Examples Of Cruelty In A Streetcar Named Desire

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Cruelty is callous indifference to or pleasure in causing pain and suffering. Throughout the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, there are multiple examples of cruelty. The play takes place in the 1940’s in New Orleans. There are signs of cruelty from scene one all the way through to scene eleven. The level of cruelty accumulates throughout each scene. All through the play, cruelty, would start out as being a snarky comment or so, but by the end, each character has learned more about each other and themselves. Most characters grow while others stay the same. Signs of cruelty are shown throughout scenes two and nine. During scene two, Blanche goes to visit her sister Stella, and her husband Stanley. Blanche has explained to Stella that she has lost the plantation at Belle Reve. Stanley does not believe this at all, he asks Stella to see the papers to prove that Blanche is lying. Stella …show more content…

Blanche started to get romantically involved with one of Stanley’s best friend, Mitch. Mitch is a very sweet, humble, and respectful guy. He truly likes Blanche for who “she is”, or what he thinks she is. Stanley of course has to medal in their lives, and tells Mitch the truth about her. For example, he tells Mitch how she stayed at the Flamingo, and how she slept with all these men. Mitch is devastated and broken hearted from all this unbearable news. He did not show up for their dinner date because of this news. Later in scene nine while Blanche and Mitch are talking, he realizes if she is going to have sex with all these men, then why not sleep with him. Blanche tells him they should get married and his response is “you’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother” (Williams 121). This shows that Mitch had no problem calling Blanche a whore. He went right out and said that he does not want to bring her home. This was Stanley again trying to ruin Blanche’s life so she would

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