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Entitlement In A Streetcar Named Desire

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The Reality of Male Entitlement
In the play “Streetcar Named Desire” written by the award winning playwright Tennessee Williams highlights the uncontrollable reality of male entitlement; and the harsh tragedies that may unfold when one's entitlement is threatened.
“That’s how I’ll clear the table![ He seizes her arm] Don’t ever talk that way to me! ‘ pig-polack-disgusting-vulgar-greasy!”- them kind of words have been on your tongue and your sisters too much around here! What do you two think you are? A pair of queens? Remember what Huey Long said-’Every man is a king” and I am the king around here, so don’t forget it! (Williams 107). Tennessee Williams character Stanley Kowalski is a man of great boldness, just as every man tends to be at more than one point in their life. Speaking so freely and rudely to his wife Stella …show more content…

Does the status of a relationship set the limits on when a man feels he is owed sex? The topic of rape is always a sticky conversation and always has been over the years, it was not until recently that openly speaking about rape, date rape and even rape within a relationship has become almost okay. “In the culture of rape and disrespect for women that the film points to continues unabated 25 years later, despite efforts, of writers, journalist,filmmakers,educators,television producers, and a few lawmakers to hold aggressors responsible and accountable.”( Thelma and Louise. Rose 1). For woman this topic is a roller coaster of emotional up and downs that we have either personally felt or know of another woman who has but yet men are never along for the ride when their entitlement is questioned. The character Stanley Kowalski was played by Marlon Brando, a well recognized actor who at the time had the hearts of many women around the world during the span of his

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In the autobiography, Farewell to Manzanar, Woody Wakatsuki, the main character's brother, shows actions that reveal who he is as a character. Woody is always positive and lighthearted, even at the hardest of times. The first way that Woody shows his lighthearted attitude is when he jokes around. " 'You get those covered up before breakfast time. Any more sand comes in here through one of them knotholes, you have to eat it off the floor with ketchup"' (Wakatsuki-Huston 25).

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At the time, society’s norms led Stanley to believe that ‘“Every Man is a King!”’ and that he was the king over his own household (Williams, Scene 8 page 131). This ideal influenced Stanley to be power hungry and abusive, which negatively affected his relationship with his wife Stella. However, Stanley never gave up on Stella when she ran away because he was determined to be a good husband (Williams, Scene 3 page 65).

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That is why he hates Blanche because she is not the same as the girls he has seen. He sees her as a threat in the sense that she will ruin the marriage between Stella and Stanley. However, he has feelings of self conscious and feels threatened because he feels like she can ruin him. He hates that Stella and Blanche were always wealthy and he feels as if they look down on him for being poor. He does not feeling submissive which is why he reacts harshly most of the time.

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After having been performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in 1946, A Streetcar Named Desire brought about much controversy. At first it seemed that much of the controversy stemmed from the unpleasantness with which the subject was presented, such as the vulgar, unprecedented topics acted out on stage. George Jean Nathan, an original critic of the play, touched upon the vulgar manner of the drama, calling it “The Glands Menagerie.” (Bak, “Criticism on a Streetcar Named Desire”) Perhaps the more pressing reason as to why this play was received controversially, however, is a result of its cynical nature.

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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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In the play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, the main character, Blanche DuBois, travels to New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella, and Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski. Throughout the play, sexulaity is seen as a strong motivator for many of the characters actions. Early in the play, Stanley is introduced as a particularly sexual character, “ Since earliest manhood the center of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence... He sizes women up with a glance, with sexual classifications…” (Williams 25).

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Playwright Tennessee Williams once said “a symbol in a play has only one legitimate purpose which is to say a thing more directly and simply and beautifully than it could be said in words”. He seems to take his own advice to heart when writing such a thought provoking play as A Streetcar Named Desire. While Williams makes extensive use of symbols in Streetcar, the use of animals and animal-like characteristics as a symbol are constantly used to define Stanley Kowalski’s character and convey his desires as primal and ferine. Stanley has the first line in the play and is immediately characterized by Williams with the use of his stage direction “bellowing” (Williams 244; sc. 1). Like a wild animal, Stanley has a desire for unrefinement and

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Stereotypical gender roles have existed as long as human culture has, becoming a natural part of all of our lives. Within each gender lies a variety of stereotypes and expectations. Most notably for men they are often depicted as tough and the family provider. Whereas women are often shown to be soft and vulnerable. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire the author; Tennessee Williams illustrates the main characters, Stanley, Stella, Mitch and Blanche with these stereotypes.

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Williams was very resistant to the emerging conservative ideals of the time period, which is perhaps because of his own experiences with an alternative lifestyle. In the play, Williams intertwines the past and present by using symbols such as characters, places, and music embedded in the stage directions to show how society should embrace the new values and morals that are emerging as the past dies. Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski are the two main characters that Williams uses to intertwine the past and present together and represent the differences in the old and new worlds. In the beginning of the

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The themes of violence and power in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ hold an important role in the criticism of 1940s American society. Conflicts perpetuated by violence and power, such as abusive relationships and violent oppression are projected through the characters within the play.  Williams uses these conflicts to highlight his criticisms of faltering values and social norms, from the perspective of an individual constrained by the expectations of a strict, Southern society. To begin with, there is an indefinite violence between men and women within ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Stanley Kowalski, a focal character, is the epitome of male dominance and primitive aggression.

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As soon as Blanche steps into the Kowalski household and meets Stanley, it is evident that her appearance is a threat to his superiority. Both characters attempt to establish dominance through their control over Stella, a minor character who exists mainly to deepen the contrast between Blanche and Stanley. In scene four, Blanche advises Stella to leave her abusive husband and attempts to influence her by saying “I have a plan for us both, to get us both—out!” (69).

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In “A Streetcar named Desire,” Stanley and Mitch as the faces of men and masculinity inside this play. Stanley is a sweet, intelligent, caring, and sometimes, violent. Stanley is a violent man when he is drunk. This scene is the poker night; Stanley is having a lot of friends and having a lot of drinks; He is already drunk. Blanche turns on the radio stanley says to Blanche “turn if off” (Williams 54).

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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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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 the 1940’s men were thought of as the heirs to women. Tennessee Williams uses Stanley Kowalski as a model for how cruel and unusual men treated women at the time. Throughout the film Stanley is seen as a very abusive man with absolutely no right judgement. In today’s society the way he treats women would be morally unacceptable. However, during the 1940’s this sadistic man was seen as a true man.

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