Compare And Contrast A Streetcar Named Desire And Barn Burning

Contrast in Characters
The main men characters in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams and “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner are similar more than they are different. Stanley Kowalski from “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a man in his thirties. Abner Snopes from “Barn Burning” is a father of three children. Their lives are completely different but they are alike a lot. Both are violent, shows no remorse or feelings, and they are different because Abner is not considered a family man.
First, the men from both stories are violent. It is what they love. Stanley hits his pregnant wife when he is drunk. “Stanley is forced, pinioned by the two men, into the bedroom. He nearly throws them off. Then all at once he subsides and is limp in their grasps” (2174). He beats her because he did not get his way. Abner is a cruel man who deals with everything with violence. He threatens and beats his family when they do not obey him. he is a tyrant.

Next, they show no remorse for anything they do.

Abner Snopes intentionally steps in horse manure and tracks it through someone’s house and rubs it in on their expensive rug. He does not care and he never shows remorse throughout the story when he is a dictator to his family. Stanley hits his pregnant wife, rapes his sister-in-law, and locks the sister in law in a mental hospital. “She cries out and strikes at him with bottle top but catches her wrists…she moans. The bottle top falls. She sinks to her knees: he picks up her inert figure and carries her to bed” (2211). Stanley does not care what she wanted even though she threaten to hit him with the broken bottle, he still took her and raped

her.
Finally, Abner and Stanley are different because Abner is not seen as a family man. Abner threatens his family, burns barns, and has no emotions. He is described as an animal instead of a human. He is known for thoughtless violence and destruction. While on the other hand, Stanley shown as a family man. Stella, Stanley’s wife, is sitting on the porch crying and holding her newborn baby. “Stella? [She sobs with in human abandon] …Now honey. Now, love. Now, now, love.” (2217). Stanley goes outside to try to comfort his wife while she is crying and holding their baby.
Even though Stanley and Abner have two completely different lives they are similar men. They are both violent men who shows no remorse for anything they do. Abner is cruel and everyone can see it. While Stanley is shown as a family man even though he has done things that are not. It doesn’t matter how different someone’s life is from yours, they could be just like you in a different life style.