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A Streetcar Named Desire Class Structure Essay

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Recommended: The concept of the american dream

Conventional ideas that are attacked by writers after World War II included the concepts held up during previous times in American history. The first aspect that comes to mind is the motivations of the American Dream and how that is interpreted. Next, the subject of a nuclear family and how the family structure is relevant. Finally taking a look at class structure and how class changes with writers documenting for all to see. Using stories written after the war gives the perspectives of people who had historically been through a roller-coaster of highs and lows.

It may be safe to say that no one things of war as the American Dream. Authors have, over time, given different views on what the American Dream means. Some purist point to the founding fathers statements. However, those statements are general enough to leave room for interpretation. In order to make this point, just ask a number of people how they interpret pursuit of …show more content…

From the time of the aristocracies to the bourgeoisie and the paupers we have labeled classes. It can be simplified to those of different levels of wealth and influence. Tennessee Williams is credited with emphasizing the problems faced by different classes in the story “A Streetcar Named Desire”. In this vision we are greeted with colorful characters that can be identified through class structure. Stanley, is portrayed as the common man (lower class) set against Blanche’s southern belle (upper class) classification. Blanche does a great job of voicing her displeasure with the surroundings when describing her sisters living conditions “This--can this be--her home?” (Williams 1118). The story goes on to illustrate how Blanche, raised accustomed to a lifestyle, coped with being transferred to a different social class. Williams does so while rounding out the sub classes in the structure that is

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This passage has been extracted from Act I Scene I of Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire. In this extraction, Blanche sees and interacts with her younger sister, Stella, for the first time in many years. Upon this reunification, Blanche is forced to take in the discrepancies between her fantasy expectation of what their reunion will be like and the reality of how her baby sister looks, acts, and lives. As Blanche dwells on how different the Dubois’ plantation Belle Reve is compared to Stella’s current social status and living conditions, Blanche’s unadulterated character is easily scrutinized.

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The 1951 film version of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, gives a visualization of the working-class Americans in the 1940’s. The film gave a better understanding of the characters, and their perspective as their lifestyle was brought to life. The household of the average working-class is depicted in the opening scene when Blanche comes to visit Stella and sees her apartment. The apartment is broken down and located on a small street in New Orleans. It is small, with ‘two’ rooms separated by a curtain.

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In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the main characters, Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski, share a great dislike and distrust towards one another, ultimately becoming the basis for the story’s conflict. Their common contemption stems from their contrasting personalities and backgrounds, their incompatibility of being able to function under the same environment, and inability to adapt to the situations they find themselves in. Although Blanche detests Stanley and the manner in which he behaves in, she realises that he is a necessary part for Stella’s life in New Orleans, an environment that greatly differs from the southern aristocracy that Stella and Blanche once lived in. Blanche expresses this idea by stating, “Oh,

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My scene is much more pessimistic about Blanche's future due to the unrealistically hopeful ending from the 1951, Streetcar Named Desire movie which displayed a brighter future for Stella and Blanche. Williams’ writing is strongly grounded in realism; due to the conditions for women at the time, the ending just didn’t seem realistic. Even though in the play Williams actually portrays a sense of hope for Blanche in the ending. The state of mental institutes in the 1940s would possibly push Blanche into mental oblivion and inevitable suicide emphasising a realistic ending for the

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Music plays a huge role in the plot and character developments throughout A Streetcar Named Desire by revealing hidden truths about the characters. The inclusion of the musical composition It’s Only A Paper Moon leads to deeper discoveries: the exposures of Blanche and Stanley’s true identities. By contrasting It’s Only A Paper Moon with Stanley’s aggressive dialogue during scene seven, Tennessee Williams forces viewers to side with Blanche and her internal belief that in order to live a life where you are truly happy, it is necessary to forsake some truths and start anew.

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A Streetcar Named Desire Literary Analysis The late 1940’s were characterized by the emergence out of World War II that led to a dependence on the idea of The American Dream, which meant men were working harder to achieve a more comforting lifestyle and opportunity while women were still fighting the oppression of caused by unequal representation. This idealistic dream is illustrated throughout Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire”, which has a rigid dichotomy between illusion and reality revealed throughout multiple characters and their dysfunctional lives that are a direct result between fantasy and actuality. Illusion is taken advantage of as an alternative to the unfair circumstances that the characters in “A Streetcar Named

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Not only has Tennesse Williams portrayed Stella and Blanche to be seen as delicate and dependent, our own society has created this image but this not only affects how individuals see themselves but affects relationships immensely. Tennessee Williams reinforces the stereotype in which women are often the victims of unfortunate fate within the usage of the character Blanche. Throughout the whole play, we have witnessed Blanche being on the bitter end of life's miseries as she has encountered the tough loss of Belle Reve, dealing with her ex-husband's suicide and the loss of her relationship with Mitch. Arguably, the expectations and beliefs of women were either to be a housewife or a mother, whereas Blanche shows neither, as a result of automatically feeling out of place possibly leading to her downfall. Blanche was constantly fantasizing about the traditional values of a southern gentlemen, proving her dependence on this sex.

