Preview

To What Extent Does Williams Portray Stanley as the Cause for Blanche’s Downfall?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To What Extent Does Williams Portray Stanley as the Cause for Blanche’s Downfall?
‘To what extent does Williams portray Stanley as the cause for Blanche’s downfall?’

A Street Car Named Desire is a play written by a Mississippi born writer called Tennessee Williams. A Street Car Named Desire shows a reversal of fortune with Blanche having a life full of fortune with a successful business and a happy marriage however it is all turned upside when all this fortune is removed out of her life resulting in her seeking refuge with a lower class family her sister got married into... this fits in with Aristotle’s theory of tragedy because there is a reversal of fortune, bringing out feelings of fright and sympathy to the audience. Blanche might have been a character created by Williams using inspiration of his own life, William’s sister was suffering from schizophrenia all of her life and Williams spent most his life paying for her care. Blanche went into care at the end of Street Car Named Desire. Blanche might have been based on Rose as some critics believe.

In this essay I will argue who is responsible for Blanche’s downfall and to what extent Williams portrays Stanley to be the cause, because of his possessive character and pride. Stanley’s victimisation of Blanche and not allowing her to hide away in the shadows was another contributing factor towards Blanche’s downfall. However I will also explore how it can be argued that in fact it was inevitable that Blanche will have a downfall, as she went to stay down her newly married sister’s house... desperate for help as the family business was ruined. As a cause Blanche became promiscuous after her husband died after her shock of finding out his homosexuality. She is a character all about the luxuries of life, she is running away from her past and does not want to face reality that she does not have the fortune she once had. So was Blanche her own worst enemy or was it down to Stanley?

At the start of the play, Williams portrayed Blanche as a sophisticated woman who was from a higher class than the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire
    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire

    Furthermore, Tennessee Williams’ realistic drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ presents two groups within society in a confined setting. His play sets out a realist effect on the middle class versus working class environment. Williams does this by personifying the two classes by using the relationship between two sisters. Stella, is the oldest sister who represents a working class, she lives in a shabby flat with her alcoholic, abusive, Polish husband Stanley, and is pregnant with his child. Blanche on the other hand is a middle class, sophisticated and self sufficient woman who is shocked at the way the working class lives, particularly her sisters living conditions. It could be suggested a class system is the cause of fragmentation within society,…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Analysis Of Blanche In A Streetcar Named Desire
    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page

    An Analysis Of Blanche In A Streetcar Named Desire

    In the commencement of the play, Blanche is quickly described as a damsel in distress. She is portrayed as a wealthy woman “in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earing of pearl, white gloves and hat…” (5). She resembles an embellished white moth. The fact that she is forced to live with her younger sister Stella and her domineering husband truly shows that Blanche is in a truly desperate situation. Her overall character is depicted as a traumatized woman that is in complete desolation. Experiences such as witnessing her family on a “...Long parade to the graveyard” (21). Being forced to live with your family until their tragic demise would emotionally and mentally torment anyone. She lives inside of her own world in which she…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is Blanche’s Illusionary World Broken Down in the Play by Others?
    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Is Blanche’s Illusionary World Broken Down in the Play by Others?

    In the 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, there is an on going battle of rivalry between Stanley and Blanche, resulting to Blanche retreating into a world of illusions in order to protect herself. The two come from completely different societal worlds and have contrasting personalities, Stanley being powerful, controlling and strong and Blanche, being fragile, weak and vulnerable. Despite their hatred for each other and their differences they have many similar traits, including their use of sexuality and desperation to control others.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Streetcar: Man and Stanley
    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Streetcar: Man and Stanley

    - Behind her veneer of social snobbery and sexual propriety, Blanche is an insecure, dislocated individual. She is an aging Southern belle who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty. the Kowalski household, Blanche pretends to be a woman who has never known indignity. Her false propriety is not simply snobbery, however; it constitutes a calculated attempt to make herself appear attractive to new male suitors. Blanche depends on male…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Streetcar Named Desire Character Analysis
    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Streetcar Named Desire Character Analysis

    Within this drama Blanche’s life is the very depiction of how one single tragic event can play a major role in one’s future. However, in Blanche’s case, a series of tragic events spark a new lifestyle. Blanche’s sexual needs were never satisfied. She met and fell madly in love at a very young age. At just sixteen years old, she fell in love as well as eloped. After investing time in what she saw as a blissful marriage to her husband, Allan, he admitted to her that he was homosexual. She felt betrayed. She felt used and taken advantage of. Instead of…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Blanche Dubois Victim
    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page

