Realism

The term reality is used in many conversations, but its meaning is often taken for granted. This term is used with the primary motive of selling your version of reality to others. People fell the need to be accepted and so they so they use reality. However, this concept is an attempt by the human mind to make sense of the surroundings. Making sense of the surrounding depends on the individual and thus this concept varies from person to person. This paper aims at finding out the true meaning of reality. It spans around the play A Streetcar Named Desire and using instances from the play the perceptions of reality experienced by different individuals will be discussed in the paper. Throughout the play we observe a lot of confrontations between Stanley and Blanche. The purpose of the paper is to establish that reality is dynamic and it is dependent on the perception of a person. Reality is not an absolute truth but an imperfect rendition. Reality is the way we want to see things and make sense of it. In the play we observe Blanche try to run away from her past. She perceives herself as a southern belle in her prime and a woman of class. This is the way she wants to see circumstances. However, Stanley version of reality suggests that she is nothing more than a whore. He feels compelled to look at her that way because his personality is different from hers. All the other characters in the play see her falling into madness but Blanche uses it as a way to get over and make sense of her surroundings. To further understand different versions of reality, we will look at an article. In the article On the Dialectics of Trauma in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire, Fred Ribkoff and Paul Tyndall discuss the elements of trauma seen in the play and its relation to Blanche Dubois. The primary objective of the authors in this article is to challenge the well-established notion of Blanche Dubois as mad. Fred Ribkoff and Paul Tyndall state

that, Based on psychiatric and psychoanalytic theories of trauma, we challenge standard critical perceptions of Blanche and argue that the play traces not her decline into psychosis but rather her deliberate and self-conscious working through of the traumatic losses of the past. In making this comment, Fred Ribkoff and Paul Tyndall urges us to consider the actions and symptoms of Blanche Dubois as a pathway to deal with the tragic loss of her family members. They insist on observing the text rather than diagnosing Blanches condition from a psychoanalytic point of view. Moreover, they argue that the play describes Blanches deliberate and consistent effort to come to terms with the loss of her loved ones, rather than it labelling it as a decline into madness. The authors insist on viewing Blanche as a person who idealizes and tries to create an alternate reality of life to deal with the daily pressures of life.

On analysing this article, we find that it tries to flesh out the reasons resulting in Blanches behavior and its to the traumatic events in her life. The authors isolate the interactions of Blanche with other characters and point out instances where she succumbs to the traumas of her past. For instance, they focus on the interaction of Blanche and Stanley, where he asks her about her ex-husband. Her response is accompanied with the statement, Im afraid, Im going to be sick. The authors argue that the infidelity of Blanches former husband and his subsequent death shatters her idealized sense of self and the world. This article provides a radically different point of view from the established view of Blanches personality. Hence, it is a valuable resource to widen our perspective on the mentality of Blanche. This article projects Blanche as a victim. This aids us in answering whether realism is absolute. Realism is dependent on personality and personality on ethnicity. We come to know that Blanche is of French descent and Stanley is polish. Stanley is personified as chauvinism and Blanche as a southern belle. Stanley is very proud of his territory and power. He overwhelms

Blanche with his domination and aggression. Blanche tries to win Stanley over by flaunting her looks and flirting with him. This can be understood in the following article. In the article, Polish language and history in A Streetcar Named Desire, Philip C. Kolin explores the racial undertones depicted in the play with respect to Stanley. Kolin argues that the characteristics of a Pole depicted in the play through Stanley, is very different from that of an actual Pole. He believes that this play creates a dichotomy while trying to stereotype Stanley. Kolin states that-Stanley's wife Stella, her sister Blanche, and his friends spew racial
barbs at Stanley throughout Streetcar. Cataloguing these insults, "Pig-Polack-disgusting-vulgargreasy!" (131), Stanley explodes in Scene 8. Because of his Polack roots, Stanley is vilified as the enemy of the arts, poetry, and music. In other words, Kolin is trying portray the image of

Stanley depicted in the play. He takes into consideration the instances where he is racially profiled by his friends and analyses them. Following this, he finds out the etymological meaning of Stanley Kowalski and fleshes out the similarities and differences with his name. According to Kolin The root of the Polish name is, of course, Stanislaw, which means "someone who is famous due to his estate" (Wladyslaw Kopalinski, A Dictionary of Myths and Cultural Traditions [Warsaw: PIW, 1985]). This etymology fits Stanley Kowalski who equates space with power. He ruthlessly controls his estate, even if it is a small Elysian Fields apartment. "I am the king around here, and so do not forget it!" he boasts to Stella and Blanche (131). The essence of Kolins argument is that, Stanley lives up to the name of Stanislaw, as he establishes his territory in his home and is very protective about it. But, Kolin also points that in the process of establishing his might over his wife and Blanche, he diminishes his standards of a Pole.

