"a Streetcar Named Desire," The Ethics Interpretation

Tennessee Williams was one of the most famous American dramatists in the twentieth century. He was awarded Pulitzer Prizes for Drama twice and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards four times.A Streetcar Named Desire was universally acknowledged as vintage Tennessee Williams. It was the first play to win Pulitzer Prize for Drama, New York Drama Critics Circle Award and Donaldson Award.From the perspective of ethical literary criticism, based on the fundamental theories of ethical literary criticism proposed by Professor Nie Zhenzhao in the year 2004, this thesis aims at explicating the play---A Streetcar Named Desire---vintage Tennessee Williams."restore the ethical truth of that period by virtue of literature"(Nie Zhenzhao 10), this thesis tries to explore the ethical problems confronting modern people.The method of ethical literary criticism mainly studies literature works and problems concerning literature from the ethical perspective, which has the realistic meaning to make literary criticism serve for the comprehension of literature, and to offer the unbiased comment of literary works.It is an interdisciplinary research method to probe into literature works from an ethical perspective, which helps to approach literary works on a deeper level and comprehend the roots of the social problems reflected in the literary works.The most adopted research methods to analyze literal works are often from the western world. Generally speaking, the western literary criticism is well targeted, dealing with specific issues, but less touches upon the roots of the problems. Ethical literary criticism is proposed by domestic critics and is a new, positive and independent unattached system of critical theory. To analyze works of literature by this theory has innovative significance.Finding inspiration from the newly risen interdisciplinary theory, this thesis analyzes the ethical problems of the society at that time which are embodied in the play, demonstrates that the ending of Blanche is destined before she comes to New Orleans, and expounds that the inhumane conventional ethics is the real root that suppresses and destroys her; the thesis figures out that A Streetcar Named Desire reveals people's predicament under the unsparing conventional ethics, and expresses the aspiration for new and humane ethics.Few studies concerned ethics in the play of A Streetcar Named Desire are found till now, thus leaving much space to delve into the play from an ethical perspective.On a basis of the fundamental theories of ethical literary criticism, this thesis explores the social ethics of the time and Williams'homosexual background; makes an analysis of the ethical problems of the main characters: homosexuality, alcohol addiction, sexual indiscretions, domestic violence and rape; indicates that the inhumane conventional ethics is the origin that overwhelms and ruins Blanche; Blanche's independence on men under southern tradition, her disgust of Allan's homosexuality under the influence of social ethics, Allan's suicide for fear of the social injustice against homosexuality, Blanche's compunction for Allen's death, Mitch's denial of Blanche under social ethics, and Stanley's rape of Blanche…the succession of the causally associated incidents cause the tragedy. To trace to its source, the scathing conventional ethics contributes to the tragedy.