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The character traits in the play a streetcar named desire
The character traits in the play a streetcar named desire
Gender roles in the 1950's
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Relationships in A Streetcar Named Desire
In many modern day relationships between a man and a woman, there is usually a controlling figure that is dominant over the other. It may be women over man, man over women, or in what the true definition of a marriage is an equal partnership. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Stanley is clearly the more dominant figure over Stella. Throughout the play there are numerous examples of the power he possesses of her. Williams portrays Stella as a little girl who lives around in Stanley’s world. She does what he wants, takes his abuse yet still loves him. Situations likes these may have occurred in the 1950’s and lasted, but in today’s time this would only end up in a quick divorce.
The first scene of the play (pg. 14) Stanley has just thrown a piece of meat up to Stella as he turns the corner heading for the bowling ally. He makes no motion to stop, run up the stairs and explain to his wife what’s going on, similar to what would occur in an equal relationship. Instead he continues down the street like a boy with no responsibilities. Stella yells, “Where are you going,” and then asks if she could come to watch, he agrees but doesn’t stop to wait for her. This scene demonstrates how Stella follows Stanley along, and serves him according to what he wishes to do and when he wants to do it.
In scene three Stanley is having his poker party (pg. 57). At this point he is very drunk. Blanche distracting Stanley by listening to the radio instigates him to grab it off the table and toss it out the window. Stella in a state of panic tells everyone to go home which angers Stanley so he chases after her and hits her. This type of behavior is not normal of any human being involved in any relationship. Stanley repeatedly gets what he wants by use of any means possible. In addition the person whoever threatens the existence of his poker game receives a beating, in this case his wife. This scene demonstrates Stanley’s viscous animal like traits with such violence. If what happened here was repeated in today’s society he would find himself in a jail cell with a pending divorce.
During the last scene of the play (pg.
With Streetcar, Stella Kowalski tries to gain some more with from her husband Stanley. After Blanche arrived Stella started defending herself more and telling Stanley what to do. For example, in the poker night scene, Stella says “Drunk- drunk-animal think, you! All of you- please go home! If any of you have one spark of decency in you-” (Williams
In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, a main theme was domestic violence and how women were not respected before the 1970’s. Beating your wife was considered “family matters” and many people ignored this huge issue. Women were supposed to take care of the situation by themselves or ignore it. Ruby Cohn argues that Stanley is the “protector of the family” and that his cruelest gesture in the play is “to tear the paper lantern off the light bulb” (Bloom 15). Even though critics tend to ignore the ongoing domestic violence occurring in the play, it is a huge issue that even the characters in the play choose to ignore. This issue does not surface because of the arrival of Blanche and her lunacy. While the audience concentrates on Blanche’s crumbling sanity, it virtually ignores Stanley's violence.
Stanley Kowalski is the epitome of the traditional man, he portrays his superior nature in various scenes in the Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire. In scene two of the play, Stanley displays his demanding nature while Stella
The character Stanley represents the theme of reality. Stanley Kowalski is the simple blue-collar husband of Stella. His actions, reactions, and words show reality in its harshest most purist form. His actions are similar to a primitive human. For example he doesn’t close the door when he uses the restroom. This rudeness represents the harsh reality that Blanche refuses to accept. Moreover, when he was drunk he hit Stella. This attack on Blanches sister could be a symbolic “wake up” slap to the face of Blanche.
Stella, Stanley's wife in the play, is a passive woman. She is displayed this way through how she responds to the people and situations around her. When she is beaten by Stanley, she understands that his drunkenness takes hold of him and he has no control over his actions. She knows he never means her harm and his intentions are good.
However, there are also many instances where Stanley, a common working-class man, reveals his desire to be powerful and manly in his relationship with Stella, a woman who is of high class. Stanley is a man from a poor background and is married to a woman with a rich family history. Logically, Stanley may feel intimidated by Stella’s upbringing and feels that it is crucial to oppress her; it is hinted many times throughout the play as Stanley clearly demonstrates he is the one that holds the power by the way he treats Stella. Right from the start of the play, with Stanley’s introduction, he comes “around the corner… [with] a red-stained package from a butcher’s” (4), much like how an animal would bring its kill back home. With this, it is an analogy to a leader, Stanley, of a pack that brings back the food for the others to eat. The reliance of Stanley to bring back home the food broadcasts his will as the almighty alpha male that holds more importance than Stella. Furthermore, Stanley “heaves the meat at her (Stella),” (4) treating her as like a servant and also making a sexual innuendo. This action is one of disrespect and lets Stella know that she is under Stanley. This is an example of Stanley seeing Stella as a slave, a sexual object, under his control. Control is a large factor to Stanley as a husband and as a person. This is apparent when Stella explains that “Stanley doesn’t
She struggles with Stanley’s ideals and shields her past. The essential conflict of the story is between Blanche, and her brother-in-law Stanley. Stanley investigates Blanche’s life to find the truth of her promiscuity, ruining her relationships with Stella, and her possible future husband Mitch, which successfully obtain his goal of getting Blanche out of his house. Blanche attempts to convince Stella that she should leave Stanley because she witnessed a fight between the two. Despite these instances, there is an essence of sexual tension between the two, leading to a suspected rape scene in which one of their arguments ends with Stanley leading Blanche to the bed.
Stella represents an important part in this drama by providing a contrast to how life can change people when they go down different paths. In Contrast to her sister, Stella is bound to love. Although she fell in love with a primitive, common man, she most definitely loves him. Stella desires only to make Stanley happy and live a beautiful life together. She wants to find peace between her sister and her husband yet instead she finds conflict afflicting her on both sides. Blanche uses her dilutions and tries to sway Stella away from Stanley yet Stella takes all these slanders and belittles them. Stella does this because she loves Stanley and since she is pregnant with his baby.
Stanley has a unpleasant relationship with Blanche especially towards the end of the book. Stanley feels as if Stella should just stay home all day, cook him food to eat, and take care of him even when company is over. Problems first started with him and Blanche when she first arrived due to her criticizing him. He also feels that Stella's attitude towards him will change due to Blanche's arrival. Blanche also tries to convince Stella to leave him multiple times. Stanley also likes to play poker with his friends and drink while doing it, but that changed after Blanche comes into his life because she tries to get his friends attention and occasionally flirts with Mitch. She turned her music on the radio up so loud while Stanley was trying to concentrate that he threw it out a window and hits his Stella. Whenever they get into a heated fight or argument they always have make-up sex to ease the tensions which is mostly the reason why she stays with him. Now that Blanche is there he can't make-up with her the way he wants to and he want their relationship to go back to normal. Later in the story when Stanley and Blanche are talking they and Stanley starts screaming at Blanche and then takes her to the bedroom to rape
Both Stanley and Blanche have very carnal personalities, and they need love to satisfy their desires for not only physical sex, but also stability and security in a relationship. Stanley is openly sexual with his wife, Stella and does not try to hide it. On page 50, after Stanley whacks his hand on Stella’s thigh in front of his poker friends, Stella said, “That’s not fun, Stanley. It makes me so mad when he does that in front of people.” Blanche’s carnal personality is obvious in the incident of the
3. How might we get to the bald truth/reality of Stanley and Stella 's relationship during the poker game? How are we supposed to understand Stella 's motivation for being/staying with Stanley, despite his physical abusiveness? (that is, on what is their relationship based/founded/sustained)? How does the discovery of these things affect the relationship between Blanche and Stella, and why is this important?
Frank and Rita are the very example of two persons placed in very different social compartments. Their places in society differ greatly as do their roles as student and teacher. And yet as one examines the script of Educating Rita it seems as though two people, who society has attempted to separate from each other in every possible way, still have the world in common.
Seconds prior to the blow, Stella fearfully cries, “You lay your hands on me and I’ll—“ (Williams 114). Stanley takes his displaying of dominance to an even greater extreme when his actions become physical towards his pregnant partner. He feels as though acting cruel and regnant is the only method to prove his position of dominance within their relationship. This catastrophic act can be linked to, “Extensive research [which] has documented that men with more traditional gender role ideologies are significantly more likely to report sexual coercion and relationship violence” (Santana et al. 576). After witnessing Stanley’s behaviour towards Stella, Blanche labels Stanley animalistic for his actions and shortly after falls victim to his madness herself. In a discussion with Stella, Blanche exclaims, “He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! ... And you—you here—waiting for him! Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you!” (Williams 121). Stanley’s unpredictable and uncontrollable actions mimic those of a wild animal, and Blanche is able to recognize the concern this brings forth, unlike Stella. Not long after this discussion, Stanley and Blanche engage
Stanley Kowalski is abusive towards every person who enters his house whether it is verbally, physically, mentally, financially, or sexually. Domestic violence stands out in the play because most of the abuse happening is at home in between family. Blanche is affected by abuse the most in the play. Stanley's most ultimate
The conflict between Stanley and Stella climaxes in scene ten. In this scene Stanley openly takes Blanche apart piece by piece he begins with unenthusiastic comments such as "Swine huh?