Mendacity

1. Mendacity By Aidan, Kelsey and Rio

2. Streetcar Named Desire • The theme of mendacity is shown throughout Streetcar, particularly in the character of Blanche. Throughout Streetcar, Blanche is shown to be incapable of facing the reality of her situation in the Old South, and feels a constant need to put on façades in order to survive. • Throughout the play Blanche attempts to shield herself from bright lights, and frequently ensures that she is only seen by others in a dim light. This is evident from the small paper lantern she puts over the apartment light, as she explains to Mitch “I cant stand a naked lightbulb any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action”. This quote is emblematic of Blanche’s character, as light, which is synonymic with truth and revelation, is too powerful for Blanche and must be sheltered by something prettier and easier to look at such as the lantern, much like how Blanche hides her past behind a wall of lies. This also ties in with the Old\New South, as Blanche feels much more comfortable with the charming Aristocratic society of the Old south than the open but “vulgar” nature of the New south.

3. Her fear of the truth and compulsive lies can also be tied to the expectations of her gender placed on her by society. She tells Mitch “I’ll tell you what I want. Magic!... I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth. I tell what ought to be the truth.” This largely explains why Blanche feels the compulsion to constantly lie, as she feels a need to conform to the gender roles of society in order to survive. This explains why she constantly lies about her age and her appearance, as she wants to be accepted by Mitch and the other men in her life. Almost instinctively, Blanche plays up to traditional gender roles when men are around, shown by: “Blanche comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe”. The symbol of the red robe alludes to “the scarlet woman” in Bible. Clearly, Blanche wants to be seductive and attractive, in sharp contrast to her aristocratic image, which is symbolic of the Old South. • Mendacity is also shown through the character of Stella. After Blanche’s rape, Stella makes the conscious choice to reject the reality of the situation, as it would destroy her family, instead finding it easier to accept Stanley’s lie: “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley.” Stella is aware that Stanley is capable of committing this act of brutality, but as foreshadowed by the incident at the poker night, Stella chooses Stanley over Blanche for a similar reason to why Blanche creates her own facades – to create the illusion of a stable life.

4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof • In 1950s Southern society, people lived under a system of repression and mendacity. Within this society, there were two of what Williams calls “inadmissible things” – homosexuality and death. Brick drinks in order to forget the death of Skipper, and by consequence his homosexual nature. Big Daddy on the other hand desires immortality, and is clearly afraid of death: “Yep. I thought I had it. The earth shook under my foot, the sky come down like the black lid of a kettle and I couldn’t breathe!” Therefore, the family lie about Big Daddy’s cancer, which represents the nature of mendacity which permeates the New South. • Mendacity also exists within the characters themselves. Big Mama for example lies to herself about Brick’s ability to overcome his alcoholism and his capability for running the plantation. She names Brick and Maggie as the plantations rightful heirs, “It will break Big Daddy’s heart if Brick don’t pull himself together and take hold of things”.

5. Mae and Gooper are two of the most manipulative characters in Cat, as they present themselves as a wholesome family unit who care for Big Daddy, when their goal is to inherit the plantation: “I don’t give a goddam if Big Daddy likes me or don’t like me or did or never did or will or will never! I’m just appealing to a sense of common decency and fair play.” • Brick’s crutch symbolises his attempt to balance the different roles and personas in the play. While Bricks homosexuality was illegal at the time, and was certainly not the image that he was supposed to be portraying, he tries to embody everything that is traditionally male, everything that society expects him to be. The crutch is symbolic of Brick’s mendacity and the struggle of hiding his sexuality and refusing assistance from any of the other characters to seem powerful. This is seen when Brick tells Maggie, “I don’t want to lean on your shoulder, I want my crutch.”