Cruelty In A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams

Condemnation is given to those who display harshness and cruelty, within their treatment of others. Through the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams portrays the many ways one can hurt a person, but all of them result in the destruction of the victim. Using the characters Blanche, Mitch and Stanley, Williams cautions his readers of the devastating effects of cruelty on the target. Both physical and mental obliteration are results of cruelty, whether it is deliberate or unintentional.
Blanche Dubois, who portrayed the central victim of maltreatment during the play, herself, causes the mental and physical destruction of a loved one. During her youth, Blanche had a lover named Allan Gray, who she describes was handsome. She was

Stanley plays a major role in the downfall of Blanche, as he coordinates it with no repentance. He begins by searching for the negative incidents of Blanche's past, and frequently initiates conversation with her, which makes Blanche believe that he is aware of her unhealthy past. This causes her to act insecure; as she believe her act has been broken. During his initial confrontation with Blanche after learning about the loss of Belle Reve, he says "Don't play so dumb. You know what (Williams, 41)." Stanley uses his some of his new found acquired knowledge and confidence, to make Blanche act uncomfortable. He does this in order to observe changes in her reactions, and find the truth about her stay. Soon after, Stanley acquires the takes of young Blanche, and goes on to spread them to the two closest people to Blanche, one of whom eventually turns on her (Mitch). Additionally, on her birthday, Stanley continues to mistreat her, and presents her with a gift, which makes Blanche feel both scared and insecure; bus tickets back to Laurel. Stanley, knowing her past is aware of Blanche's reputation in the small city, and intentionally buys these tickets to further harass her deliberately. He is aware, that these bus tickets will also signal that she has overstayed her welcome at his home. Following the tragic incident with Mitch, Blanche becomes extremely battered emotionally and Stanley inflicts more damage upon her. In an attempt to please, Blanche lies further about a lover named Shep Huntleigh, who is supposedly rich. Stanley, knowing that Blanche would be using these false lovers as her salvage decides to play along with her act and says, "Well this lover of yours, he better be the smart kind (Williams, 83)." Stanley is aware of Blanche's fibs about these lovers, and begins to ask and make peculiar comments, to which Blanche can, no