PUBLISHED WRITING 2 - "It's All Just an Illusion"

 

 

It's All just an Illusion

 

 

The play “A streetcar named Desire” written by Tennessee Williams is about the crucial relationship between a lady who is in denial of aging and her aggressive brother-in-law. Blanche is a fallen women in society's eyes. Her family fortune and estate are gone, she lost her young husband. She fails to live a happy life in laurel. She lost her job because of her sexual relationship with 16-year old school student. She feels desperate and arrives unexpectedly to her younger sister Stella's house because she had nowhere else to go. Stanley quickly sees through Blanche's act. He thinks that Blanche has taken advantage of her sister’s innocence and cheated Stella out of her share. He understands that something is not right, so he starts spying out information about Blanche's past. After Blanche's arrival, Stella is torn between her sister and her husband. For instance Stella says to Eunice "I couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanley" (Stella, 1232) showing that Stella's only option is to either to believe Blanche or to consider Blanche's story as an illusion. Stella is very aware of the decision she has to make. Even though Stella loves her sister and knows deep down that she has got fractional truth but the fact remains that Stella is powerless and still dependent on Stanley. As a result, she commits the ultimate act of betrayal by sending her own sister to the mental institution. Although Stella betrayed Blanche, she still cares for her elder sister. Stella's love for her sister can be noticed when she tells Eunice, "Oh, my god, don’t let them do that to her, don't let them hurt her! What are they doing to her?" (Stella, 1237). Stella regrets for what she has done and this can be seen in the sentence "What have I done to my sister? Oh, God, What have I done to my sister? (Stella, 1237). I believe that the birth of the baby puts additional responsible on Stella’s shoulder which makes her to take the decision she took.

A Streetcar named Desire play can be directly related to the "Horror in the Congo" article by Jimmie and Marcus. The article describes about the outspread cases of rape in Congo committed by both the government soldiers and the militant. During the six-year civil war in Congo, rapes by soldiers were common. The war may be officially over but violent sexual assault continued. Before civil war, Congo was a nation rich in natural resources but after the civil conflict took a toll it destroyed its infrastructure and economy. People lost their homes and millions of women and children have been brutally killed or have died from starvation and diseases. After the civil war people went to military camp as refugees seeking food and shelter. The soldiers in the camp took advantage of the helpless women and raped them. People were unable to identify the attackers beyond military affiliation. Even though they informed the authorities about the animalistic behavior of soldiers, some senior officers tried to protect the soldiers under their command. This situation is related to Blanche in Tennessee Williams play. Blanche is a fallen women in the society who lost everything in her life including wealth, job and family. Her only hope of survival is to go to her sister’s house like how women in Congo went to military camp as a refugee. Stanley is related to the soldiers for the aggressive and arrogant nature. Stanley raped Blanche by taking advantage of her miserable and vulnerable situation. Even though Blanche grumbled about the incident, Stella still stands by Stanley like what the senior officers in Congo did. Because Stella was cornered at that situation by the fact that Stanley is her husband and also her only hope to live her life peacefully with her child.

Work Citations:
Source: Essence (Time Inc.).
Article - “HORROR IN THE CONGO” – By Briggs, Jimmie and Bleasdale, Marcus.
March 2007, Volume 37, Issue11, p164-169.