Comparison of a Street Car Named Desire and the Piano Lesson
As years go by in American history many things come, go, and change in people, but one that which never seems to flee the spirit is the so called "American Dream". The idea that something greater exists for everyone becomes an obsession for most, and lives are formed around it. This being true in real life, there would be no hesitation to put it forth through literature. More often than not it is portrayed through someone, a character, striving to achieve that which the rest of the country hold so dear. They search for a way out of their sad disposition, into a new light. Along the way, many things help guide them to their destination, some representing what they yearn for more than others. In the plays "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams and "The Piano Lesson" by August Wilson, the American Dream is found within the soul of two inanimate objects; the DuBois's Belle Reve and the Charles's old piano. Belle Reve is a special place near and dear to the hearts of the children who grew up there, Blanche DuBois and Stella Kowalski. In the country, the home sheltered the girls and their white family for years, but became too much for the dwindling family to bear. Williams's play "A Streetcar Named Desire" takes place in the city of New Orleans, where Stella has created a new life for herself, away from the past and Belle Reve. When her sister Blanche comes to stay with her for a while, she carries along with her the news that their precious Belle Reve has been lost, and she unable to stop it from occurring by only herself. In being forced to leave behind all that she knew but still keep the dreadful memories of the deaths of loved ones she endured, Blanche seems to fall apart. Her sister has already made a new life for herself with a husband and a baby on the way, but without Belle Reve Blanche is left without her lineage and her money to try to forge her way into the world once more. It appears that with the loss of Belle Reve came the loss of her American