ChristopherParfitt

Streetcar Named Desire

Set it New Orleans in the 1920's. Fitzgerald really must have liked jazz. It is at least a subliminal theme in a few of his works. The characters and their conflicts are intriguing to say the least. Blanche relentlessly clings to her ways of the past and the money and status that she once had, even though she is just as poor as the others, she still looks down on their living conditions and way of life. She has almost no real solid grip of reality. She also displays much contention for her sister Stella and her sister's husband Stanley and their relationship. She refers to him as a "Polack" and often degrades him yet in the same turn, she is jealous of the Stella and Stanley have. There is no real decency among the characters. They are always "stabbing each other in the back." There are even references to future betrayals that are to come. Lastly, the physical streetcar named Desire is both ironic and important to the story.