Blanche

While it is easy to dismiss Blanche Dubois as an aging delusional woman obsessed with maintaining the illusion of being a southern belle, readers discover throughout the span of the play that her character is far more complex. At first glance, she can easily appear pretentious. She is obsessed with her heritage and the prestige associated with it. She portrays herself as a young southern belle and constructs elaborate lies to maintain this illusion. Blanche attempts to be seen as refined and genteel, especially when in the presence of potential male suitors such as Mitch. The reality is that the southern aristocracy, this beautiful dream, is becoming obsolete. The new American society consists of people like Stanley, immigrants working towards what is considered the American dream. She and Stanley perfectly contrast each other in many ways, but like Stanley, there are many levels to Blanche. Much like the pretentious lifestyle and codes of conduct that she yearns for so much, that southern belle part of Blanche is also a thing of the past. However, that doesn’t stop her from clinging onto it and still pretending to embody that image.

As the play unfolds, more about Blanche’s tragic history is revealed, providing the reader with more insight into her actual identity. Stanley discovers and exposes Blanche’s lies about her past. She is not a demure dainty woman but rather one that does what needs to be done in order to survive, even if it involves depending on other people. She even says to the doctor in the final lines of the play “Whoever you are—I have always depended on the kindness of others” (1602). The sad truth is that many of the people in her past were only there for her in exchange for sex.

While to others she is delusional, in her eyes, she is merely making “magic” which she tries to explain to Mitch when she states, “I don’t want realism. I want magic! . . . I try to give that to people . . . I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be the truth” (1590). Her reason for lying is because her fantasy world is so much more glamorous than poverty, losing Belle Reve, her fading beauty, and Alan’s death, all of which are reality. She has been hurt by reality in the past and it is understandable that she attempts to escape it through drinking, leaving the lights off, dressing up in expensive clothes, and lying.

One moment in which Blanche does appear to be truthful and faces brutal reality is during her conversation with Mitch in which she tells him about Alan’s death. She seems to get caught up in her story and continues talking until she tells Mitch everything, until she finally gets it all out in the open. Another moment where the reader sees Blanche for who she really is instead of the person she wants to be, is when Blanche breaks down in front of Mitch and admits to her past. She acknowledges that she slept with strangers and her seventeen year old student. She explains that she was “played out” and had nowhere else to go (1590-1591). These two passages allow the reader to gain a better understanding of Blanche and perhaps see her in a kinder more forgiving light.

Joyce's stories

In James Joyce’s short story, "Eveline," the main character is faced with a life-changing decision. She contemplates leaving her childhood home and along with it, her memories, people she knows, and the security she feels at having shelter and food. She even reminisces about the time her father took care of her and when he put on her mother’s bonnet. She considers the promise she made to her dying mother to take care of the family. On the other hand, she can leave the country with Frank and start a new life in Buenos Ayres. She wouldn’t have to work as much or take care of the family, she would be married and respected, and she would be able to escape her father’s abuse. She gets carried away in her romance with Frank; she loves having a boyfriend and having someone to take her to the theater. Additionally, she wants to escape her life and she believes that Frank is the one who can save her and perhaps even love her. She frantically decides to leave behind everything she knows in order to start a new life. Standing in the station in a daze, she catches site of the boat whose image awakens her to the seriousness and finality of her decision. She prays to God to guide her. The bell tolls and he grabs her hand pulling her forward. She panics and becomes paralyzed by the sudden realization that she must stay. She grips the railing with both hands.

This moment of paralyzing epiphany is reminiscent of one in Joyce’s story "Araby" in which the boy is manipulated by the girl he likes into going to the bazaar and buying her something. Waiting in front of the stand, he is ignored by a woman who is busy flirting with a group of soldiers. When she finally notices him, she asks him if he wants to purchase anything. He realizes that she only pays attention to him because of the possibility that it might benefit her. He connects this with how the girl he likes is using him and he doesn’t buy anything.

In both of these stories, the characters are faced with the option to follow their hearts or make the more practical choice. They both experience paralyzing epiphanies which result in their decisions. Eveline decides to remain home and take care of her family and the boy refuses to be deceived by the girl he likes.

