Ch 10 #3

This is an excerpt from a paper I wrote this semester on the play A Streetcar Named Desire. Because I was writing a formal paper for a literature class, it is already a bit formal. However, I will make it more formal and add more figures and tropes.
Original: Blanche is also trying to live up to her own expectations of what a woman should be. Blanche believes that women are to be attractive, pure, delicate, and the desire of men. She leads everyone to believe that her sister is older than her even though she is older than her sister (2356). Later, she admits to her sister that she has not been honest about her age. Blanche states, “Of course he—he doesn't know—I mean I haven’t informed him—of my real age” (IV 2368). She does this because she feels that youth is attractive and desirable to men. The man that she most wants to be desirable to is Mitch; therefore, she is purposely keeping her age from him. She also gives illusions that she is a pure woman instead of a promiscuous woman. She makes note that she was born under the sign of the Virgo which is the virgin. (IV 2366). She even explains to Stella that she hasn't done anything with Mitch but kiss him because she has an idea that women are to be chaste:
He hasn’t gotten a thing but a good-night kiss, that’s all I have given him, Stella. I want his respect. And men don’t want anything they get too easy. But on the other hand men lose interest quickly. Especially when the girl is over—thirty. They think a girl over thirty ought to be—the vulgar term is—“put out.”…And I—I’m not “putting out.” (IV 2368)
In this passage, it is clear to see that Blanche is struggling with her idea of gender roles. She wants to be the sweet innocent southern belle that she was raised to be, but she is scared that Mitch will lose interest if she is not a little willful. She goes on to tell her sister that she wants to lie to him about her age and sexual behavior just enough to make him want to be with her (2368). All of these illusions that Blanche is letting others believe and the behavior that she is exhibiting is a direct result of the gender roles that she believes men and women should uphold.

Revision: Blanche is also striving to fulfill her own expectations of how a woman should carry herself and control her actions in an acceptable manner. Blanche believes that women are to be attractive, pure, delicate, and the desire of men. To satisfy this idea that she has concocted, she leads everyone to believe that her sister is older than she is; however, Blanche is several years her sister's senior. (2356). Later, Blanche is forthcoming with her sister, and informs her that she has not been honest about her age. Blanche states, “Of course he—he doesn’t know—I mean I haven't informed him—of my real age” (IV 2368). She does this because she feels that youth is attractive and desirable to men. would you not agree that these conclusions are not entirely delusional? The man that she most wants to be desirable to is Mitch; therefore, she is purposely deceiving him just as one might fib about her weight. She also gives illusions that she is a pure woman instead of a promiscuous woman. She makes note that she was born under the sign of the Virgo which is the virgin (she really is not fooling anyone into believing she is a virgin regardless of the sign she was born under). (IV 2366). She even explains to her sister that she has not done anything with Mitch but kiss him because she has an idea that women are to be chaste:
He hasn’t gotten a thing but a good-night kiss, that’s all I have given him, Stella. I want his respect. And men don’t want anything they get too easy. But on the other hand men lose interest quickly. Especially when the girl is over—thirty. They think a girl over thirty ought to be—the vulgar term is—“put out.”…And I—I’m not “putting out.” (IV 2368)
In this passage, it is clear to see that Blanche is in a constant battle to fulfill her idea of gender roles. She wants to be the sweet innocent southern belle that she was raised to be, but she is scared that Mitch will lose interest if she is not a little willful. After all, desire has a mind of it's own, and if the thought of having that desire fulfilled is not entertained, men can lose interest quickly. She goes on to admit to her sister that she wants to lie to him about her age and sexual behavior just enough to make him want to be with her (2368). Do you not feel sorry for her? All of these illusions that Blanche is letting others believe and the behavior that she is exhibiting is a direct result of the gender roles that she believes men and women should uphold.