An Explication of
“On a streetcar Named Success”
By: Corrina Magdaleno
In the New York Times drama Section, November 30, 1947, Tennessee Williams wrote an article “On a streetcar named success”, to warn his audience the consequences of being a successful Playwright.
Exlication: paragraph 1-3
As any person dreams to become successful over night, to live the life of the rich and famous, it’s almost impossible to do. However, Mr. Impossible describes his overnights success a little differently, “I was snatched out of virtual oblivion and thrust into sudden prominence, and from the precarious tenancy of furnished rooms about the country I was removed to a suite in a first-class Manhattan hotel.” It would be an obscure thought if anyone would think that a great playwright has no interest of the popular life, and so Tennessee states, “And many people are not willing to believe that a playwright is interested in anything but popular success.” Before he became famous his “previous life”, Tennessee explains this sort of life for which the human organism is created, “One that required endurance, a life of clawing and scratching along a sheer surface and holding on tight with raw fingers to every inch of rock higher than the one caught hold of before.”
Explication: Paragraph 4-6
It would be hard to live the celebrity life and endure the constant restraint from the public. A single persons appreciation would be an acceptable compliment but from thousands it could be overwhelming, and is why Tennessee stated, “I was out on a level plateau with my arms still thrashing and my lings still grabbing at air that no longer resisted.” A man with this much pressure can overtake him into a depression but he describes, “This is just a period of adjustment” and the next day he will arise in a first-class hotel suite, appreciate its elegance, and fall in love with the green satin sofa. But a struggling successor can only take so much and Tennessee Williams did not need an...