Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"

The play 'A Street Car Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams has many

characters with different personalities. One character that seems to

play an important part in this play is Stanley. The ruff and hardened

blunt husband of Stella, this is shown to us in the first two scenes

introduces this character to the audience, and shows his attitude

towards the environment that he lives in. Through out the following I

shall be discussing about how Tennessee Williams introduces Stanley to

the audience and this helps us learn about him.

At the beginning of the first scene the audience meets Stanley,

Tennessee presents Stanly and a friend (Mitch) as 'They are about

twenty-eight or thirty years old roughly dressed in blue denim work

clothes'. This gives us an immediate impression of a classic American

working class guy, that doesn't have an impressive education record.

Tennessee shows another example that 'Stanley' is of a low status,

when he addresses 'Stella' as 'Baby!'. This shows the audience that

Stanley is not being rude, but it is just the way in which he has

developed his vocabulary in a slang street manor. It also shows the

audience that he shows little respect even with the use of this slang

terminology.

Another aspect that the audience will learn about Stanley is that he

is adored by his wife 'Stella' this is shown when she asks Stanley if

she can come and watch him play bowling. This would not be normal

behavior of average women in the time since, the time when the play is

set bowling was to be a manly sport. However one is left to wonder

whether if Stanley simply draws women to him in this idealistic way.

This extravagant entrance for the character Stanley , makes the

audience feel that he has an important influence in the play.

Stanley is portrayed as a womanizer, and he carries on with this

practice even after he knows that his wife is pregnant. It's bad

enough that he is carrying on with this when he has a wife. The

audience is made to feel that Stella knows of his habits of purposely

attracting women and flirting ass it has to have been the same way he

got involved with Stella. This could be a suggestion of why Stella

asked him if she could join him and watch at the bowling alley.

Stanley is portrayed as the man you love to hate, he is thee man that

men want to be and the ruff end qualities women drawn to. Even though

he hasn't been brought in the rich heritage the Stella and her sister