Violence In Stanley Kowalski's A Streetcar Named Desire

The atrocious crimes that occurred in the Nazi concentration camps revealed the absolute blackest features of human nature. Innocent people were tortured and brutalized, forced into giant gas chambers naked, robbed of their identities and humanity, then shoved into ovens to be incinerated to ash. Before the world discovered what was happening in the camps, nobody on the planet could have ever imagined such unspeakable violence of man against man in modern times. Although, society accepts violence as a part of nature, taking it to such extremes reached far beyond the realm of anyone’s imagination. When the world found out about what had happened, artists and writers began to incorporate violent characters in their works to portray their reactions …show more content…
Whether the horrible acts are spoken, physically expressed or the result of death from gunshots, the overarching theme that these three all display fit collectively under the category that is violence. Verbal abuse leaves lasting emotional scars that often cause more damage than any other form of violence. Stanley Kowalski, the antagonist in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, is an absolute vulgar working class brute who because of his strength and ferocity feels he can do and say anything he wants to his wife Stella. Stella’s sister Blanche Dubois moves in which causes a great amount of tension in their house because she challenges and criticises Stanley and does not humor him the way that Stella does. Late in the play, during Blanche’s birthday dinner, Stanley loses his temper after Stella tells him to go wash up and help her clear the table. Stanley’s rage intensifies and eventually erupts in verbal abuse. After smashing his plate on the floor, he screams at Stella “That’s how I’ll clear the table! Don’t