Cruelty In A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

The Cruelest of the Cruel in A Streetcar Named Desire

German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, ¨Man is the cruelest animal.¨ What Nietzsche means is mankind is a naturally cruel being. Cruelty is a very prominent theme in the play A Streetcar Named Desire. Tennessee Williams, the author of A Streetcar Named Desire vividly illustrates the story of three diverse characters who are confined to live together inside an apartment in the French Quartier of New Orleans, Louisiana. When two of the main characters Stanley and Stella receive an unexpected visit from Stella's sister Blanche, their lives are turned upside down, and they are forced to face the problems that Blanche's past dragged along with her. In the play the constant feuds

Whenever the odds are not in Stanley's favor or he dislikes what is happening he lets violence solve the problem regardless of who he is hurting in the process. In scene three of the play it is a typical poker night at the Kowalski residence, the men are drinking while the women do their own thing in the room over, everyone is having a good time until Stanley gets jealous of Mitch and Blanche as they dance to the vibrant sounds of the radio. Enough is enough for Stanley he gets up and hurls the radio out the window, his wife Stella proceeds to say, ¨Drunk-drunk-animal thing, you! [she rushes through to the poker table] All of you- please go home! If any of you have one spark of decency in you-¨(Williams 62). The previous quote sets up Stanley's next plan of action, although nothing is said the author includes what happens in the following stage directions, “[She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out. Blanche screams and runs into the kitchen. The men rush forward and there is grappling and cursing. Something is overturned with a crash]” (Williams 62). These examples show how cruel and abusive Stanley is because not only did he strike his wife which a man should never do, but he struck his wife while she is pregnant with their child. Stanley is constantly pushing the limits and

Stanley's rudeness is directed towards Blanche which he has had something against from the first time they met, he does not trust her nor does he want to which is why he is constantly rude to her and always trying to bring her down. Throughout the play there is an obvious tension between the two, Stanley feels that Blanche is getting in the way of his relationship with Stella which frustrates him tremendously. He decided to talk with a friend of his named Shaw who knew all about Blanche's past, and told him everything that he wanted to know. With the upper hand over Blanche, Stanley saw the perfect opportunity to finally get her out of his house and unfortunately it would all happen on Blanche's birthday. Stanley told Stella all about Blanche who was in shock and found it hard to believe that her sister could be so different than what she thought. Along with Stanley´s multiple rude comments that he makes throughout the play he also remarks, ¨ Blanche Sister Blanche is no lily! Ha-Ha! Some lily she is!” (Williams 119). This quote shows Stanley's cruelty because he is willing to destroy Blanche's birthday for his own selfish purposes to get Blanche out of his