A Streetcar Named Desire
In this assignment what we have to do in this essay is to write a how Tennessee Williams uses dramatic devise of conflict in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' in the essay we have to include different types of conflict in the play which makes it very exiting.
The play takes place right after World War II, in New Orleans.
The Kowalski apartment is in a poor but charming neighbourhood in the French Quarter. Stella, twenty-five years old and pregnant, lives with her blue collar husband Stanley Kowalski. It is summertime, and the heat is oppressive. Blanche Dubois, Stella's older sister, arrives unexpectedly, carrying all that she owns. Blanch and Stella have a warm reunion, but Blanch has some bad news: Belle Reve, the family mansion, has been lost. Blanche stayed behind to care for their dying family while Stella left to make a new life for herself, and Blanche is resentful. Blanche meets Stanley for the first time, and immediately she feels uncomfortable. We learn that Blanche was once married, when she was very young, but the boy died.
The situation grows more and more tense. Stanley initially distrusts Blanche, thinking that she's swindled them; the idea is ludicrous, and eventually Stanley realizes that Blanche is hardly the swindling type. But the animosity between the two never stops. Blanche takes long baths, criticizes the squalor of the apartment, and irritates Stanley. Stanley's roughness bothers Blanche; he makes no effort to be gentle with her. One night, the night when Stanley hosts a poker game, he gets too drunk and beats Stella. The women go up to their upstairs neighbours' apartment, but soon Stella returns to Stanley, the two coupling with an animal-like need. Blanche is shocked by these events. That night, she also meets Mitch, and there is an immediate mutual attraction between the two.
The next day, Stanley overhears Blanche saying terrible things about him. From that time on, he devotes himself fully to her destruction. Blanche has a shady past in Laurel. In her loneliness, during the last days of Belle Reve and after the mansion was lost, she turned to strangers for comfort. Her numerous amorous encounters destroyed her reputation in Laurel, leading to her loss of her job as a high school English teacher and her near-expulsion from town.
Tensions build in the apartment throughout the summer. Blanche and Stanley look on each other as mortal enemies, ...
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The next day, Stanley overhears Blanche saying terrible things about him. From that time on, he devotes himself fully to her destruction. Blanche has a shady past in Laurel. In her loneliness, during the last days of Belle Reve and after the mansion was lost, she turned to strangers for comfort. Her numerous amorous encounters destroyed her reputation in Laurel, leading to her loss of her job as a high school English teacher and her near-expulsion from town.
Tensions build in the apartment throughout the summer. Blanche and Stanley look on each other as mortal enemies, and Blanche turns increasingly to alcohol for comfort. Stanley bides his time.
Stanley looks into Blanche's past, and he passes the information on to Mitch. Although previously it seemed that Blanche might marry Mitch, after he learns the truth he loses all interest. In autumn, on Blanche's birthday, Mitch stands her up. Stanley presents Blanche with her gift: bus tickets back to Laurel. Blanche is overcome by sickness; she cannot return to Laurel, and Stanley knows it. As Blanche is ill in the bathroom, Stella fights with Stanley over the cruelty of his act. Mid-fight, she tells him to take her to the hospital: the baby is coming.
That night, Blanche packs and drinks. Mitch arrives. He confronts her with the stories of her past, and she tells him, in lurid detail, the truth about her escapades in Laurel. He approaches her, making advances, wanting what she has denied him all summer. She asks him to marry her, and when he doesn't, she kicks him out of the apartment.
Hours later, Stanley comes home. Stella is still in labour, and will be until morning, so Stanley's getting some sleep. Stanley mercilessly destroys Blanche's illusions, one by one, and then rapes her.
Weeks later, another poker game is being held at the Kowalski apartment. Blanche has suffered a mental breakdown. She has told Stella what Stanley did, but Stella has convinced herself that it can't be true. A doctor and nurse come and take Blanche away to the asylum. Stella weeps, and Stanley comforts her. The other men continue their poker game as if nothing has happened.
There was a lot of conflict in this play Blanche, Stella and Stanley they were all very different, So when all of them was living in one house certainly it would happen some conflicts, especially Stanley and Blanche, they had characters which extremely different. Blanche as a belle from an aristocratic background, she had her pride from upper class. Stanley is a rude man, who never got an education, he also had his own way to lead his life for example, at scene one, when Stanley and Blanche had a first meeting, from their conversation I think that Stanley already found that Blanche wasn't an honest person. She always wanted to gloss her ugly sides from other people. (p.30) Then during their talking, the black cat appeared before Blanche again, that interrupted their conversation. In this point, I think maybe cat's screech can be symbolic of Stanley's characters or rude behaviours, however, he hadn't showed at that time and that let Blanche felt very uncomfortable. As for the first time Blanche saw the cat when she arrived at this place, she was startled by it. It strengthened the horrid atmosphere at that place and the fear in Blanche's mind. In fact, I think Blanche always wanted to show her politeness to Stanley and all the people in there. And she tried her best to adjust herself to that environment. However, Stanley refused her good intention. For example, at the poker night, when she showed her kindness to Stanley's friends, but Stanley put a damper on her (p.48).
I think that because from the first time, Stanley had a deep prejudice against Blanche, he thought that Blanche didn't tell the truth of her past. She deceived Stella and pretended that she was very miserable. I think Blanche was a little bit wicked, because her marriage was very unhappy and she had already suffered a lot from losing her husband. However, when she saw Stella and Stanley were so happy when they together, she felt jealous in her heart. So I think that why she persuaded Stella to leave that violent life. But she failed. Stella chose brutish love rather than a better life.
Then I think another reason that caused the conflict between Stanley and Blanche is their selfish thoughts. Stella played an important role at this point. After Stanley hit Stella maddeningly, Blanche tried to persuade Stella to leave Stanley and that horrid place. On the other hand, Stanley always attacked Blanche's painful points, which she tried to forget them, and began a new life. And he let Stella thought that Blanche was an unbelievable person. At last Stanley succeeds. He used Stella's love toward him defeated his enemy-Blanche. From scene four, we can see Stanley's wicked expression "Over her head he grins through the curtains at Blanche." Maybe we also can be explained to that lower class defeated upper class.
Then the last conflict between Stanley and Blanche was when Stella in the hospital. Blanche and Stanley left alone in house. Blanche still tried all her effort to cover up the fact. However Stanley exposed all her frauds without any sympathy. His attitude let Blanche felt very uneasy and disappointed. This event brought Blanche to a crazy situation. Then Blanche he insulted by Stanley forced her became insane. I think that maybe her mad behaviour could let her escaped from the quilt she did before and from being poisoned.
All this conflict made Blanche suicide by getting poisoned.
Tayyab Chaudhry English coursework