"You Gotta Own It If You Want It": "I Couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanley"

In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Stella says, “I couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanley.” (Stella, 1232) Stella is directing this statement toward Blanche because of her psychotic and erratic behavior seen throughout the play. Shortly after the doctor and the nurse remove Blanche from her house in New Orleans, Stella says that quotation, implying Blanche’s lies and preposterous behavior. By Blanche telling Stella how Stanley has raped her, Stella believed that it was outrageous and ludicrous of her to even say something like that. This seemed to be the final straw that had really put Stella over the edge, which ultimately led to her calling to get Blanche sent to a mental institution. Not to mention, the illusion between Stella and Stanley that is present throughout the play. Stella sees Stanley as a good man and together as an ideal relationship, but in reality they are only physically attracted to each other and Stanley is a drunken and abusive man, which no woman should want to be in a relationship with. Conversely, aside from Stella and Stanley’s illusions, Blanche portrays the biggest illusion of her feign life by constantly masking her appearance in front of men, lying about her age, and imagining how she is going to be swept off her feet by an amazing man who is going to take her on a cruise. That very moment before Stanley rapes Blanche, Stanley says, “We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!” (Stanley, 1231) What Stanley is implying by this is that although Blanche has kept everybody else fooled by her illusion, Stanley knew her fallacy all along and saw right through her lies and manipulation that she has put about and ultimately winds up raping her.

Analogous to Williams’ play, Stella’s quote also can relate to the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Comparable to A Streetcar Named Desire, The Great Gatsby has many illusions as well, and is constantly a fantasy vs. reality. One of the most noteworthy illusions throughout this story pertains to the main character himself, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is an underprivileged man who has lived in poverty throughout his whole life and has flunked out of college. In Chapter 4, Gatsby says to Nick, “I’ll tell you God’s truth…I am the son of some wealth people in the middle-west.”(Gatsby, pg 42) By Gatsby saying this, he is creating an illusion for all of his peers portraying a so-called “rich life”, and is somewhat believable (unlike Blanche’s) because of his renowned parties that he throws. Because of this, the truth of Gatsby’s family background is a prime example of the false reality he portrays. Another example of an illusion portrayed in this story is the fact how Gatsby lied about his completion of his Oxford education. He did in-fact attend Oxford for 5 months, but winded up dropping out. A man’s education defines him, and because of this Gatsby creates an illusion of it. In Chapter 4, Gatsby says, “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford…” (Gatsby, pg 42) Then in Chapter 7, he speaks the Truth to Tom, revealing how he only stayed for five months and thus, “can’t really call myself an oxford man.” (Gatsby, pg 98) The reason for these illusions is for Gatsby to convey himself as a scholar and wants to be accepted among the rest of society.