Stanley's Control in A Streetcar Named Desire
Remember what Huey Long said – Every Man is a King! - Explain how
Stanley had his control, how he has had his kingship challenged and
how he is trying to re-establish his control.
“Remember what Huey Long said – “Every Man is a King!”
Explain how Stanley had his control, how he has had his kingship
challenged and how he is trying to re-establish his control.
In the opening of “A Street Car Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams,
we are presented with a stereotypical presentation of a husband and
wife. However, during the duration of the play, we see how Stanley
changes from being in control, to loosing his control and using
desperate measures to regain a higher status.
In Scene 1 the impression the audience gets about Stanley is that he
is in control over his wife. The first time the audience sees him, he
“bellows” at Stella and Stella “mildly” talks back to him, showing
Stanley’s higher status. Stanley also “hurls” a meaty package at
Stella, showing his masculine power that he possesses. Stella, in
contrast, is the one that waits for Stanley. The first time we see
Stella and Stanley together, Stanley has gone to find Stella rather
than the other way round. This gives the audience the impression that
Stella is almost a stay at home wife to Stanley. When Blanche and
Stanley first meet, it is easy to see that Stanley feels as if he has
control. He “starts to remove his shirt” in front of Blanche when he
has first met her, indicating his confidence and his high status
attitude.
A small indication that Stanley’s “kingship” is being challenged is
show in the start of Scene 2. In Scene 2, Stella takes Blanche out to
a show and supper, while Stanley has ...
... middle of paper ...
... then chooses Stanley, leaving Blanche to be taken
away by a Doctor to a mental hospital.
In the beginning of the play it is clear to see how Stanley has higher
status than Stella, shown through a combination of stage directions
and speech. Stanley realises that his status has been lost fairly
early on in the play, and firstly believes that he must show his
masculine power by hitting Stella. This is obviously the way he has
solved any previous issues to do with his masculinity, as Stella says
about how “Stanley’s always smashed things”. Stanley realises how this
usual solution won’t work this time, so he puts his efforts into
driving Blanche away. He succeeds in doing this, but it shows the
audience a terrible side to Stanley. His last action to regain
masculinity is an awful act with risky consequences, as Stella could
have easily turned against him.
After an attack, his wife states to her sister, "He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he's really very, very ashamed of himself (Williams, 2309). Due to human nature, he does show that he feels sorry for his wife, in order to make sure she doesn't get any ideas to leave. Stanley is unaware of this, but the fact that he fears his wife's departure is an insecurity we will never admit to (psychological/psychoanalytic approach).
During the confrontation during the poker game, which immediately ends it, readers are exposed to the reality of Stella and Stanley’s
Stanley is from a poor family that was cursed. Stanley Yelnats resolved that curse because of destiny’s shoes and Zero that lead Stanley in the right direction. Stanley was a changing character in the novel and changed from being shy to being brave. A lesson learned from the book is “You cannot become what we want to be remaining who we are.” which means
Scene One of A Streetcar Named Desire What is the dramatic significance of scene one of the play A Streetcar named Desire? Scene 1 of this play has great dramatic significance. In this essay, I will be looking at key points throughout the scene that reveal the key features of the plot, characters, theme and imagery plus how it is used to give the audience a taster for what is to come.
the play, so we can see the way they change when they meet for the
Soon after Blanche arrives to live with her sister in New Orleans, she comes up with the plan for her pregnant sister, Stella, and herself to
Stanley does not take notice of his wife’s concern, but instead continues on his original course, asserting his own destiny, without any thought to the effect it may have on those around him. This taking blood at any cost to those around him is foreshadowed in scene one, with the packet of met which he forces upon his wife. It is through actions such as these that Stanley asserts power, symbolic of the male dominance throughout patriarchal society. He also gains a s...
The conflict between Stanley and Stella climaxes in scene ten. In this scene Stanley openly takes Blanche apart piece by piece he begins with unenthusiastic comments such as "Swine huh?
At the beginning of the play, there is an equilibrium, Stanley and Stella have been living happily together in Elysian Fields, however the arrival of Blanche acts as a catalyst and immediately she begins to challenge their way of life with her values.
The first scene of the play (pg. 14) Stanley has just thrown a piece of meat up to Stella as he turns the corner heading for the bowling ally. He makes no motion to stop, run up the stairs and explain to his wife what’s going on, similar to what would occur in an equal relationship. Instead he continues down the street like a boy with no responsibilities. Stella yells, “Where are you going,” and then asks if she could come to watch, he agrees but doesn’t stop to wait for her. This scene demonstrates how Stella follows Stanley along, and serves him according to what he wishes to do and when he wants to do it.
As Stanley continues torturing Blanche and draws Stella and Mitch away from her, Blanche’s sanity slowly dwindles. Even though she lied throughout the play, her dishonesty becomes more noticeable and irrational due to Stanley's torment about her horrible past. After dealing with the deaths of her whole family, she loses Belle Reve, the estate on which her and her sister grew up. This is too much for Blanche to handle causing her moral vision to be blurred by “her desperate need to be with someone, with ancestors for models who indulged in “epic fornications” with impunity, [Blanche] moves through the world filling the void in her life with lust” (Kataria 2). She also loses a young husband who killed himself after she found out he was gay when she caught him with another man. After that traumatic experience she needed “a cosy nook to squirm herself into because ...
A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee Williams in 1947 and it is a play that takes place after the second World War in the South of the United States; New Orleans, Louisiana. The play ultimately explores on the conflict amongst Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski as they both have a connection to Stella Dubois. Blanche being her sister, and Stanley being her partner. This play is considered to be a tragedy. Twelfth Night was written by the World renowned William Shakespeare and it explores the story of siblings being separated after a tragic accident at sea. ‘Without character there can be no drama’ is the overall theme of this comparison as every character contributes to a story, causing drama to arise in one way or another. This piece will ultimately explore the similarities and differences between Viola from ‘Twelfth Night’ and Blanche from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Although Viola and Blanche come from two different books written by two different authors in different time periods, we can draw the conclusion that they both possess the theme of deception.
Also, the repetitive comparison of him to an animal or ape is the perfect image not the id as it is the instinctive part of your psyche. The way this passage leaves the reader is very powerful saying that “maybe he’ll strike you” is a good example of Stanley’s aggressive nature, and when Blanche says “or maybe grunt and kiss you” is a very good example of his sexual nature.
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.
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play of multifaceted themes and diverse characters with the main antagonists of the play, Blanche and Stanley infused by their polarized attitudes towards reality and society ‘structured on the basis of the oppositions past/present and paradise lost/present chaos’(*1). The effect of these conflicting views is the mental deterioration of Blanche’s cerebral health that, it has been said; Stanley an insensitive brute destroyed Blanche with cruel relish and is the architect of her tragic end. However, due to various events in the play this statement is open to question, for instance, the word ‘insensitive’ is debatable, ‘insensitive’ can be defined as not thinking of other people’s feelings but Stanley is aware of what he’s doing understanding the mental impairment he causes Blanche.