A Streetcar Named Desire Feminism Essay

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The “Desire” To Analyze Feminism Thesis: In Tennessee Williams’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams highlights the different relationships between the genders to illuminate the idea that repressing one’s true self will lead to destruction. The Playwright, Tennessee Williams, formerly named Thomas Lanier Williams, was born in Columbus, Mississippi, but shortly moved to St. Louis, Missouri. This shift in location was a major turning point for Williams. He became a reserved young boy and began to write. His literacy career began at the age of sixteen, when he won five dollars for an essay in which he titled “Can a Good Wife be a Good Sport?” Williams went to school at the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism. He entered …show more content…

This play exemplified the remnant cultural tensions of the horrors of World War II. America attempted, and succeeded, to cease the threat made by Nazi Germany, in order to prove its superiority and authority. A Streetcar Named Desire was released soon after the country concluded its battle through the Great Depression of the 1930s. During this time the lower and middle classes were the epitome of individuals who contain the heroic American spirit. The Great Depression resulted in high unemployment and interest rates. This inclined many American writers to expound on the stories of those individuals who represented the lower and middle classes. These writers respected their willpower, ambitious mindsets and strong work ethics. After this catastrophic war, individuals were ready to settle down and build a family. Williams ensured to incorporate this time period into his play. Stanley Kowalski, the antagonist of the play, has just returned from the war. After he exemplified his masculinity on the battlefield, Stanley was eager to return home to flaunt and declare his manhood. The male superiority that is prominent throughout this play is also a characteristic of America during this time. The male characters within this play emulate the average American man. They are men who worked for what they wanted and believed in. They were never

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