Symbols in literature are widely used by writers as a means of emphasizing certain aspects of their works.
A literary symbol is something that means more than what it is. It is an object, a person, situation, an
action, or some other item that has a literal meaning in the story but suggest or represents other meanings
as well (Perrine, 1970, p 227). A Streetcar Named Desire has won the writer, Tennessee Williams, a
Pulitzer Prize in 1947. The aim of this study is to find the symbols used by the writer in this play.
Williams uses symbols in various parts of the story: in the names of places, in the names of characters, in
the music, in some objects, in the actions. The most obvious symbol is the title itself that represents the
life journey of the main character, Blanche, who is led by her desire, her dream, to start a new life in New
Orleans. To get to her sister’s house, she was given instruction to take a streetcar named Desire, and then
transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields, the name of the
Kowalski’s street. Her life journey, ironically, ends up not in a paradise but in a mental hospital after
being raped by Stanley. |