanche to pity her but Stella pitied Blanche for not being able to co...