Sairah Ali 12 DEV
Can we view Stanley sympathetically in scene 3?
However to be able to view Stanley sympathetically we need to understand his emotion and mentality, before we make a full judgment on him. I personally feel Stanley is a harsh character but I also believe he is pushed into doing such actions and I cannot help feel that if Blanche had not visited none of this would have happened. In this particular scene I do sympathise with Stanley and I will go into greater detail to explain why I commiserate with his character.
Stanley Kowalski is a very interesting and controlling character, although the usual reaction is to see him as a brute because of the way that he treats the delicate Blanche. But this dislike would stem from too much identification with Blanche. Stanley Kowalski lives in a basic, fundamental world which does not allow any form of disruption. He is the sort of man that likes to lay his cards on the table, and does not appreciate people who put on airs.
To the over-sensitive person, such as Blanche, Stanley represents a holdover from the Stone Age. He is brutal and determined to destroy that which is not his. His animal-like actions reinforce this idea, he eats like an animal and grunts his approval or disapproval. When aroused to anger, he strikes back throwing things, such as the radio in scene three, "with a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out of the window". or he strikes his wife, "there is a sound of a blow, Stella cries out". Stanley is a man of physical action.
However I consider Stanley to have more feelings than Blanche cares to admit or even consider. Blanche is a foreign element, who Stanley feels is a threat to his marriage. Therefore when a basic man like Stanley is threatened, he must strike back. It is a survival of the fittest. Stanley initially feels threatened when he finds out the Belle Reve has been lost. He does not care for Belle Reve as a bit of ancestral property, but, instead, he feels that a part of it is his. "it looks to me like you have been swindled, baby, and when you're swindled under the Napoleonic code I'm swindled too. And I don't like to be swindled." this quotation was said by Stanley after being told that Belle Reve had been lost. He has lost property, something that had belonged to him. He probes into the problem without tact or diplomacy. He goes straight to the truth without any shortcuts. His only concern is to discover whether he has been cheated. Stanley has every reason to be annoyed and frustrated with Blanche, the only thing that can actually be held against him is that fact the he has no interest in Blanches feelings, however given the circumstances this is understandable.
Can we view Stanley sympathetically in scene 3?
However to be able to view Stanley sympathetically we need to understand his emotion and mentality, before we make a full judgment on him. I personally feel Stanley is a harsh character but I also believe he is pushed into doing such actions and I cannot help feel that if Blanche had not visited none of this would have happened. In this particular scene I do sympathise with Stanley and I will go into greater detail to explain why I commiserate with his character.
Stanley Kowalski is a very interesting and controlling character, although the usual reaction is to see him as a brute because of the way that he treats the delicate Blanche. But this dislike would stem from too much identification with Blanche. Stanley Kowalski lives in a basic, fundamental world which does not allow any form of disruption. He is the sort of man that likes to lay his cards on the table, and does not appreciate people who put on airs.
To the over-sensitive person, such as Blanche, Stanley represents a holdover from the Stone Age. He is brutal and determined to destroy that which is not his. His animal-like actions reinforce this idea, he eats like an animal and grunts his approval or disapproval. When aroused to anger, he strikes back throwing things, such as the radio in scene three, "with a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out of the window". or he strikes his wife, "there is a sound of a blow, Stella cries out". Stanley is a man of physical action.
However I consider Stanley to have more feelings than Blanche cares to admit or even consider. Blanche is a foreign element, who Stanley feels is a threat to his marriage. Therefore when a basic man like Stanley is threatened, he must strike back. It is a survival of the fittest. Stanley initially feels threatened when he finds out the Belle Reve has been lost. He does not care for Belle Reve as a bit of ancestral property, but, instead, he feels that a part of it is his. "it looks to me like you have been swindled, baby, and when you're swindled under the Napoleonic code I'm swindled too. And I don't like to be swindled." this quotation was said by Stanley after being told that Belle Reve had been lost. He has lost property, something that had belonged to him. He probes into the problem without tact or diplomacy. He goes straight to the truth without any shortcuts. His only concern is to discover whether he has been cheated. Stanley has every reason to be annoyed and frustrated with Blanche, the only thing that can actually be held against him is that fact the he has no interest in Blanches feelings, however given the circumstances this is understandable.
