Character Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams

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A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, is a book revolving around the lives and relationships of various characters. The story follows the lives of Stanley and Stella Kowalski, a young married couple who share a dysfunctional relationship. Although Stanley is abusive towards his wife, the love between the two is strong. The bond between Stella and Stanley is interrupted by the sudden visit of Stella’s older sister, Blanche.
Thesis: Tennessee Williams purposely creates Stanley, Stella, and Blanche to have flaws. He does this in order to signify three defective characteristics of Human Nature.

Stanley’s main flaw is his aggressive nature. He lacks self control, and is someone who is very hostile and violent. Stanley uses …show more content…

She is someone who dwells in her own imagination, and tries to escape the real world because she is troubled. While with Mitch, Blanche says “I don’t want realism. I want magic!…Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be the truth. And if that is sinful, let me be damned for it!” (145). Stella just simply can’t handle the truth. Reality is something that she isn’t able to come to terms with. The decisions that she has made in her life haunt her, and in order to deal with the dire consequences of these decisions, she tells lies. Blanche is a blatant liar to those around her because she believes that the lies she tells should be real. She isn’t able to accept the life that she lives, so she creates a fantasies to fill the place of her real life. When writing a streetcar named desire, Tennessee Williams purposely creates the characters Stanley, Stella, and Blanche with flawed characteristics. The reason that these characters purposely have flaws is to remind the reader that these flaws are within all people. It is to remind us all that we aren’t perfect, and that human nature is about imperfection. Tennessee Williams wants the reader to be able to recognize the flaws within, and wants people to learn from the mistakes that they make due to these

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