On analyzing this article carefully, we find that a lot of Stanleys characteristics are due to his ethnicity. Although, I disagree with Kolins assertion about Stanley not depicting a true Pole,

I do agree with him in the statement, where he fleshes out the meaning of Kowalski and how Stanley lives up to it. Kowalski means a common man with the occupation of a Blacksmith. A Blacksmith is strong, rugged and unrefined in his interactions. These are the very traits of Stanley that we observe in the play. So a lot of Stanleys behavior does stem from the fact that he is a Pole. But the discussion about the legitimacy of Stanleys behavior is not complete, until we discuss their behavior in the same light.To comment on the interpersonal dynamics between Stanley Kowalski and Blanche; we need to look into another article which compares the behavior of Stanley Kowalski and Blanche.

In the article, its only a paper moon: The Paper Ontologies in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, Philip C. Kolin comments on the use of paper by Williams in the play to represent the persona of his characters. He claims that we can better understand the characters in the play if we notice how the different characters react with paper. According to Kolin - Imagistic ally, the slip of paper links Blanche to her trunk filled with "thousands of papers, stretching back hundreds of years, affecting Belle Reve as, Piece by piece, our improvident grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their epic fornications ..." (43). In that trunk, appropriately underneath the Belle Reve documents, is a "tin box" containing "love-letters yellowing with antiquity" (41). The trunk is the nexus where sexuality meets death, fornication embrace foreclosures. The essence of Kolins argument is that, Blanche carries old legal documents and love letters in her trunk which signifies her tendency to carry a lot of mental burden. Kolin also claims that the trunk of documents is symbolic of the termination of Blanches marriage. On the other hand the Kolin states thatWhile Blanche escapes the cruel realities of documentation, Stanley revels in the evidentiary, and a modus operandi of Luce Irigary's "male system of representation." Blanche

fantasizes through paper magic; Stanley constructs paper empires and courts to legitimize the polity. He legislates a witch hunt against Blanche's paper ontologies. In other words Kolin asserts that Stanley is a brute who uses legislative codes to strengthen his positions in his argument with Blanche. Kolin also goes on to contrasts the personality of Blanche and Stanley in the following lines-While Blanche is content to spin (or conceal) airy nothings in her papers - or to deny that she has any papers that quantify at all - Stanley resists ambiguity and ends speculation and doubt through documentation. Stanley characteristically sees through the reality - if not the illusion - of Blanche's papers. Basically, Kolin represents Blanche as ambiguous and Stanley as certainty. Through Stanley actions towards written materials and documents throughout the play, we come to understand that he is uneducated bully who gets what he wants through physical force and domination. He denounces obscurity and adopts a direct approach towards solving problems.

The above article was written while keeping in mind the subtle hints that Tennessee Williams provides using papers. Philip C. Kolin does a commendable job in fleshing out the relation between paper and the characters of the play. In doing so, he highlights the differences in the mindset of Blanche and Stanley. This article aids us in understanding Stanleys personality in depth and thus his resulting behavior towards Blanche. Moreover, it helps us view both the characters in the same light and thus answer the question about the justness of Stanleys behavior towards Blanche. Now that, we have analyzed the personalities of both Stanley and Blanche, we need to look into the reasons that specifically motivated Stanleys harsh behavior towards Blanche.

The idea of selling the version of reality to others forcefully or otherwise can be seen in the play. While interacting with Mitch both Blanche and Stanley try to sell their idea of reality.

Bothe try to convince Mitch of the consequences of being in a relationship. This point has been elaborated and picked up in the following article.

In the article, Selling in American drama, 1946-49: Miller's Death of a Salesman, O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, and Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, Robert James Cardullo talks about how Stanleys pursuit to destroy Blanches illusion becomes treacherous. Cardullo argues that all the animalistic behavior of Stanley towards Blanche is not aimless. Cardullo believes that, Stanley is hell bent on bringing Blanche to the ground. He also states that, Stanleys raped Blanche to bring her to her senses, rather than to satisfy his sexual needs. According to Cardullo, Stanley was trying to sell his idea of realism to Blanche by force. This article very clearly points out the reasons which prompted Stanley to act cruelly towards her. Stanley was sort of a salesman who was persistent in selling his idea of reality to Blanche. This article is an invaluable resource in answering the legitimacy of Stanleys behavior as it takes into account of the concept of different realities. This means that reality differs from person to person. If one person enforces his version of reality on another, there is bound to be conflict.

After, looking at all four articles and looking at the text, it can be concluded no one version of reality is complete or correct. Realism is dynamic and individual specific It shows that no version of reality can be disregarded completely. Nature allows every version of reality to exist in the human mind. Nothing is true, everything is permitted.