A Streetcar Named Actuality

“They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and get off at- Elysian Fields!”(Williams 6). Wow, what a fantastical journey that must have been! A street-car called Desire, and the arrival place called Elysian Fields? How perfect. Blanche is looking for some sort of escape, undoubtedly from reality. Her Desire is to leave her past and come to a new heaven-like world thus introducing a major theme in A Streetcar Named Desire: fantasy vs. reality. However, this theme is not something we haven’t seen before. In fact, it’s arguable that this theme reoccurs in nearly every novel. We see Jack Burden struggle with reality when he constructs all kinds of theories such as the Twitch theory or the spider web theory, and it’s obvious that he is trying to avoid reality during his Great Sleeps. Or what about Jay Gatsby’s inability to let go of his fantasy with Daisy? Or Dorian Gray’s inability to face the consequences of his actions? Or perhaps Holden Caufield’s yearning for eternal childhood. Yes, fantasy vs. reality is everywhere in literature, and it is there for a reason. How many times do we push something off, or decide simply not to think about it? I know I am guilty of this. But the authors of these novels are trying to explain that reality will overcome fantasy and that we cannot hide in our dreams forever. The more I think about this, the more it freaks me out because I realize just how often fantasy overcomes my reality. For example, try everyday where I procrastinate finishing my homework. I know that I have to do it, I know that I will do it, but I instead find something else to do in order to avoid reality. Although this is just a minor fantasy, it still is a part of my daily life. But this got me thinking about kids my age in general. The stresses of college and grades and temptations are very real in high school, and the other day I took a special notice to the cliques in my grade and I realized how covered up reality is. On one end we have the Liberal Partiers and on the other end we have the Straightedge Conservatives. Which clique is living in a fantasy? In my opinion it has to be both. The Liberal Partiers are spending their free time covering up the stresses of reality with drinking or various other inappropriate activities, but what are the Straight edge people doing? They’re avoiding the reality of temptation by not even exposing themselves to it. They’re creating a sort of bubble of protection from the negative realities of high school.  Honestly I don’t know which is worse. Both groups are avoiding something and who is to say which reality is more significant. Either way high-schoolers are living in a fantasy that we have decided for ourselves. The authors of these literary masterpieces are warning us of the dangers of fantasy and maybe suggesting we hop off Desire and catch the next streetcar named Actuality.