The Streetcar Named Desire Masculinity Analysis

Superior Essays
No man feels left out in the test of masculinity. The play, The Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman have their male characters’ different perspectives on masculinity yet the same goal on proving they are masculine. Despite all the characters’ differences, they all want to fit into this idea of themselves being masculine to the point of incorporating it into their actions, words, achievements, goals, and frustration. Male characters like Mitch and Bernard are downplayed as un-masculine yet they have their ways in disproving the un-masculine beliefs with their long term achievements. Other characters that are the epitome of masculinity, or of their definition of masculinity, like Stanley …show more content…
Stanley is upfront about his masculinity. From Stanley’s view, Mitch is un-masculine simply because Mitch lives with his mother and cares about his mother deeply. Stanley uses his actions, words, tone, and achievements to assure to everyone that he is masculine despite what the extreme consequences could cause him. Very rarely does Stanley show his soft side: “Stella!...Baby doll’s left me… [He breaks into sobs. Then he goes to the phone and dials, still shuddering with sobs.]” (Williams, 65). This moment is one of the very few times Stanley is soft and based on the situation, it was night time so no one was bound to listen to Stanley’s screaming but Stella. For Stanley, his emotional side is presentable to only a female that is deeply loved. In the meantime he would say something along the lines of, “Every man is a king… I’m the king around here, so don’t forget it”(Williams, 131). Stanley’s statement enforces his dominance simply because there is an audience watching him. In this case, Stella does not matter because Blanche creates an audience …show more content…
Based on Stanley’s achievements and current job, Stella says, “A Master Sergeant in the Engineers’ Corps. Those are decorations,” (Williams, 18). Many of these achievements are done instantly considering he quickly got into the military to be able to receive his engineer job and the role as captain not difficult for his group to deicide due to his friends’ passive personality compared to Stanley. Yet, he is ironically questioned whether he is masculine or simply a “pig,” “disgusting,” “ape,” and “animal” by Blanche. This gives the idea that masculinity can be considered primitive but not everyone’s ideologies on masculinity are like Stanley’s. Those that do follow Stanley’s type of masculinity experience more than just

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Masculinity’s Crossroads The article “Guys vs. Men,” Dave Barry uses satire to explain the problems with masculinity and a new approach to how males should be classified and judged. The article “The Crisis of American Masculinity” by Eric Garland discusses his view of how the traditional image of manhood is dying in today’s society. Each of them give their opinions on what manhood is; the manner that society should treat males with, the importance of masculinity in males, and their opinion of the necessity of these masculine characteristics.…

    • 2174 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    So Stanley comes back home after leaving the hospital with Stella, Blanche is there at the house. Stanley’s sexual frustrations resulting in lack of privacy in the small apartment intensifies his hospitality toward Blanche. By informing Mitch of her reputation, telling her to leave his home and, finally raping her, Stanley forces Blanche to acknowledge the truth about herself, but he also destroys her completely in the process, apparently without regret(Avinger). When Stanley rapes Blanche she tells Stella, Stella doesn’t believe her. So they send her off to a mental hospital for help, because she said that Stanley raped her.…

    • 1672 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Within The Sun Also Rises and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, Hemingway utilizes masculinity as an important role. Throughout both stories, masculinity is portrayed as being a quality desired by the male characters. Similar to most males today, all four men in The Sun Also Rises desire being depicted as “masculine.” Unfortunately, these male characters possess other qualities that prevent them from feeling masculine. Because of this, the males strive to represent masculinity.…

