Streetcar Named Desire

The play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is an intriguing play about a clash between two class groups. Blanche Dubois portrays herself as a high economic citizen where her sister and her husband are contrasted as lower class. Class is significant throughout the play because it provokes negative relationships and negative feelings amongst the main characters.

The clash of the different classes causes immediate biases and heated argument between each pair of characters throughout the play. Firstly, the class conflict between Stanley and Blanche is the strongest in the play. In most scenes, Stanley is brewing over Blanche`s high class status. He often makes sarcastic remarks about Blanche’s fancy and luxurious background. In scene

Firstly, Class prejudice makes a person selfish. In scene 7, Stanley eagerly and happily shares the news of Blanche’s past to Stella regardless of how it would affect the rest of his family. He then continues to say, “You know that, don’t you? Just to make sure I bought her ticket myself. A bus-ticket!” (Williams 127). Stanley’s is so angry about the class distinction between him and Blanche that those feelings cloud any ability for him to be sensitive. Instead, he selfishly announces the news to his wife no matter how hurt she would become. Stanley places emphasis on Blanche taking the bus. As he refers to taking the bus as a form of transportation for a lower class citizens unlike Blanche. Secondly, Class distinction is self-destructive. In scene 10, Blanche says, “I said to him, thank you, but it was foolish of me to ever think that we could adapt ourselves to each other. Our ways of life are too different. Our attitudes and backgrounds are incompatible.” (Page 157). Blanche herself believes that because she was born into a high class family, that she will remain in high class status for the rest of her life and that she belongs with other high class people. Important life decisions such as love and companionship are foolishly based on class. Blanche says bye to Mitch and possibly gives up happiness because he is from a lower class than her. Lastly, Class makes a person delusional. In scene 5, Blanche feels that she must learn new slang words in New Orleans in order to relate to her lower class family members, “I must jot that down in my notebook. Ha-ha I’m compiling a notebook of quaint little words and phrases I’ve picked up here.”(Williams 87-88). With a simple class designation, Blanche automatically believes she and everyone else in her class share the same characteristics and knowledge. She unrealistically thinks that high class people are smarter and have a