How Does Tennessee Williams Dramatize the Differences Between Stanley and Blanche in Scenes I and II?
TW (Tennessee Williams) depicts Blanche and Stanley as two very different people, who represent two very different things. He dramatizes this in many different ways.
The first description of Blanche is about her appearance (page 5). “Her appearance is incongruous to this setting”. This is the first sign that the book gives that Blanche is going to be very different from everyone else there and that she will be out of place. It means that whatever Blanche is like her setting will be completely different to what she is and she will stand out. The next sentence is; “She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district.” Blanche is completely dressed in white, and even her name is French for white. This gives the appearance of innocence, youth and beauty. The fact that she looks dressed for a garden party means that that is the sort of society she is used to and she was not expecting to arrive in a place so far from what she expected. The next part is; “She is about five years older than Stella.” The page before says that Stella is about twenty-five, so that means that Blanche is about thirty, however, by the way she is dressed she appears like she is younger by wearing only white which usually symbolises virginity. Next the text says; “Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light.” This shows that she is older so she is not as beautiful as she used to be so she avoids the light so people will not to be able to see that she is actually quite older. Later Stella and Stanley find out that all of the clothes and jewellery that she has all looks expensive, but it is actually old or just made to look expensive. The last sentence is; “There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth.” Here the writer is literally comparing her to a moth. Blanche represents the old America, with the plantations and the partide, where people would have garden parties. She comes from the French settlers who came to America.
