A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, tells the story of Stella and Stanley Kowalski and the dramatic turmoil that overtakes their relationship upon the arrival of Stella’s sister Blanche DuBois. In the first half of the play, Williams introduces both the setting and the primary characters almost immediately using vivid imagery, appealing to both the visual and olfactory senses of his readers; “"You can almost feel the warm breath of the brown river beyond the river warehouses with their faint redolences of banana and coffee.” He characterizes The Kowalski’s as a recently wed and happy couple, living in their quaint New Orleans flat. Stella appears as a loving wife, taking immense care of her husband and home, something …show more content…
This primarily stems from his curiosity of Blanche’s past, as her initial story appears quite fuzzy in certain details. Stella, nonetheless, attempts to pacify Stanley and serves as a natural buffer between her sister and husband. A reoccurring theme in this play that appears primarily in the tensions amongst the sisters and Stanley, is the concept of delusion. Blanche is severely delusional, in the way that she thinks and acts, causing her to behave delusional and lustful towards men. This must run in the family, however, because Stella, too, becomes delusional in the play when it comes to the tension-filled relationship between her husband and sister. This is portrayed powerfully in a climatic moment between the two sisters, when Blanche confesses to Stella her opinion of Stanley, “He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits. Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you!” Though Blanche is not wrong, as Stanley had previously lost his temper on his wife and hit her, her immense metaphor for her brother-in-law sends Stella into a delusional panic; “There are things that happen between a man and women in the dark—that