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Character Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire

Decent Essays

Bringing Home The Kill Sometimes, an individual’s instinct for self-preservation significantly influences her response to competing demands as it is necessary for her life to go on no matter what obstacle she must face. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, he discussed how an individual’s desire for self-preservation creates bias when she is to respond to competing demands as it is necessary for her to go on with her catastrophic life, no matter what demands she is faced with. -------------------------------- Tennessee Williams uses symbols, colours, and character foil to foreshadow what little choice his tragic character Stella has if her life is to on. The text creator reveals Stanley to be animalistic and highly masculine …show more content…

Furthermore, when the text creator has his characters discuss their astrological signs in scene five, Williams reveals Stanley to be a Capricorn, a stubborn goat who will eat anything anyone puts in front of him. The text creator demonstrates these attributes when Stanley refuses to let go of the loss of Belle Reve and when he retells the rumours passed along a string of men which tore at Blanche’s innocence. Contrasting Stanley’s study, stubborn, and masculine character we have Tennessee Williams’ character foil, Blanche, who is shown as fragile, innocent, and pure. Her innocence and purity are displayed through the text creator molding her image with symbolic white gowns, dresses, and suits. The author uses stage direction to describe Blanche as a delicate moth who will burn in a bright light. Williams’ …show more content…

The author both clearly and discreetly discussed the power struggle between Blanche and Stanley over Stella. We first see that Stella is stuck between leaving with her sister or staying with her husband after Stanley’s violent outburst during the poker game. Stella soon forgives Stanley after his abuse because she is passionately in love with him. While it may seem that she is being extremely naïve and avoiding her own self-preservation, what other choice does she have? The author’s use of parallelism between scene seven and scene four reflects the decision Stella will have to make regarding Blanche and Stanley’s competing demands for her favour. Williams’ use of stage direction in scene four has Stanley eavesdropping on Stella and Blanche’s conversation and in scene seven something very similar occurs. Stanley is now the one giving his opinion of Blanche while she bathes in the tub. Tennessee Williams uses music as another tool to foreshadow Stella’s decision. The world of illusion which her fragile sister sings about is not a world Stella can be a part of. If she is to preserve herself she must go on with her life even if it means living in the cruel and harsh world that Blanche escapes from with her illusions. While staying with her abusive husband rather than leaving with her sister would seem outrageous, it is very unlikely that Stella will leave her husband as he is

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