...The intense desire for power is a feeling that many human beings may have. In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, the theme of power is very evident throughout the play. Stanley Kowalski’s hunger for power has led him to violence. He is a man who takes pride in what he does and his role as the head of his household. His brutal and abusive attitude is one that readers are made aware of the moment he comes into the scene. In the first seen he is seen hurling raw meat to his wife showing his animalistic approach to life. All of his authority is put into question when Stella’s sister Blanche comes over for a stay. Always Stanley’s power upon others is served with a side of violence. In scene three we witness what happens when he feels that he is losing power. Stanley has been losing money from the poker playing and needs to save face with his buddies. He complains that that the women are talking too loudly, and then complains again when Blanche turns on the radio. He gets up and switches it off himself. Blanche, who obviously doesn’t see Stanley as a threat, turns it back on and begins to waltz with Mitch. Then Stanley who has been drinking takes the radio and hurls it out the window as a sign of superiority and putting his foot down. When Stella tells his friends to leave he chases her and beats her. Stanley has been losing money from the poker playing and needs to save face with his buddies....
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...Orlando Davies-Vannelli Tennessee Williams maintained that he couldn't write any story unless, "there is at least one character in it for whom I have a physical dewire." In the light of this comment, discuss the role of desire in the play. There are many moments in the play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' where Blanche DuBois and desire are inextricably linked. Indeed, she arrives in Elysian Fields after taking a streetcar named desire. One critic has said that the journey which Blanche takes to get to her sisters apartment on a streetcar named Desire and and then changing to a streetcar named Cemetries reflects her overall journey through life. For example, in her youth she rode on her desires and during as well as after the play takes place, she changes to a morbid route, described as "Cemetries". In some sense, her quest for desire was as short lived as her tram ride. Another moment where the idea of desire is evident is when Stanley tells Stella that "I (he) am the king around here, so don't forget it." which reflecs his desire to have power and control over everyone in his 'domain'. This is one moment in the play where Stanley's true controlling ideas are shown to the audience. Through Stanley, Williams presents us with the idea that he is one who has achieved his desrie of being unnapposed in his society. An example of this is at the end of the play where Stanley isn't held accountable for a crime he has committed (the rape of Blanche) and his life goes back to how it was...
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...[Insert hook] In the Pulitzer Prize - winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, the author uses many literary criticisms, such as feminism, marxism, and psychoanalytical, to enhance the importance of each character's actions in order to create a masterpiece that consumes you instantly. Feminism is the most prominent literary criticism within A Streetcar Named Desire. Patriarchy is seen repeatedly in almost all of the interactions Stanley has with his wife Stella and her sister Blanche. In scene two of the play Stella doesn’t want Blanche around when Stanley has his poker night so she tells Stanley, “I'm taking Blanche to Galatoire's for supper and then to a show, because it's your pok'r night.” (Williams 32) and he replies, “How about my supper, huh? I'm not going to no Galatoire's for supper!” (Williams 32) to her. This portrays feminism because Stella knows that Blanche would call...
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...I wonder what the driving force is within Stella’s marriage to Stanley Kowalski. Stella Kowalski abandons her aristocratic upbringings to live in unholy matrimony with Stanley Kowalski in the slums of New Orleans. Perhaps Stella’s lack of independence from her pampered past is the driving force within her marriage because Stella cannot survive the real world without Stanley. On the other hand, Stella and Stanley’s marriage could simply be built on a foundation of sexual desire. Their sexual relationship with one another is the most important aspect of the Kowalski’s relationship. The fact that Stella has declared her attraction to Stanley’s sexual aggression and the knowledge that Stanley’s violent aggression undertones sexuality leads the readers to believe that the latter statement suits the Kowalski’s marriage best. Therefore, it can be reasoned that the driving force within Stella’s marriage to Stanley Kowlaski is not Stella’s dependence upon her husband, but rather Stella and Stanley’s carnal desire for one another....
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...Characters Blanche DeBois: * Around the age of 30 * from Mississippi, an aging southern belle(panics about her fading beauty) * lost Belle Reve(DeBpis family home) and her young husband(gay, she announced her disgust at his homosexuality suicide marks the end of Blanche’s sexual innocence) * drinking problem * Stella’s older sister * moves into the Kowalski home in New Orleans * destitute * has had many lovers (strong sexual urges) self-esteem depends on many for happiness * avoids reality(snobbery hide her poverty and indignity) * throughout the play her self-image and sanity crumble End: Stanley rapes her(destroys rest of mental and sexual esteem) and commits her to an asylum Stella Kowalski: * Around the age of 25 * Blanche’s younger sister * Mild character * Married to Stanley Kowalski (robust sexual relationship violent and renewing) and pregnant * Torn between her sister and her husband (stands by Stanley in the end) Stanley Kowalski: * Stella’s husband * Working-class * Example of vital force * Loyal to friends (Steve, Pablo, Mitch), passionate to Stella, cruel to Blanche * Polish ancestry( represents new heterogeneous America Blanche doesn’t belong to them, she is from an old social hierachy) * Fought in WW2 * Wishes to destroy Blanche’s social life * Beats his wife and rapes Blanche (BUT no remorse and still the proud family man) * Doesn’t like Blanche because...
