A Streetcar Named Desire

The characters in "A Streetcar Named Desire" are masters of deception. They deceive each other countless times throughout the play, they also deceive themselves. In the story, at one point Stella says "I couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanely" (1232). This explains that Stella would rather force herself to believe a lie then to face the truth. In reality Stanely is a control freak, a rapist, and would do anything to have things his way. He had enormous self-esteem. But in Stella's dream land none of this is so. She just admitted what she wanted to do so. She wants Stanely to be the perfect husband and them to live happily ever after, no matter what he does. She truly did live the life she imagined.
Throughout history this same mentality of creating dreams as a way to escape reality have be present. The holocaust was a huge tragedy that affected millions of family. “Holocaust deniers are people who contend that the Holocaust - the attempt by Nazi Germany to annihilate European Jewry during World War Two - never happened. According to the deniers, the Nazis did not murder six million Jews, the notion of homicidal gas chambers is a myth, and any deaths of Jews that did occur under the Nazis were the result of wartime privations, not of systematic persecution and state-organized mass murder” (BBC.co.uk). Today people deny that the holocaust took place at all. This is a way to live the "life you imagine" where people don't want to believe that others could do the horrifying things that took place during that time. Stella is the same way. She denies the fact that her sister is right about her husband but lies to herself to keep peace in her dream world
By Blanche telling Stella how Stanley has raped her, Stella believed that it was outrageous of her to even say something like that. Not to mention, the illusion between Stella and Stanley that is present throughout the play. “Don't you ever believe it. Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep on going” (Eunice 1232). Eunice is telling Stella to just believe what you want to believe. This leads Stella to believe more in illusion. 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. Stella uses illusions to save her marriage and keep her promise to her husband. Much likely the politicians we see today's society. Illusions may be aid in temporary relief. However in actuality they lead to demise and distrust in others. Like the characters in the story, we as a society use illusions to deceive one's perception of us.

Lipstadt, Deborah. "Denying the Holocaust." 17 Feb. 2011. Web.