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A Streetcar Named Desire Change And Loss

952 Words4 Pages

The inevitability of change and loss are presented as central and complex ideas in both William’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry collection ‘Mean Time’. Characters in both works of literature struggle with the acceptance of change, an intrinsic human fear. Through setting, characterisation and allegory, Duffy and Williams present relatable characters who cower in the face of change. Loss is also an ineluctable element of life; both Duffy and Williams understand this and intelligently indicate this using a variety of poetic and dramatic techniques.
Point 1: Change and loss are central ideas in the presentation of relationships
MAIN POINT (ASCND): Relationships are used in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ to expose the …show more content…

His attitude to Stella (and women as a whole) is enduring through the duration of the play. His unwavering misogynistic attitude is demonstrated by the stage direction […his fingers find the opening of her blouse]
TERMINOLOGY: Williams exaggerates the syllables of the proper noun ‘Stella’ which has connotations of aggression and violence, revealing Stanley’s nature to the audience. The latter syllable of the name is naturally stressed with a harsh intonation in the English language. This creates the interjection ‘ahh’ with connotations of fear and pain possibly indicating a more genuine side to Stanley. This possibility is forgotten with the progression of event and the aforementioned stage direction showing him to be a static …show more content…

In response to Stanley’s animalistic cry of her name, [her eyes go blind with tenderness…] showing her deep affection and sexual desire towards Stanley and above all demonstrating her desire to stay with him. However, Williams shows this to be affected by change as after the rape of Blanche, Stella comments that she ‘couldn’t’ believe Blanches story and stay with Stanley.
TERMINOLOGY: Williams uses the adjective ‘Blind’ to show Stanley and Stellas relationship is based on deep desire rather than truthfulness. When coupled with the abstract noun ‘tenderness’ Williams portrays Stella as ignoring Stanley’s faults due to her own infatuation with him. This is shown to morph to denying Blanches accusation- not for selfish needs but for the protection of her child and self. The contracted version of the colloquial phrase ‘could not’ shows an internal conflict between her need to protect her child and love for her sister (as well as continuing the dialect of New

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Stella’s sister, Blanche, sees through the illusion and can see how toxic the marriage really is. Stanley and Blanche come from distinctly different backgrounds, Stanley is from the working class while Blanche comes from wealth. Williams uses these two contrasting points of views on marriage, to show the issues of possessiveness, class, and sexism. When it comes to Stanley’s marriage to Stella, one of the most notable characteristics is how possessive Stanley is. An example of this is when Stanley found out that Blanche and therefore Stella, lost their estate.

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She brings this sense of superiority to Stella who unintentionally tries to distinguish her background from Stanley as well. Stanley recognizes the fact that Blanche looks down on him forcing him to assert his masculinity over her. Stanley’s dominance over the household and Stella is being questioned upon Blanche’s

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In other words, Stella is very aware that her sexual relationship with Stanley can help her sort out any problems between them. Also, shortly before Stanley rapes Blanche, Williams says in the stage directions that there were “inhuman voices like cries in the jungle” (399; sc. 10). Blanche, which means white wood, is out of her element in this jungle of Stanley’s and it is she, who once called Stanley “bestial” (322; sc. 4) and “sub-human” (323; sc. 4), who has now found herself being stalked and charged like prey being hunted by an animal. With his sister-in-law present, Stanley has been unable to fulfill his sexual desires and so he releases them out on Blanche.

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Stanley continues to impose his reality onto Blanche, which causes her more anxiety relying more and more on herself to create more of an illusion by creating an admirer for herself, saying that she ended it with Mitch because she does not deserve “deliberate cruelty”, and crating this alter ego for herself as being pure. While Stella is in the hospital, he and Blanche are left alone for the night as she continues bragging about her admiration coming from Sheep Hunt Leigh and how she just got a wire from him. Stanley catches her in her life, finally tearing apart Blanche's illusions. Although Stanley has been a threat to her through his suspicion and empowering masculinity over her, the last scene is where he finally takes final control over her, or symbolically where reality has a final triumph over her illusions. While catching her in the midst of her lies she reveals to Blanche that “[he’s] been on to [Blanche] from the start!”

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It also highlights Stella’s submissive nature, and how she conforms to the sexist societal expectations of a helpless and fragile woman. Although the surrounding male characters disregard Stanley’s abuse, the audience is repulsed by it and identifies it as morally wrong. This shows how Williams is criticising the acceptance of this abusive behaviour in society, using Stella’s dilemma as a victim to plea for a change. Stanley is even abusive when displaying his

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This is made clear through Stanley’s insecurities about inferiority to women and his prolonged struggle to defeat Blanche. Again, this is evident with Blanche and even Stella. Stella is perceived as a static character with no real individuality, and Blanche, who is seemingly more independent, is characterized mostly by her sexuality. Tennessee Williams demonstrates society’s need for the superiority of men to women through the interactions of Stanley and Blanche in the play, their struggles, and their ultimate

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William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire presents a variety of perspectives on relationships, especially addressing the idea that bonds which aren’t bound by trust, loyalty and lust in an even balance will inevitably fail. Tennessee Williams uses the interaction between his characters, predominantly Blanche, Mitch, Stella and Stanley; to express a variety of ideas regarding relationships. These connections can be witnessed in scenes 2, 3, 6 and 11, through the use of stage directions, dialogue and expressionism to display different perspectives of character interaction. Trust acts as the foundation to any relationship, establishing a strong link between individuals and without it, the connection will eventually disintegrate.

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