In literature, texts often allow the reader to escape from a world of reality. However, as I will explore in this essay, many texts explore real characters and their conflict with the fictional. It is evident that such themes are strongly present in The Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire and selected works by John Keats. One of the reasons these texts are so effective is due to the cultural and historical context in which they are set. Whether it is Keats' work in an age of Romanticism, or The Great Gatsby set at the height of the Jazz Age and the American Dream, they share a common theme; centuries of great passions, dreams and hopes. And as we will see later, these can be the driving forces behind the failure of many. However, there is evidence that Blanche Du Bois is the central character of this Southern Gothic comedy. Attracts attention using his sincere and fragile personality. However, later in the play this is revealed to be an illusionistic image of his own mind. He must live in the world of illusions to protect himself from external threats and his own fears. Throughout the show, Tennessee Williams contrasted Blanche's delusions with Stanley's realism. Unfortunately in the end, Stanley and his worldview win. Blanche hopes to save her life in such a brutal world where internal anxiety clashes with external threats. To do this he uses different coping mechanisms: delusions, alcoholism and illusions. It is easy to see that Blanche must use these types of mechanisms to protect herself from going mad in the process of changing her environment and living conditions. She must live in a state of imagination to keep herself sane. Evidence of this can be seen in the first scene. Blanche exclaims how "she was on the verge of madness, almost" [Williams 1951 p21] before meeting Stella. She continues by "drinking quickly" [Williams 1951 p21] her glass of alcohol, which "makes her feel so good" [Williams 1951 p21]. This shows that Blanche is clearly lost in her sense of imagination. To deal with this problem, his only solution is to drown out all worries with alcohol. As argued by Philip C. Kolin, professor of English, Blanche truly possesses a strong personality. According to Kolin, Blanche is "aided by a vivid imagination and the gift of putting into words her colorful and often sordid fantasies and facts." Kolin says that Blanche is lost in a world of imagination; a "tragedy" [5] that leads to a "descending path" [5]. The characters in A Streetcar Named Desire often have very erratic and loud personalities. This is likely due to Williams and his staff