Petrus' Voice

I do not mind Lucy being here. She is “forward-looking.” She understands what it takes to live here. Her father needs to return to the city. He does not understand our way of life. He does not belong here. He called my relative a thief in front of family and friends. And now “I am the one who must be keeping the peace.” He is bringing up the past instead of letting it die. We have had our lands stolen from us. We are moving on. He should move on too. I have worked hard to get back what was taken from my family. Some of our people do what is necessary to get what we are owed but that is only because the law did not protect us. We want what we are owed. Besides, the insurance company will give him a new car. Accusing the boy does nothing. He cannot give the car back. Besides he is too young to be put in jail. He is the future generation and he is family. Lucy will be safe here. I will protect her. I will marry her. She knows I will protect her in exchange for land.

I wrote Petrus’ story using short simple sentences because during the few times he is allowed a voice in the novel, this is how he speaks. It gives him a very practical and matter of fact tone. Additionally, he does not speak as eloquently as Laurie because he does not have the same level of education; he is not an intellectual, he is a farmer. It can be presumed that due to the apartheid, he did not have the same opportunities as Laurie. I incorporated into my writing a lot of what Petrus says throughout the novel because that is all the insight that the reader has about his thoughts. I emphasized some of his phrases because they seem very representative of his ideas. While he does not show the hated of whites that the rapists demonstrated, the reader definitely gets the sense that Petrus wants what the apartheid took from his family. He does it through working hard and perhaps by manipulating Lucy into giving up her land. He knows that others take more drastic measures, but he seems to see it as redistributing the wealth. He does not seem to understand why Lucy’s father is so wrapped up in getting justice because he gets his car back. Petrus sees what happened in terms of material goods not morality. He does not seem to think it should be punished. After the apartheid justice is impossible; the best that can be done is to move on. There is no reason to allow the incident to ruin the life of yet another person (the boy). I purposefully left out any mention of rape because Petrus seems eager to avoid this subject. It is left up to the reader to contemplate the reason Petrus does not acknowledge the rape. Being the practical man that he is, it is likely that while he thinks the situation is unfortunate, he does not see the point in discussing it. After all, what has happened has happened, and there’s nothing that can be done about it but move on.

David Laurie

“For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced,” David Laurie still acts like an immature teenager and gives into his desires without fear of retribution. Although desire is common among humans, adults are usually expected to curb those urges. Instead of following the rules of the society to which he belongs, Laurie rapes a student, a blatant abuse of the power he gleaned from being a white male professor in post-apartheid South Africa. While he prefers to regard himself as one of the Romantics who embrace and express their powerful surges of emotion, to other members of society he can come across as manipulative, impulsive, stubborn, irresponsible, and a womanizer. He manipulates women into sleeping with him and rarely gives them voices in the story. He even has sex with the wives of his colleagues. His impulsiveness becomes apparent when he rapes Melanie and also later when he attacks the boy. His stubborn attitude is most evident during the hearing in which he pleads guilty to sexual harassment and of tampering with grades but adamantly refuses to admit any wrongdoing on his part. The members of the committee want him to show remorse for his actions and offer to lighten his punishment if he agrees to issue a statement of repentance. He does not deserve to be fired because he denies a lapse in morality, but rather for his abuse of the power given to him by the university. Anyone can claim to be sorry; whether or not they actually are is another story. It is imperative to note however, that instead of taking responsibility for his actions and their consequences, he uses word play in order to portray them in a less severe light. For example, he refers to one of his interactions with Melanie as “Not rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core.” Even his ex-wife addresses his tendency to delude himself and others when she informs him “. . . you were always a great self-deceiver, David. A great deceiver and a great self-deceiver.”

Laurie’s transgression resulted in publicity from which he sought refuge in the country. Upon arriving at his daughter’s house, he is faced with the brutal reality of post-apartheid South Africa where wounds are still fresh and hatred remains unbridled. He is no longer the respected figure he was in the city and after the attack he becomes an even more pathetic character. Not only is his appearance altered from being set on fire, he is transformed from a respected intellectual to the dog-man. In addition to beginning to see dogs as creatures with souls, he also shows more respect towards women. Laurie becomes more of a father figure, taking care of his daughter and showing genuine concern for her well-being.