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In the plays A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, two individual families are faced with family conflict. Each family struggles with the issues of money, marital issues, gender roles, and trying to resolve these issues. While both families are from different areas they both undergo similar situations while they try to achieve the “American dream”. A Streetcar Named Desire and A Raisin in the Sun illustrate how family conflict including money, marital issues, and gender affect the families negatively. The first issue that causes the family conflict is money. In a Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley, Blanche, and Stella struggle with the issue of money and whether or not to believe if Blanche …show more content…
Walter believes that Ruth does not understand him or support his dreams, and Ruth is afraid to tell Walter the news of her pregnancy. Walter and Ruth argue because Walter believes that Ruth does not understand him and support his dreams and goals. During breakfast one morning Walter tries to discuss his hopes and dreams with Ruth, but Ruth shuts him down and tells him to “eat his eggs”. Walter: ”That is just what is wrong with the colored woman in this world…Don’t understand about building their men up and making ‘em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something.”(1.1.91) Ruth tries to talk to Walter on multiple occasions but they usually just end up arguing instead. Ruth:”Oh, let him go on out and drink himself to death! He makes me sick to my stomach!” Walter: “And you turn mine too baby!” Ruth is worried that the news of her pregnancy will overwhelm Walter and considers having an abortion to avoid further conflict with her husband. Mama: “Son- do you know your wife is expecting another baby? I think Ruth is thinking ‘bout getting rid of that child. “Walter: “No-no- Ruth wouldn’t do that.” Walter, not even aware of his wife’s physical state, is shocked by the news from his mother about his wife’s decision instead of being financially …show more content…
Stanley’s biggest issue with Stella and Blanche is that they always “undermine” him. He struggles to remain in control and appear as the head of their household as Blanche encourages Stella to stand her ground with Stanley. Stanley hitting and yelling at Stella is him showing dominance and his “masculinity”. Stanley is always trying to portray an image of masculinity and control whether it is directed at Stella or Blanche. But with Blanche constantly insulting him and undermining his authority he has to strive even harder to show dominance. As the story progresses Stanley becomes more frustrated with Stella and becomes aggressive with her in order to appear in control of the situation. Stella: ”…You come out with me while Blanche is getting dressed.” Stanley: ”Since when do you give me orders?” (2.70-1) Once Mitch discovers that Blanche is not the pure woman she made herself out to be, he feels entitled to having the same benefits other men have had with her. When Blanche turns down his advances, he becomes angry with her and tries to force her to have sex with him. Blanche becomes scared and threatens to expose him by opening the window and screaming “fire!” until he runs out of the apartment. Blanche: “...What do you want?” Mitch: “What I been missing all summer.” Blanche: ”Then marry me, Mitch!” Mitch: “I don’t think I want to marry you anymore.” Blanche: ”No?” Mitch: ”You’re not clean enough to bring in the
The bildungsroman ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D Salinger and the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams are both post-World War Two narratives which incorporate protagonists that challenge contemporary American attitudes. Blanche DuBois and Holden Caufield are quintessential examples of characters who subvert societal expectations, impositions and hegemony of America in the late 1940s and early 50s, the author and playwright have the plot revolve around these characters and their itinerant lifestyles as they literally and socially move from one milieu to another. Both Salinger and Williams use a plethora of literary devices such as symbolism, juxtaposition and imagery whether it is visual, auditory or olfactory to highlight
Delicate Blanche, virile Stanley. Dynamic Maggie, impotent Brick. Williams' protagonists are distinctly different in temperament. In "A Streetcar Named Desire" Blanche exemplifies the stereotypical old south: educated, genteel, obsolete. Stanley is the new south: primitive, crude, ambitious. Blanche, a fading beauty, uses her sugary charm and soft southern ways to attract men. In comparison, Stanley "sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications" to "determine the way he smiles at them" (Williams, Street 29). Course and deliberately aggressive, he is a "survivor of the stone age" (Williams, Street 72). Despite their differences they both possess a raw sensuality. In their first confrontation, Blanche's thick display of charm angers and attracts Stanley. He wants her to be truthful and "lay her cards on the table" but simultaneously would "get ideas" about Blanche if she wasn't Stella's sister (Williams, Street 40-41). Their relationship overflows with sexual tension as they battle for Stella. Stanley, the new south, defeats Blanche, the old south. After destroying her chance for security, his sexual assault erases her last traces of sanity.
Stanley oftenly abuses Stella whenever he is drunk. One night, Stanley brings his friends over for a poker night. Mitch leaves the table in order to talk to Blanche. Stanley begins to get furious since Mitch is no longer playing. As more and more interruptions keep occurring, Stanley is furious and breaks the radio Blanche and Mitch were using. Stella then calls Stanley an animal. “He advances and disappears. There is a sound of a blow. Stella cries out.”(57) Stanley is usually abusive when he's either drunk or frustrated. After Stanley strikes her, Stella leaves the house and goes to her neighbors house. Blanche follows her sister upstairs to support Stella so she does not feel alone. Stanley then calms down and calls for Stella to come back. She returns and falls into Stanley's arms. Stella is very loyal to Stanley, she stays with him because he is her husband and does not want to change that. This is why she ignores her sister's pleas. Stanleys actions prove to the reader that he is an abusive husband to Stella and that Stella tolerates
Her rendezvous just added to her problems and dirtied her reputation.... ... middle of paper ... ... Stanley was angry when Blanche told Stella that she did not like him, but he never gave her a chance. Stanley despised her from the beginning.