    • 75 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Williams 118). This helps highlight Stanley's aggression and dominance that he holds over Stella in that he thinks he can get away with calling her names and yelling at her without her talking back. Also, it shows how easily provoked Stanley gets when Stella contradicts him in any way, and the reader can assume it is because she is a woman defending herself against him that he feels so threatened. Another significant male character was Mitch. Although he wasn’t necessarily as assertive as Stanley, he did show a similar disregard and insensitivity for women.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    From the first scene the audience learns that Blanche and Stella were brought up on a plantation and that Stanley and his friends are poor and uneducated. In the first scene the two families come together in a scruffy environment, it is therefore Blanche who must adjust to the situation. When Stanley exposes Blanche's past and when he rapes her, he turns her ‘upper-class’ upbringing (of which she is very proud) into something without any meaning. The conflict, therefore, is bigger than Stanley vs. Blanche or even male vs. female, it is the Old South vs. the new ind ustrial age and the upper-class life vs. the ‘common’ life. With Blanche, it is not only her sinful ways that causes her misery, it is her upper-class upbringing and clinging to the past that is one of the reasons for her downfall - a tragic end for a tragic character.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Kowalski’s poker table seats "men at the peak of their physical manhood" who are at their sexual prime. During the game, Stanley “gives a loud whack of his hand on [Stella’s] thigh”, which is met by laughter from the other men. The performance of this action before an audience of virile spectators suggests that it is not an act of lust, but rather a reinstating of male entitlement. The scene also introduces a pivotal animalistic quality to the character of Stanley. He “stalks fiercely” towards Stella while she refers to him as a “drunk–drunk–animal thing”, implicating that Stanley acts chaotically, without contemplation or control.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    How does Stanley react when Stella tells him to wait outside with her? Why do you think he acts this way? When Stanley is told by Stella to wait outside with her, he responds in a very dominant and disrespectful manner saying, “ since when do you give me orders?”. I think Stanley acts this way because he is so used to being the head of the household and having Stella listen to him that it is a shock for him to have her speak like that.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    In that manner, the relationships between Stella and Stanley is much different than that of Blanche and Mitch. Stanley and Stella’s relationship exemplifies a pre-World War II society when Stanley says, “I am the king around here, so don't forget it!”(Tennessee Williams 131). Their relationship is focused around the basis that it is a mans world and Stella is lucky enough to live in it. In contrast, the relationship between Blanche and Mitch demonstrates people beginning to adapt to new societal norms, for example, Mitch states, “...I felt all the time that I wasn’t giving you much-entertainment”(Williams 101). Mitch’s goal of entertaining Blanche bears witness to a man attempting to adapt with a society of equality for men and…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Attebury suggests that one should watch the men ‘when no women can rescue them from their own messes’. There are times when the narrator of The War of the Worlds and Juan find themselves without female companionship or feminine substitutes nearby. When men stand on their own, masculinity may be compromised in front of danger and alienation. Patrick Parrinder points out that ‘the humanist conception of the universe has been shattered by the Martian invasion’. Amongst the confusion and fear during the attack, the narrator shows a gradual build of masculinity when he is alone.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The depiction of masculinity between scholars can sum into one word, seen as not a real role, or even just an illusion for males to act a certain way. In the text A Man's World? Political Masculinities in Literature and Culture by Sauer and Starck was an analysis to decide argues the bases of how masculinity is an invisible barrier but has various depictions in literature and in politics. Sex, Paranoia, and Modern Masculinity by Kenneth Paradis states that masculinity is a social contract for a manhood with melodrama. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut writes an anti-war book that describes masculinity, but he makes the characters not so beautiful, so people can’t copy it and make a movie of what they think war should look like.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This shows how Verbal abuse takes part. This is a strong example of abuse because of the certain phrase “I am the king around here” and “every man is a king” When Stanley says this it shows that because he is the man in the house and the king, he can do anything he wants to with the women, this is not physical but it is verbal abuse. This started when Stanley was called "Pig – Polack – disgusting – vulgar – greasy!" this triggers Stanley and leads him to remind everyone he is the king and owns everyone here. Another example of Stanley’s abuse to Stella is when Stanley slaps Stella in front of Stanley’s friends during poker night, there is no specific quote it just occurs as the ladies return form their night out, as Stanley slaps Stella he is thrown into the shower by his friends because Stella was pregnant.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Analyzing Masculinities through the Work of 21 Jump Street (2012) 21 Jump Street is a great example of how masculinities can be expressed in multiple ways. A typical male is supposed to be perceived by society as being tough, dominant, hard-working, emotionless, loyal, etc. (http://www.psychologyofmen.org/male-gender-role/). However, throughout this movie, the viewers witness many males who act extremely different from one another, but they are still considered to be from the masculine gender.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gender equality has been debatably the most pressing issue for the last century. Unfortunately for many this equilibrium between the rights of men and women has yet to be reached. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, it becomes clear that characters conform to gender roles, which have been set forth in our history. More specifically in the way men treat women and how women expect to be treated. These gender roles have been changed over time, but many examples of these events can still be found today.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stella’s character explores the selfish, dark elements of human nature and how that selfishness led to the downfall of herself and those she cared for most. Stella’s role as the mediator to Stanley and Blanche leads to is the primary force behind the direction her character takes. Stella’s inability to choose between her devotion to Blanche and her unhealthy dependency on Stanley has a detrimental effect on her relationship with reality, as she refuses to accept their damaging actions as truth throughout the story. At the beginning of the play, Stella relentlessly comes to her sister’s defense, disregarding the information Stanley gives her concerning Blanche’s promiscuous past. As her sister, Stella is deeply loyal to…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    However, Mitch lets a little thing such as Blanche’s past ruin what could have been a happy ending for him, just because by society 's standards Blanche was not “clean enough.” Stanley’s rape of Blanche and its outcome also helps support the argument that Blanche is not the enemy. Stanley rapes Blanche because he resents her for thinking she is smarter and better than him. Finding out about her soiled past makes him feel entitled to harm her. Blanche’s believed superiority over Stanley is made clear quite frequently.…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays