"Each of these two characters is fundamentally incomplete." Examine the contrasting personalities of Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski in the light of this comment.

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Oct 13                                                                        Daniella De Silva

“Each of these two characters is fundamentally incomplete.”  Examine the contrasting personalities of Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski in the light of this comment.

To examine these characters, their backgrounds must first be uncovered.  Blanche is a middle aged, former Southern Belle.  She grew up in a dream world, on a beautiful country estate called Belle Reve.  Her entire childhood was spent doing whatever it was that she pleased and being waited on by the family’s servants.  She was never forced to work hard, unlike Stanley.  He grew up in America: More than likely right there in Elysian Fields.  He too enjoyed his childhood, although they were very different from each other.  Stanley has had to work hard all of his life for things that he wanted or cared about.  These different upbringings and ideas on life create their personalities to clash continually.  

Blanche, although she portrays quite a self-controlled character, has endured some tough situations.  She mentions in the play how while trying to hang on to Belle Reve and her childhood, she, “stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it.”  She also mentions her dead husband and how the music, especially the Varsouviana makes her reminisce on him and the homosexual situation.  She tries to escape from the reality of these things by “misrepresenting things” to people and she does not “tell the truth.”  One place that she finds this magic that she seeks for, is in the bedroom.  Here, she can run things and does not have to worry about what is to come for her.  She thrives on this “magic” although she eventually becomes insane.  

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Unlike Blanche, Stanley has been portrayed as basic and primitive.  Blanche even goes so far as to call him an “animal”, a “Polac” and Stella calls him a “pig”, a “swine”.  Blanche also maintains her calling him simple, common, basic and he is always referred to in the text, with primary colors, which symbolizes this.  Although he is slightly upset about the loss of Belle Reve and, at first, refuses to admit it, his unhappiness is not due to the desire of magic; it is because that was his dream, his hope of the good life.  He was curious ...

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