In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, each of the three main characters have their own distinct personalities. There is a constant fight for power between the characters causing much conflict. Blanche, Stella’s sister, and Stanley, Stella’s husband, both want to be loved by Stella, and use different techniques in order to try and gain closeness to her, in fear that they will lose her to each other. Stanley uses physical abuse to try and show his dominance, while Blanche resorts to verbal offense. Although both seem extremely hurtful throughout the play, Stanley ultimately holds the majority of the power. From the moment that they play begins, it can immediately be seen that Stanley believes that he has the power in he and Stella’s relationship. One of the first things that happens in the play is that Stanley hurls a package of meat at Stella, and expects her to catch it, because he is too busy worrying about going out with his friends to have time to think about putting away the groceries. This first scene …show more content…
At one point in the play, Stella and and Stanely get in a fight over Blanche’s honesty about the Belle Reve situation, and coincidentally, soon after, we see the first occurrence of Stanley using physical violence towards Stella. Stanley gets mad at Stella for playing music, after he had previously asked her to shut it off. Out of anger, and a state of uncontrollable drunkenness, Stanley throws the radio out of the window, and then proceeds to lunge at Stella, and hit her, leaving behind a trail of screams and cries heard by the guests of the house. However, it can be inferred that Stanley is only using this music incident as an excuse to re-establish his possession over Stella, since he is worried that their conversation earlier regarding Blanche may have caused Stella to be closer to
With Streetcar, Stella Kowalski tries to gain some more with from her husband Stanley. After Blanche arrived Stella started defending herself more and telling Stanley what to do. For example, in the poker night scene, Stella says “Drunk- drunk-animal think, you! All of you- please go home! If any of you have one spark of decency in you-” (Williams
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.
When Stanley beats Stella in Scene 3, the abusive side becomes noticed and readers come to the conclusion that it was not the first time that this act of violence has occurred. (Williams 40). But Stella ends up coming back to him after he cries out to her, and their relationship resumes as it did in the times prior. He is also the one who investigates the protagonists’ (Blanche’s) past; as he knows there are things she is hiding. This need to know about Blanche’s history is driven by his hatred for her aristocratic ways. Furthermore, Stanley makes his dominance apparent through the expression of his sexuality. At the end of the play, he rapes Blanche as a way to regain his dominance in the household. Throughout the play, Blanche slowly gains some control over Stella, and causes disruption to Stanley’s
During early times men were regarded as superior to women. In Tennessee William’s play, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Stanley Kowalski, the work’s imposing antagonist, thrives on power. He embodies the traits found in a world of old fashioned ideals where men were meant to be dominant figures. This is evident in Stanley’s relationship with Stella, his behavior towards Blanche, and his attitude towards women in general. He enjoys judging women and playing with their feelings as well.
3. How might we get to the bald truth/reality of Stanley and Stella 's relationship during the poker game? How are we supposed to understand Stella 's motivation for being/staying with Stanley, despite his physical abusiveness? (that is, on what is their relationship based/founded/sustained)? How does the discovery of these things affect the relationship between Blanche and Stella, and why is this important?
Throughout Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois exemplified several tragic flaws. She suffered from her haunting past; her inability to overcome; her desire to be someone else; and from the cruel, animalistic treatment she received from Stanley. Sadly, her sister Stella also played a role in her downfall. All of these factors ultimately led to Blanche’s tragic breakdown in the end.
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a play wrought with intertwining conflicts between characters. A drama written in eleven scenes, the play takes place in New Orleans over a nine-month period. The atmosphere is noisy, with pianos playing in the distance from bars in town. It is a crowded area of the city, causing close relations with neighbors, and the whole town knowing your business. Their section of the split house consists of two rooms, a bathroom, and a porch. This small house is not fit for three people. The main characters of the story are Stella and Stanley Kowalski, the home owners, Blanche DuBois, Stella’s sister, Harold Mitchell (Mitch), Stanley’s friend, and Eunice and Steve Hubbell, the couple that lives upstairs. Blanche is the protagonist in the story because all of the conflicts involve her. She struggles with Stanley’s ideals and with shielding her past.
but he also includes real-life public opinions from the past (some of which are contemporary.) These opinions were likely to raise controversies on issues such as prejudice, social gender expectations and men and women's roles in society. There have been numerous occasions when symbolism has taken place in A Streetcar Named 'Desire.' Firstly, Stanley is insulted several times by Blanche (his sister-in-law) Stella (his beloved wife) and other residents of the 'Quarter'.
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 themes of A streetcar Named Desire are mainly built on conflict, the conflicts between men and women, the conflicts of race, class and attitude to life, and these are especially embodied in Stanley and Blanche. Even in Blanche’s own mind there are conflicts of truth and lies, reality and illusion, and by the end of the play, most of these conflicts have been resolved.
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.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” main characters are Blanche, Stella, Stanley, and Mitch. Blanche is the main character of the play, she is Stella’s older sister, and comes to stay with Stella while Stella is pregnant. Blanche after being reunited with Stella, she meets Stanley and Mitch. Stella is torn between her sister and Stanley because of Stanley’s dislike of Blanche. Stanley is a lower class citizen who is devoted to his friends and adores his wife but he is cruel to Blanche. Mitch is Stanley’s friend and poker buddy. Mitch is unlike Stanley because he is more of a gentleman and develops a crush on Blanche. Eventually Stella goes into the hospital to give birth and during this time Stanley rapes Blanche. When Stella returns, Blanche tries to tell Stella what Stanley did to her but she instead believing her, Stanley and Stella send Blanche off to a mental institution.
Stella and Stanley’s relationship is one based purely on, as Blanche describes it, “brutal desire – just – Desire!” (81). They treat one another without respect, with Stella calling her husband offensive slurs like Pollack and him beating her. However, because of their deep desire for each other, Stella quickly forgives Stanley for his wrong doings, growing his power over her. When his desire for power builds and he is sure that Stella is dependent on him, he rapes Blanche. When Stella hears her sisters story she calls for Blanche to be institutionalized. While it is clear to the reader through her hesitation in sending Blanche away that Stella knows Stanley really did rape her sister, she cannot bring herself give up Stanley and acknowledge the truth. In this action, she has ruined any trust that Blanche had in her and forever destroyed their relationship because of her selfish desire for Stanley.
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.
It is in this setting that Stanley is shown to be the alpha male amongst his group. Throughout the scene, Stanley is in control, telling his friends what particular game they are to play, when to drink and what to do. The drinks of Stanley’s choice include beer and whiskey, these are also symbols of masculinity and desire to consume alcohol as part of the social order. The combination of this alcohol indulgence and the game of poker create an atmosphere intended to establish male bonding and social order while at the same time excluding all aspects of the feminine. The shattering of this exclusion by Stella and Blanche’s return helps to expose Stanley’s desire for order. Without alcohol, Stanley would be more inclined to take a quieter stance on the disruption of his male order. It’s not until after Stella returns that there is a moment where she defies Stanley and we see the effects of alcohol take him over as he goes to beat Stella but his friends restrain him. His aggression shows again when Blanche turns on the radio but Stanley doesn’t want to radio on so he turns it off although all the other men are enjoying the