Branching from that, Stella has an inner conflict because she does not know whether to side with her husband or her sister in each situation. Blanche and Mitch have a conflict because their original plans of getting married are destroyed when Stanley reveals her past.... ... middle of paper ... ... Blanche came to town on a streetcar because she was ostracized in her old home as a result of her desires.
In Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" two of the main characters Stanley and Blanche persistently oppose each other, their differences eventually spiral into Stanley's rape of Stella.
The Younger family demonstrates that even with conflict there is still plenty of room to love and support each other. On the other hand, “A Streetcar named Desire can thus be read as an experiment probing how far one can go following one’s desire, something radically different from sex or love. If one goes the whole way, as Blanche eventually does, one destroys oneself” (Thomieres 390). While the Younger’s are stressing over what Lena is going to do with the money, Beneatha is faced with gender role conflict from George, which results in their break up. The Younger family faces conflict when desire pops its head up in the ten thousand dollar check. As for Stanley, Stella and Blanche, their desires in sexual matters causes Stella and Blanche’s relationship to quiver. These two plays show similar conflicts but end in an entirely different manner. There is nothing in the world that can restrain the Youngers from giving up on their American dream while Stella results in thinking Blanche is dishonest about Stanley and needs to be taking into a mental hospital. In the end, each family will do what is needed in order to save their relationships no matter the
Stella possesses the same upper class childhood as Blanche, but she jumped the sinking ship in her late teens and left Mississippi for New Orleans. There Stella married lower-class Stanley. After Blanche’s arrival, Stella is torn between her sister and her husband. Eventually, she stands by Stanley, perhaps in part because she gives birth to his child near the play’s end. While she loves and pities Blanche, she cannot bring herself to believe Blanche’s accusations that Stanley dislikes Blanche, and she eventually dismisses Blanche’s claim that Stanley raped her.
Stella left behind her wealthy background for the sexual attention she gets from her husband. She is even pregnant with his baby. Besides the sex, Stella and Stanley's marriage is an unhappy one. One day a drunk Stanley erupts at Blanche for winning the affections of his close friend, Mitch. When Stella yells back at him in her sister's defense, Stanley beats her.
Mama, the matriarch of the Younger family, she is highly religious and completely selfless. To Mama life is freedom. She is the fifth generation from slavery in her family, so she is much more involved with the issue of slavery and is very aware of slavery and having no freedom. She is from a different generation to Walter and so her meaning of life is therefore different. Mama feels that Walter does not appreciate the struggles his family has battled and endured in order to be where they are today. Mama and Walter’s generation have different views on life becau...
In many modern day relationships between a man and a woman, there is usually a controlling figure that is dominant over the other. It may be women over man, man over women, or in what the true definition of a marriage is an equal partnership. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Stanley is clearly the more dominant figure over Stella. Throughout the play there are numerous examples of the power he possesses of her. Williams portrays Stella as a little girl who lives around in Stanley’s world. She does what he wants, takes his abuse yet still loves him. Situations likes these may have occurred in the 1950’s and lasted, but in today’s time this would only end up in a quick divorce.
Stella uses sexual advances in order to control Stanley and to show him that she is in control of the relationship when it comes to sex. In the beginning of the play, the scene opens up with Stanley walking along the street with a bag meat from the butcher’s. After yelling for Stella to come out, Stella replies to Stanley saying “Don’t holler at me like that. Hi, Mitch” in order to present herself as a women of strong character (4). Despite Stella’s attempt to assert her dominance, Stanley still throws the package at her which shows that Stella is under Stanley, and that she has no real control in the relationship.
Written in 1947, by playwright Tennessee Williams, the play A Streetcar Named Desire opens in the 1940s in the well-known city of New Orleans. Readers are presented with the young couple Stan and Stella Kowalski who live below another young couple, Eunice and Steve. While Stan and Stella manage to maintain a relationship, it is abusive. Stella reunites with her alcoholic sister Blanche, after learning that the family plantation had been lost due to bankruptcy. Blanche, a widow often finds herself in difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Blanche’s poor choices and vulnerability leads to an affair with Stan’s poker buddy Mitch. Coinciding with his abusive nature, Stanley rapes Blanche. No one believes her until the very end, causing her to get sent away to a mental institution. While the play and film were smashing, each had their similarities overall, in regards to setting, plot, and characters while differences concerned narrative technique.
Stella represents an important part in this drama by providing a contrast to how life can change people when they go down different paths. In Contrast to her sister, Stella is bound to love. Although she fell in love with a primitive, common man, she most definitely loves him. Stella desires only to make Stanley happy and live a beautiful life together. She wants to find peace between her sister and her husband yet instead she finds conflict afflicting her on both sides. Blanche uses her dilutions and tries to sway Stella away from Stanley yet Stella takes all these slanders and belittles them. Stella does this because she loves Stanley and since she is pregnant with his baby.
“WALTER: “.See, that just goes to show you what women understand about the world. Baby, don’t nothing happen to you in this world ‘less you pay somebody off!”(Hansberry). Walter says that money is a man’s domain, and that Ruth, being a woman, just wouldn’t understand. This sexist remark seems to come from his own lack of self-esteem. Unfortunately, for Walter and those around him, he feels the need to put people down in order to feel more powerful.”