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The Fight for Dominance In today’s society, gender norms convince men that unless they are able to control women, they are weak. Considered the inferior gender, women must find new ways to prove their own strength, whether it be through manipulation or their sexuality. The battle between the two continues as men strive to remain dominant, often by immoral means, and women attempt to gain the upper hand. In the screenplay, “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, the sexual tension and struggle for dominion between Blanche and Stanley is evident, and as the play continues, Blanche's promiscuity and Stanley's predatory nature foreshadow an inevitable confrontation.

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In the avid pursuit of happiness, an individual can feel compelled to fabricate the truth about themselves in order to achieve the joy that they believe they deserve. The harsh truth of reality can force us to turn to the warmth of a fantasy to ease us in our search of contentment. Such is the case in Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where sisters, Blanche and Stella both lie to themselves and others in order to become satisfied with their lives. Through the eyes of the beholder, happiness is measured differently; to Blanche, happiness is measured in wealth, particularly a wealthy man, whereas to Stella, happiness is in the comfort of a husband whom she refuses to call abusive. When we are first introduced to Blanche, Williams

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Regardless of the large scale industrialization that helped the United States regain relative economic stability, there still existed a strong, radically socialist movement within the United States. In his play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams focuses on material possessions as well as the socioeconomic class tensions between characters to accentuate the forces of exploitation and oppression that exists and form a capitalist society. Social class is better explained by German economist and sociologist Karl Marx who theorised

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Williams uses the expressionist technique “The ‘Varsouviana’ is filtered into weird distortion, accompanied by the cries and noises of the jungle” to parallel Blanche’s inner mind and depicts Blanche’s deranged mental state after Stella’s betrayal. The imagery ‘Lurid reflections appear on the walls in odd, sinuous shapes’ highlights her mental turbulence and the stage directions ‘mysterious voices behind walls, as if reverberated through a canyon of rock…the echo sounds in threatening whispers’ heightens tension, positioning the audience to witness the overwhelming fear and exaggeration of her senses, further emphasising the detrimental impact Stella’s decision made. The Streetcar Named Desire also examines the influence that a person’s social standing can have. Stanley’s statement in scene 2 ‘The Kowalskis and Dubois have different notions’ indicates their social upbringing has influenced the way they think, hence disrupting their connection and loyalty towards one another. The use of their family name is metonymic for their ancestry and social standing, addressing the barriers derived from a social hierarchy which have affected their relationship.

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Tennessee Williams wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Williams, 1947) It is based in New Orleans a new cosmopolitan city which is poor but has raffish charm. The past is representing old south in America 1900’s and present is representing new America post world war 2 in 1940’s. Past and present are intertwined throughout the play in the characters Stanley, Blanche, Stella and mitch. Gender roles show that males are the dominant and rule the house which Stanley is prime example as he brings home food and we learn of one time when he got cross and he smashed the light bulbs.

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In A Streetcar Named Desire, the author Tennessee Williams exaggerates and dramatizes fantasy’s incapability to overcome reality through an observation of the boundary between Blanches exterior and interior conveying the theme that illusion and fantasy are often better than reality. Blanche, who hides her version of the past, alters her present and her relationship with her suitor Mitch and her sister, Stella. Blanche was surrounded by death in her past, her relatives and husband have passed away, leaving her with no legacy left to continue. The money has exhausted; the values are falling apart and she is alienated and unable to survive in the harsh reality of modern society. Throughout the novel Williams juxtaposed Blanche’s delusions with

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“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a very elegant film in which the Southern gothic culture is demonstrated profoundly. Tennessee Williams uses the characters in the play to bring about a sense of how corrupt society truly was in the 1940’s in the South. The 1940’s was marked by an immense amount of violence, alcoholism, and poverty. Women at the time were treated as objects rather than people. Throughout the play Tennessee Williams relates the aspects of Southern society to the characters in the play.

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