Riding the Streetcar of Desire

http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com

Dear Annie: Have you ever known a time when your family caused you a headache? Well, I have; I have been having many headaches lately.

I originally come from a upper-class southern family of French decent. Life was good and easy growing up on my family's estate known as Belle Reve, with my parents and my sister. When I got to age however I met a man, Stanley. He is a big man, sometimes overbearing; a veteran of the last war with Germany and of Polish decent too. He did not come from a wealthy family, rather a poorer, industrial working class family. This means when I decided to marry him I also married the lifestyle of the lower-class, which did not bother, and still doesn't. It does bother my sister though, quite a lot.

My sister, Blanche, decided as she grew older that she did not want to truly associate with the lower-class. Instead, she became a teacher and stayed at our childhood home, Belle Reve. Several weeks ago, Blanche came to stay with Stanley and I in our New Orleans home. She said that it was because she needed a break from it all, she needed a rest. Ever since she has been critical of the way I live, who I associate with, and of my husband. Neither Stanley or Blanche hit it off when they met, and they still do not really get along.

Ever since my sister's arrival, Stanley has been growing progressively angrier, meaner, and more hostile, to both Blanche and I. Of course, Blanche has done nothing to help the situation, constantly badgering Stanley and mouthing off to him. However, Blanche is such a delicate soul and I keep telling Stanley this, but he does not want to listen. He has been telling me stories he heard a work, stories about how Blanche is promiscuous, how she was fired from being a teacher, how she is not what she seems. If these stories are true it means she has been lying to me. I just cannot believe that these stories are true though, Blanche is so delicate. Because I do not completely believe Stanley, and because Blanche mouths off to him, he gets so angry. He became so angry at Blanche once that he hit me! I know Stanley has a volatile temper, but most of the time I find it addicting.

I guess what I am trying to ask you, is this normal? Is there usually this much conflict between family, or between classes? Could this situation worsen? I am pregnant and do not want this conflict to harm the baby. Thank you in advance for your advice, and I look forward to your response.

-- Old Southern Sister


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Dear Sister: Your story and situation are very interesting, and alarming to me. On one hand you have a husband who you seem to love, but has obvious anger issues. On the other hand you have a sister that you love, but she is almost disrespectful, and she may not be all that she appears. To compound everything, both of these individuals are currently residing in the same household. What a predicament to be in.

https://www.austinfilm.org/

Let me say that a little animosity is normal among family. No one will get along all of the time, so anger and annoyance toward one another once in a while is normal. Your situation has surpassed being normal though. If after weeks of being with you your sister and husband are still having problems, and these problems are worsening, something is wrong. From your letter I gather that the situation has only continued to deteriorate since your sister's arrival. Because of this, I believe the situation at your home will only continue to worsen, not improve. If your sister cannot control her mouth, and your husband his anger, neither of them should be together. This arrangement is not only hurting them but you and the baby as well. The stress on you as a result of these two must be high, and stress is not good for a pregnant mother. You need to remove yourself from that situation, or remove other variables to relieve the situation's mounting pressure.

You may believe your sister has a delicate soul, but I get the feeling she is using you, trying to get between you and your husband. Because she is your sister you may not want to believe the stories Stanley he has heard about her. I would definitely check the sources, but be prepared if the information you find is not the information you want to hear. There is always that possibility as people are rarely as the seem.

There is no excuse for Stanley hitting you, at anytime, ever! You may find his anger addicting at times, but I find it scary. Stanley needs to find help if his anger and temper are truly this volatile. It only take once for Stanley's anger to get the better of him, this could have a negative impact on you and the baby. That is something I know you do not want.

Just to be clear, I think your sister has overstayed her welcome, and she needs to move on. You must move past the thought that her soul is delicate or you will continue to caudal her and exacerbate the problem. However, you must also not let Stanley abuse you like he does. This is uncalled for, this is unloving, this is cowardly. You seem to be the only logical
 

person at your home right now, so you have the power to make real change before things get worse. If I were you I would move quickly before the situation worsens further; the further the situation worsens, the harder it will be on you. That is something that we can agree nobody truly wants.

http://www.rafsy.com/films-1920s-1950s/a-streetcar-named-desire-forever-young/

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Works Cited

http://electricearl.com/parkersburg/streetcars-6.jpg

"Annie's Mailbox." Arcamax Publishings. Arcamax.com, 2016. Web. 4  Mar. 2016.  

Williams, Tennessee. "A Streetcar Named Desire." The Norton Anthology of American Literature.Ed. Julia Reidhead. 1116-1177. Print. 