    Blanche Dubois Victim

    Blanche DuBois is one of the central characters in Tennessee Williams’: “A Streetcar Named Desire”. She is the sister of Stella Kowalski, she is in her thirties and works as a school English teacher. Blanche can be described as many things; a “slut”, because of her relations with soldiers and numerous men in a hotel, a “predator”, because of her affair with a young school boy. However, a “victim” because of her gender would not be one that many would first think of or even agree with.…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams
    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Character Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams

    A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams is a play about a southern lady named Blanche from Mississippi visiting her sister Stella, who is married to Stanley and currently living in Elysian Fields, New Orleans. Blanche arrives in Elysian Fields, and throughout her entire stay with Stella and Stanley, there is tension and conflict occurring in Stella’s house. Even though Blanche and Stella were brought up in the South under wealthy conditions, the conflict is mainly caused by Blanche’s dislike of Stanley because, as a blue-collar worker, Stanley's status is lower than the DuBois’. In another aspect, Stanley’s conflict is caused by him being suspicious of Blanche since her arrival. Blanche explains to Stella that…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Does Stanley Decline Into Insanity
    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Does Stanley Decline Into Insanity

    Stanley's harsh, realistic world is often seen throughout the play this shows how different Blanches is. An example of this is Stanley's main interests: gambling, drinking, fighting, sex and bowling. All of these are very realistic things to do, very down to earth. Also throughout the play he shows no remorse for what he's done,…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Streetcar Named Desire Tragedy Analysis
    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Streetcar Named Desire Tragedy Analysis

    “A Street Car Named Desire” written by Tennessee Williams was a tragic play about sister’s Blanche and Stella. It also included and abusive husband, Stanley. Williams described many sad details and shined a light on mental illness and spousal abuse. “Street Car” shocks people to their very core with emotional and tragedy throughout the whole play. It showcases tragedy thru certain elements including the symbols, themes, and setting.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Blanche Dubois In A Streetcar Named Desire
    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Blanche Dubois In A Streetcar Named Desire

    Arthur Miller said, The flaw, or crack in the characters, is really nothing-and need be nothing, but his inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, his image of his rightful status. Blanche refuses to remain passive throughout the play, she continuously fights for her dignity by truly making herself and others believe that she is the “Southern-belle” should be. You can see this in the way she dresses and presents herself. “You come in here and sprinkle the place with powder and spray perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile!” Blanche…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Blanche Dubois Character Analysis
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Blanche Dubois Character Analysis

    This play reflected a part of society that was frowned upon on a social level in the mid 20th centuary. Today a play like this is concidered normal, or average as far as the contrivisrail espects are concerned, but in the 40s a character like Blanche Dubois was something that challegned the moral of the ideal american family. This play is about Blanche DuBois, a schoolteacher from Laurel, Mississippi. She arrives in New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella Kowalski. Blanche told her sister that she lost their their ancestral home Belle Reve, following the death of all their remaining relatives and husband. She mentions that she has been given a leave of absence from her teaching position because of her bad nervous breakdowns.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Blanche as a Southern Belle represents all that is dead and decaying about the Old South
    • 1679 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Blanche as a Southern Belle represents all that is dead and decaying about the Old South

    When the play begins, Blanche is already a fallen woman in society’s eyes. Her family fortune and estate are gone, she lost her young husband to suicide years earlier, and she is a social pariah due to her indiscrete sexual behavior. She also has a bad drinking problem, which she covers up poorly. Behind her veneer of social snobbery and sexual propriety, Blanche is an insecure, dislocated individual. She is an aging Southern belle who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty. Her manner is dainty and frail, and she sports a wardrobe of showy but cheap evening clothes. Stanley quickly sees through Blanche’s act and seeks out information about her past. The notion of death is apparent through Blanches maiden name, Grey, which suggests bleakness and unhappiness. Indeed we are introduced to the fact that behind…

    • 1679 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Blanche's Psychological Breakdown
    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Blanche's Psychological Breakdown

    the two of them were dancing, she told him what she had seen and how he…

    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Research Paper
    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Research Paper

    The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe evolves her promiscuity. She is lonely and frightened, and she attempts to fight this condition with sex. Desire fills the emptiness when there is no love and desire blocks the inexorable movement of death, which has already wasted and decayed Blanche's ancestral home Belle Reve.…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Blanche Dubois Essay
    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Blanche Dubois Essay

    Tennessee Williams did a fine job of centering his play bill A Streetcar Named Desire, on the protagonist, Blanche DuBois. With that stated, and to answer the loaded question of who portrayed the most intriguing character from scenes 1-3, most assuredly, Blanche DuBois would have to be the only logical choice. Her introduction to the story sets the persona of her character. Through the vivid details of her wardrobe, in contrast to the setting of the story line and the over-dramatic, self-righteous façade she represents, undoubtedly leaves the audience with a subtle fascination that craves more detail into the depths of her character.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics