Blanche and Stanley

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The play has been read as a symbolic exploration of the conflict

between the north and south and between a lost past and a harsh present.

How far can you argue the appropriateness of such a reading through an exploration of the conflict between Blanche and Stanley.

Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire reflects upon the dark aspects of humanity and the result of these social downfalls, symbolised by the Deep South and the new world. The play seems to focus on the extremes of human brutality: madness, rape, nymphomania and violent deaths. Williams often commented on the violence in his own work, which to him seemed part of the human condition. Critics, who attacked these extremes of his work, were often making an attack on his sexuality. A Streetcar Named Desire shows the conflict between traditional values of an old-world of graciousness and refined beauty versus the thrusting, rough edged, physically aggressive new world.

The conflict between the two ways of life is concentrated within the battle between the two protagonists Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski. The old civilisation vested in Blanche and the modern in the virile figure of Stanley.

The two are like chalk and cheese, the result of their different lifestyles, status and culture. Blanche, an educated woman of wealthy, aristocratic Creole descent and symbolically the last of the Dubois lineage of 19th century plantation owners, is innately refined, “prim and proper,” on the surface but in societies eyes is a fallen woman; a metaphor for the corrupt ideas; slavery, racism etc everlastingly associated with the deep south. Nevertheless, Tennessee Williams was fond of old southern values [“A Life” Elia Kazan”] and on many an occasion the audience is bought to sympathy and compassion for Blanche and the diminishing of the old south.

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Stanley Kowalski emerges from a poor, “decaying” rural setting in New Orleans and his actions personify his unashamed barbarity.  Stanley’s speech is coarsely uneducated and his actions display instinctive crudeness. There is evidently something in his behaviour which evokes the idea of a hunter or predator, “Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red stained package from the butchers” the constant repetition of animalistic terms, “pig,” “ape-like,” “licking his lips,” “grunting,” “stealthily,” enforce this idea of an aggressive predator but also emphasises Blanche’s view of the uncivilised “primitive” character. Nonetheless Stanley appears somewhat more rational than Blanche as she reminisces in her ...

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**** 4 stars This is a well written essay which shows a clear understanding of the play and focuses on the question. There is evidence of wider reading and research, a knowledge of contextual factors and the inclusion of comments from critics. In places interesting points need further exploration and more textual references are needed to fully explore some ideas.