Essay
Comparing the openings of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Bluest Eye
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An essay exploring the two openings of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Bluest Eye'
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Writing focus: comparing the openingsATMOSPHERE: ambiance, aura, air, mood, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, undercurrent, impression, environment, surroundings, setting
Within both’ A Streetcar named Desire’ and ‘The Bluest Eye’ many comparisons can be drawn, for
example themes of race, exploitation of power, and inequality within society. However, in both
openings a significant parallel that was apparent was the contradictory atmosphere illustrated. We
are shown a bleak, sombre setting or plot, and yet there still exists a lyrical, almost romantic tone to
them. This bleak and dismal setting is depicted by William’s through his description of New Orleans
as an ‘atmosphere of decay’, and Morrison’s holds a bleak undercurrent through her second
prologue – in which she overshares the terrible climax from the outset and includes motifs of death
and decay. Opposingly, we also can see a move towards a lyrical and romantic atmosphere within
both; William’s describes New Orleans as charming and romantic and Morrison shows a lyrical
connection to nature through her references to natural cycles and morality.
Within the Bluest eye, the first prologue of Dick-and-Jane acts as a racial discourse: setting the scene
for the rest of the book and illustrating the ‘idyllic’ Dick-and-Jane utopian illusion those in the 1940’s
were brainwashed to idealise. In this perfect world there is no room for black people and instead a
white culture dominates, imposing its standards of beauty as a privilege. Superiority is related to
whiteness, and inferiority to blackness. This epigraph illustrates the white ideology, and immediately
illustrates a damaged, bleak society – similar to that in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Additionally,
within this prologue this theme of a damaged and corrupt society can be further evident through the
structure. There exists a disjointed structure and a lack of cohesion – this lack of cohesion almost
mimics the children in the story. We struggle to connect this analogy as readers, similarly to the way
the children fail to comprehend the society and experiences they have endured. Pecola specifically
fails to realise the brainwashing society has inflicted on her, which has led her to believe that blue
eyes are the ideal, as white features were the only thing portrayed in society (e.g. movie stars of the
1940’s which represent the unattainable goals society has given them).
Similarly, within ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ a negative depiction is immediately drawn through
William’s illustration of New Orleans as a ‘poor’ city with an ‘atmosphere of decay’, with houses built
on ‘white frames’ that have been ‘weathered grey’ and ‘faded’ white stairs. The fact that both the
stairs and frames are supposed to be white but have been tainted and ‘weathered’ darker is highly
symbolic. New Orleans attempts to put up a façade of perfection and diversity, however just like the
weathered grey grames, this attempt to seem perfect and ‘white’ is spoilt and illusionary and is far
from the truth. We can see this through the illusion of racial harmony: we are told this is a
‘cosmopolitan’ city with an ‘easy intermingling of races’, however this arguably is fallacious. This is
evident through Dale A. Somer’s ‘Study in Urban race relations’, in which he claimed that this city’s
polyglot living simply created a façade of racial harmony, when in reality fear, distrust and hatred
still existed. This can be immediately evident through the introduction, which created a façade of
racial harmony through its attempt to picture a diverse setting. We are shown a ‘colored woman’
and ‘brown fingers’, however this further emphasises the inequalities that still persist. Firstly, the
inclusion of the ‘colored woman’ within the introduction may seem as if racial harmony exists within
New Orleans, however this is purely tokenism as we learn that she is never given a name unlike
Eunice, the ‘white woman’ illustrated with her. Furthermore, the fact that we are only shown the
‘brown fingers’ of the pianist reflects that black people were only celebrated or appreciated for their
entertainment rather than simply their existence.
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