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Streetcar Named Desire Compare And Contrast Essay

936 Words4 Pages

The Same but Different In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams a plethora of characters present themselves, but two clash more than other in the entire play. Those two characters are Stanley Kowalski and Blanche Dubois and they had completely different upbringings. Stanley grew up quite poor and without manners being a necessity, while Blanche grew up with a rich and elegant lifestyle. Stanley constantly attempts to get rid of Blanche, and Blanche always tries to get Stella to leave his home. This leads to majority of those reading the play towards thinking false thoughts about them. Although many believed Blanche and Stanley are polar opposites due to how much they fight, they are actually extremely similar in regard to …show more content…

Stanley is married to Stella, and always shows intense passion for his wife. They have a strong sexual relationship, and in fact it seems as though the whole relationship is based off sex. After Stanley hit Stella in scene four, Stella said, “I am not in anything that I have a desire to get out of.” (74) to Blanche. Although Stanley physically abused his wife, Stella instantly forgave him because of his attractiveness, and thinks nothing of the situation. Blanche tries talking sense into her sister, but it does no good because Stella refuses to see past Stanley’s attractiveness. Blanche receives the same treatment from Mitch in the play. For example, in scene six, Mitch said, “Can I--uh--kiss you-goodnight?” (102). This just shows how much Blanche controlled in the relationship. A normal kiss between a man and woman involves the man taking a chance with that kiss. In this case Mitch felt the need to ask for permission from Blanche. While in certain cases some may find this “cute”, it actually shows that Blanche controls every situation, even one as spontaneous as a kiss. Mitch practically acted like Blanche’s slave and would do anything for her at the drop of a hat. Stanley and Blanche are completely alike in the regard that they abuse power through their

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