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So I Read Some Tennessee Williams...

Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge
- A Book You Can Finish in a Day
- A Play

 The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.

Picking a play to read isn't easy. Well I guess it could be for some people, but for those of us who haven't read beyond Macbeth in 12th grade, it's an issue. I tried to pick books that I would never want or need to read at this stage in my life, so settling on Tennessee Williams was a good choice. Of all the books I've read I've never had the pleasure of reading his work, not even while I was in school. Which concludes the story of how I decided to read A Streetcar Named Desire.

I knew little about his play other than the famous "Stella!" line, oh and Josh Hartnett played Kowalski in the movie Hollywood Homicide (bonus points if you know that movie!). I was actually really surprised that the plot didn't really revolve around Stanley calling out "Stella! Stella!". It actually has to do with Stella's sister Blanche who comes for an overextended visit. What surprised me the most was how crazy the sister Blanche was. I know that mental illness isn't something that was talked about in those days or really at all even today still, so I'm guessing Williams wanted to bring this up as a social issue and not just a plot point.

I did find it odd within the first act when she said she didn't drink, but before Stella came home from the bowling alley, Blanche had already broken into the liquor "cabinet". I didn't believe anything that came out of that woman's mouth and I think that was the point. When it came to her vs. Stanley I would actually choose neither. He was a chauvinistic pig and I couldn't stand him, it was nice to see him challenged by Blanche though. The only character who I found endearing was Mitch, the bachelor Blanche tries to sink her crazy claws into. I really enjoyed the contents of the play. The characters didn't really grow as they often do in novels. For instance we knew Stan was a creep and a jerk, but he remains that way the whole time.

I feel as if I'm rambling, because this post is going absolutely nowhere. If you're forced to read A Streetcar Named Desire for school or whatnot, I don't think you'll be disappointed, but I don't know if I'll read any other TW works. I did enjoy it while it lasted though!

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