Southern Society In A Streetcar Named Desire

“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. As the movie goes on it becomes more and more clear what Tennessee Williams is trying to convey to the audience. This being, Southern culture was deeply corrupted in many ways and the society norms of the time period were like a drug that people

She is a very mysterious character with an immense amount of flaws. Although at times of the story she seems to be the villain and antagonist, Blanche can be seen as a hero. Throughout the movie Blanche is found wearing the color white. This color is often related to a sense of purity or innocence. By Blanche’s actions throughout the movie the audience can concur that she is the exact opposite of these attributes. Blanche is a very delicate and sensitive woman, which during this particular time period was a recipe for disaster. She is often abused by her husband and always seems to go back to him like dog who goes back to his owner after being beaten. Blanche seems to be a very profound liar throughout the film. She stretches her stories from what is the truth to what she thinks ought to be the truth. Although Blanche has her flaws, she overall seems to symbolize a hero because of the perseverance she demonstrates throughout the film. Even when she becomes distraught and degraded she tends to try and do what is right. Tennessee Williams makes the reader feel a sense of mercy and pity for Blanche because of all that she goes through. For this determination and strength Blanch can be seen as our

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. During this time men brought in the money for the household, while the mother’s would stay at home and watch over the children of the family. With this came a sense of pride and authority for the men. Throughout the films Stanley continually abuses Blanche and even goes to the extreme of raping her. He exhibits an animal-like man with no awareness of morals. When he gets angry he has no control and proceeds to physical violence. In one particular scene in the movie Stanley becomes furious with Blanche’s disrespect towards him and proceeds to tell her that he is the king of the house and she is to do as he says. It seems that Stanley felt a sense of achievement by making women fear him. Tennessee William uses this wicked man to help the audience see how Southern culture displayed unethical