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...will leave you blind to the things around you. The play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams creates a situation where A Streetcar Named Desire is driven by the fantasy of Blanche, Stanley, Stella and Mitch. In the play the characters hide from their reality by acting as if the events they went through didn’t happen or were not important. The idea of reality vs. illusion seems to bring on the idea that these characters want to escape their world or they want to act blind they don’t have to face reality. One of the main characters that brings the idea of reality vs. illusion and escapism is Blanche. Blanche came from a wealthy background and lived in city named Laurel. When Blanche’s husband died and her family members began to die, she spent her money on their funerals and she ended up losing her home. Blanche losing her home can be compared to a princess losing her castle and money but in this story she didn’t have a handsome prince rescue her. She gained a bad yet truthful reputation for sleeping around with different men. She wanted to escape this so she went to visit her sister Stella. When she came to Stella’s house she acted as if everything in Laurel didn’t actually happen. This is when her fantasy began, in Stella’s town she acted as an old-fashioned woman who was proper and modest, this was not true. Her past revealed that she is not what she claimed to be. While in Stella’s town Blanche met a man named Mitch who is a friend of Stella’s husband. Blanche and Mitch’s...
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...Williams. I felt that the characters that Williams presented were very strong and the story was very backwards, just like a lot of the other literature we’ve been reading. When reading this I was able to see how Blanche represented the South, and how Stella and especially Stanley in a way represented the, “New American Man and Woman.” Stanley represented the, “mans-man” and his character was very masculine. I feel that this story also represented the change in society from agriculture and plantation life to a more industrial life style. The way Blanche lived on Belle Reve was much different than how Stella and Stanley lived in New Orleans, but Belle Reve was gone and the, “Old way of life” was also slowly fading. I feel that this story was a great depiction of how the South’s transformation away from the plantation life affected the people. I felt that the movie captured even more of the interesting details about the story and displayed them for you. I felt that (Marlon Brando) Stanley was way hotter in the movie, and in the movie he is the epitome of a sexy man. I felt that the way he was wearing a tight shirt or sweating really illustrated how masculine he was, and was much different than the southern, “Gentleman” type. In the movie I felt that the characters obviously are able to embody more of their characteristics and show them. For example in the movie, Blanch had so many facial expressions, and she always spoke in a southern soft-spoken voice. Stella in the movie was...
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...Janet Ng Professor Faunce WRT 102 7 March 2012 Textual Analysis of A Streetcar Named Desire Based on Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan creates an award winning movie that helps readers visualize Stanley’s primal masculinity, the inner torments of the Kowalski women and the clash of the other characters’ problems which create a chaotic mess. Using stage directions in the play, William hints that Blanche is not who she appears to be while the movie subtly sheds light on Blanche’s strange little habits that suggests a bigger issue. The movie also censors many of the main themes in Williams’ play but makes up for it by having its actors flawlessly portray the characters’ emotions, allowing the readers to see the conflict at its full magnitude. Both the movie and the play sympathize with the powerless women by underlining the important theme of women’s dependence on men. Blanche is an insecure, miserable older woman who masks herself as a rich, upper class lady. She continues to shy from reality and seduce men as she cannot comprehend that her reliance on men will ultimately lead to her downfall. “Now run along, now, quickly! It would be nice to keep you, but I’ve got to be good-and keep my hands off children.” (Williams, pg 99) This isn’t the first time that Blanche has put moves on a kid as made evident when she states “I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children.” She clearly hasn’t learned her lesson after losing her job. The scene is even more...
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...Tennessee Williams was a revered playwright. This was because he used a lot of sneaky symbolism in his plays. His symbolism affects the audience by making it think. In A Streetcar Named Desire, one of the many symbols that occurs most frequently is the Varsouviana polka. The polka plays whenever Blanche is thinking about her husband or whenever she is about to panic or lose her grip on something. The first time we hear the Varsouviana tune is in scene one on page twenty eight, line six, when she is talking to Stanley about her husband who died when they were quite younger. Blanche has just arrived from Belle Reve in Laurel, Mississippi to the city of New Orleans to stay with Stella and her husband, Stanley. Stanley tries to make small talk with Blanche while Stella is in the bathroom as they have never met before. As the conversation goes on, Stanley asks Blanche about her previous marriage. As soon as he does, the polka starts to play. This instance of the Varsouviana polka gives more information about Blanche as before we did not know she was married. It adds to the story as before this instance of the polka, we did not know that Blanche was a widow and that she is still upset about her husband dying....
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...The development of fictional characters can occur in brief moments – sometimes, critical events are inconspicuously disguised. When Stanley Kowalski, in A Streetcar Named Desire, is first introducing himself to Blanche DuBois, a screeching cat interrupts their conversation. This cat doesn’t seem out of place – the neighborhood that the Kowalski’s live in is not exactly the most pristine, and besides, the cats act to set the atmosphere of the apartment and the surrounding area. However, a closer look at the scene reveals that these cats are synonymous with Stanley’s violent, animalistic and volatile characteristics. When Stanley is first introduced at the end of Scene I, he is viewed mostly positively, with relatively few hints of his true potential (shown in Scene X). Although Stanley first plays a minor role – as simply Stella’s husband – his significance quickly grows as he advances the plot. In the first...
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...Colors represent one's actions. In A Streetcar Named Desire, red represents Stanley's actions while white represents the opposite of Blanche's actions. Stanley Kowalski is represented by the color red, which symbolizes rage, anger, and power. Stanley is playing poker and he is already been drinking an alcohol beverage. Stella calls him a "drunk- animal thing" which then triggers Stanley because he isn't used to being called that and he sees himself as the man of the house and to be called that sparks his anger. Stanley "charges after Stella" he takes her down and begins to punch her as if she was a man. Stella is already pregnant with his baby at this point, this all happened because he was drunk at the time and his anger caused him to...
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...In the story Desiree's Baby, Desiree, and Armand experience passionate feelings for and get hitched, they are both white and live in a southern town when slavery was still around. When they had their baby things begin to get unpleasant between them, the reason being, the baby was conceived dark. It was fascinating to me that it was naturally expected this needed to do with the mother, Desiree, and nothing to do with Armand, the father. Desiree went frantic she denied being dark, “It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand,” she laughed hysterically.” (Chopin 506). However, was yet appalled in the way he had a child that was conceived dark. At last, when Desiree kept in touch with her mom and her mom...
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...Tennessee Williams utilizes the symbol of the paper lantern to underline the differing characters of Blanche and Stanley who stand in contrast concerning their attitudes towards light. As to why she bought the lantern Blanche states, "I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action" (Williams 60). With negative word choice of 'rude', 'vulgar' and 'naked', she emphasizes her distaste of being exposed in the light and into reality. The paper lantern that Blanche brings into their home symbolizes her desire to cover up anything and make it appear tantalizing. Her life mirrors that of the lightbulb and the lantern, as she hides her faults and insecurities and reinvents herself. While the lantern solidifies Blanche as a symbol of illusion, it is the interaction between Stanley and the lantern that solidifies the theme of illusion and reality....
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...Many plays and books have been adapted into a movie. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, is one of the plays who have been made into a movie. It takes place in the 1940s in New Orleans. The main character in the movie is Blanche DuBois, a women with a questionable behavior. In A streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is described in detail through symbolism by drunkenness, light, and music. Drunkenness is one of the most obvious symbolisms in the movie. It represents escape for Blanche when things go wrong or she feels uncomfortable. When she firsts arrives to New Orleans, she finds herself at a bowling alley, and orders drinks so she can explain where she believes she has been. The same thing occurred when Mitch confronts Blanche...
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...Mélanie Urvoy English 102-005 13 February 2012 Research paper A Conflict as a Poker Game In the early twentieth century, women were still dependent on men. It was difficult for a woman to have a job and be financially independent. In addition, at this time, women had to keep their virginity to have a chance to get married. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is placed in the picturesque French Quarter in New Orleans. The play starts when Blanche DuBois comes in New Orleans to visit her sister Stella after she lost the family plantation Belle-Reve because of money problems. She then meets her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, a World War II veteran. As soon as they meet each other, a mistrustful rivalry starts between them. A Streetcar Named Desire depicts the conflict between two opposing views as a poker game between Blanche and Stanley for control. From the beginning of the play, Williams starts distinguishing Stanley and Blanche by their mentalities. In fact, Blanche has the Old South mentality. She grew up in a plantation where she learnt how to behave as an aristocrat whereas her brother-in-law is an industrial and a Polish immigrant representing the New South. Blanche is described as delicate and fragile whereas Stanley is rude and violent. Blanche lives in a world of illusion. She acts as a queen and wants the men to treat her like it. Unlike Blanche, Stanley lives in a rude world, a world where if a person are strong enough physically and mentally, he...
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