Crane portrayed throughout his poems garden abstract and The Broken tower
. This conviction is exemplified through the recurring themes of individuals concealing their true reality with illusion to escape the confrontations involved, and that overtime we place truth in lies to escape an undesirable reality. In A streetcar named desire, Tennessee Williams is effectively able to portray, and enhance our understanding of the confusion surrounding similarities that connect reality and illusion.
This concept is evident in the fantasies of Blanche and other characters, in which they hide from their actuality to escape the confrontational repercussions of their world. The aspiration to mask one reality can be directly associated with Williams confrontational efforts to express the truth of his sexuality in a conservative society. This illusion, which disguises William’s reality is manifested in A streetcar named desire through Blanche’s character. Throughout the play, It is obvious that Blanche disguises the reality of her past with the misapprehension she is perceived to be. This assumption is validated in scene 9 when Mitch states “ I don't think
I’ve ever seen you in the light” accompanied by the stage directions which exhibit Mitch as ‘He tears the paper lantern off the light bulb’. The dramatic metaphor, associated with imagery exists to link the paper lantern to Blanches illusion, which disguises her reality. This, when coupled with Mitch claiming “it's just not realistic” followed by Blanche’s juxtaposed desires admitting “I don't want realism... I want magic” is extremely effective in demonstrating the confrontations associated with Blanche revealing her true identity. The exploitation of illusion to disguise one reality, is further encapsulated in scene 7 when Stella states “i'll stop at twenty five”. The discussion encompassing candles hold vast symbolic value, which directly links the number of candles to the age Blanche concealed her reality with a theatrical illusion .
Intensifying our understanding of reality and illusions as interdependent, and the necessity of concealing one's reality with an idealistic illusion to avoid the negative repercussions.
Adopting this fear of reality, connects a streetcar named desire to Hart Crane's poem the broken tower
. The theory of establishing an illusion to escape the confrontations of reality is densely portrayed and understood in Hart Crane's poem the broken tower, through Cranes emotional fragility indicated by the recurring motif of an insubstantial tower. Through this,
Crane is able to present his illusions, as a consequence of his deteriorating reality and its confrontational repercussions. This concept is characterized in stanza 5 through the line “and so it was I entered the broken world”. Resulting from the heavily utilized first person pronoun, and metonymy, Crane is able to link the broken tower to his own experiences surrounding his emotional fragility. Furthermore, this idea is comprehended through the line “Feat chill on the steps of hell”. The dramatic utilization of anthesis is obviously effective in demonstrating illusion and reality in their similarities and contrasts. Through the description of illusion as chill, one can obtain an enhanced understanding of the