I will be writing about the text, A Streetcar Named Desire. I have chosen this text because I find it particularly interesting, especially with the given topic of this class as “dysfunctional couples”. The topic I will discuss in this text is that of the relationship between Blanche and Stanley. I will be trying to answer a question that is quite central to the plot of this story, why does Stanley feel this urge to expose Blanche for her true self? I argue that it is not because of his down-to-earth personality, or even for the good of his wife, but for his own selfish and arrogant agenda. Blanche is the protagonist of the play while Stanley is quite obviously the antagonist, and their conflict is the source of interest throughout the play.
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Scene one at the very beginning of the play, with his wife Stella, is where I will begin my analysis. As Stanley is making his way home from work with a package of meat, he decides to heave the package of meat at Stella (page 5). As Stella “cries out in protest”, she catches the package and ends the encounter with a breathless laugh. This shows the lack of respect he has for his wife, and symbolizes the power he holds over her in their relationship. Stella’s willingness to catch the package even after her protest shows why Stanley and Stella are so functional together. Stella’s reluctance to oppose Stanley in any way allows Stanley to exert his dominance and remain alpha …show more content…
It would be easy to allude to the passage in which Stanley rapes Blanche, but that would be far too easy to analyze. Instead I will discuss the absence of Stanley in scene eleven of the play, the final scene. In this final scene, the only two times Stanley’s presence is needed is when he’s playing poker with his friends on pages 163 and 164, and when he’s ensuring Blanche’s departure from his house by making sure she got everything (pages 174-176). Stanley has left his mark on Blanche throughout the whole play, especially by raping her in scene 10, page 162. So much so that Blanche no longer wishes for any of these men at the poker game to give her attention, but for them to leave her be and not notice her at all. The truth about Stanley and Stella’s marriage is also shown in this scene, where Stella denies the allegations that Blanche has placed on Stanley. This proves that Stanley is not as down-to-earth as we have otherwise seen him to be, but is living in a marriage built on lies and deceit just as much as Blanche’s life. By analyzing and discrediting all the characteristics that build Stanley up as a man in the reader’s eyes, it is easy to see that Stanley is not the realist, hard-working man he is painted to be in the beginning of this
Scene one at the very beginning of the play, with his wife Stella, is where I will begin my analysis. As Stanley is making his way home from work with a package of meat, he decides to heave the package of meat at Stella (page 5). As Stella “cries out in protest”, she catches the package and ends the encounter with a breathless laugh. This shows the lack of respect he has for his wife, and symbolizes the power he holds over her in their relationship. Stella’s willingness to catch the package even after her protest shows why Stanley and Stella are so functional together. Stella’s reluctance to oppose Stanley in any way allows Stanley to exert his dominance and remain alpha …show more content…
It would be easy to allude to the passage in which Stanley rapes Blanche, but that would be far too easy to analyze. Instead I will discuss the absence of Stanley in scene eleven of the play, the final scene. In this final scene, the only two times Stanley’s presence is needed is when he’s playing poker with his friends on pages 163 and 164, and when he’s ensuring Blanche’s departure from his house by making sure she got everything (pages 174-176). Stanley has left his mark on Blanche throughout the whole play, especially by raping her in scene 10, page 162. So much so that Blanche no longer wishes for any of these men at the poker game to give her attention, but for them to leave her be and not notice her at all. The truth about Stanley and Stella’s marriage is also shown in this scene, where Stella denies the allegations that Blanche has placed on Stanley. This proves that Stanley is not as down-to-earth as we have otherwise seen him to be, but is living in a marriage built on lies and deceit just as much as Blanche’s life. By analyzing and discrediting all the characteristics that build Stanley up as a man in the reader’s eyes, it is easy to see that Stanley is not the realist, hard-working man he is painted to be in the beginning of this