The "Great" Heart Trouble

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby

Dear Annie: I live in a beautiful mansion on West Egg, New York. Life here is great! I host massive parties every weekend, prohibition has helped me make my "new" money, and I have almost everything I have ever wanted. The only thing I do not have is Daisy Buchanan. You see old sport, she is why I moved out here to West Egg, she is why I through massive parties, she is why I decided to become rich.

I met Daisy five years ago, before I went to fight in the Great War. You see old sport, I was just a poor soldier and she was a rich, beautiful maiden. We loved each other and I told her to wait for me to return home from the war. Until recently, that was the last time I saw her. I went of to war, won medals from every allied nation, including one from Montenegro. At the war's conclusion, I wrote Daisy to tell her I would be going to Oxford School in England, then I would return home; I never heard back.

Staying in England only five months, I returned to find Daisy had married Tom Buchanan, heir to one of the largest fortunes in the United States. I still held hope though that one day she would be with me, but I needed to make some money. You see old sport, in the 1920s, making vast fortunes is not hard if you know the right people, which I do, and so I amassed a great fortune. With my new wealth, I decided to buy a mansion in West Egg across the bay from where Daisy lives in East Egg. You see old sport, there is a green light the flashes at the end of her dock, and sometimes I walk out to the end of my dock and reach my hand toward the light. It is like I can almost reach out and grab her, she is so close to me. She is also the reason I through my parties every weekend. I always hope old sport that one day she will wander in and I can see her, but it has never happened.

I do not know why she continues to stay with Tom Buchanan? He only cares about image, and he does not love her like I do. Daisy deserves much better than Tom, that much I know. Thanks to Daisy's cousin and my friend, Nick Carraway, I say Daisy for the first time in five years the other day at tea. From just talking to her, and the expressions on her face as I showed her my home, I know she would be much happier with me. This is just like we always planned.

Annie, old sport, is this pushing too far? Even though Daisy says she still love me, could she really love Tom Buchanan too? Is it wrong to try to get the love of my life back? I am so close to having the life I have always dreamed while sharing it with woman I have always dreamed about; yet something does not feel just right. Any advice would be appreciated old sport.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_great_gatsby_2013/

-- The "Great" Gatsby


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Dear "Great:" Love is a powerful and vital human emotion. It allows us to care, gives us empathy and compassion, and it is something that, at a certain level, everyone craves. The nasty side of love (yes there is one) is that it can lead people to make blind and impulsive decisions based off of it, and this can lead to tragedy and heartache.

This is what I see happening to you. You love Daisy, you have since the moment you met her. Daisy has made her decision though, she chose to marry Tom Buchanan rather than wait for you. No one forced Daisy to do this; she is a grown woman and can make her own decisions. She chose.  It is said that a person cannot repeat the past, and this is true. You need to stop living in the past and see the reality of the situation. You need to stop and look at what the consequences of your actions will be.

In your letter you asked if it was wrong to try to get the love of you life back. My response, look at the situation, it is different for everyone. In your case though, I think your pursuing of Daisy will be detrimental to at least one, but possibly every party involved. If I read correctly about the family, Tom and Daisy have a daughter. Your pursuing of Daisy could lead to a break up of that little girl's family, and for what? Are you willing to destroy a family simply because you cannot control your emotions? Are you willing to let you desires get in the way of the big picture? Also, by trying to pull Daisy from her established family, you are laying the heaviest burden on her, you are making her choose. Is this fair to Daisy, giving her the ultimate decision whether to leave her family or not? In my opinion, if you truly loved Daisy, you would not make her choose, nor would you endorse her to sin by cheating with you. You also assume that Tom Buchanan is only concerned about image, but you do not know the details of his heart. Do not assume that at some level he does not love Daisy, this is a foolish thought.

You truly love Daisy, and your motives are pure, that is easy to see. However, as I said at the beginning of my letter love can lead to people making blind decisions. This is what I believe you are doing, and you are so caught up in your desires that you do not see it. Let go. Let go of the past, for you can never change it. Let go of your desires and lust, for they will only lead to heartbreak and despair. Let go of your life as you wanted it to be, it will never come to fruition. While you may not want to hear this, it is true. You must move on with your life or you will remain stuck in a rut, continually spinning your wheels gaining nothing but hurt, sorrow and tragedy.

My best advice, let her go.

http://www.seesawaustin.com/2013/05/saw-the-great-gatsby/

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Notes

• The newest The Great Gatsby film was released in 2013. Its most notable actors include Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. More information about the movie can be found using the provided link below. 
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

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http://hookedonhouses.net

Works Cited 

"The Great Gatsby." IMDb. Amazon.com, 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

"Annie's Mailbox." Arcamax Publishings. Arcamax.com, 2016. Web. 4     Mar. 2016.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953. Print