A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire

In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," each character represents something different. The play centers around two characters, Blanche and Stanley, and the conflict between them. These characters represent the changing of times during the first half of the 20th century. During this time, many changes were occurring in the social standards.

In this play, Stanley represents the new America being formed during the 20th century. After fighting in World War II, he got a job selling automotive parts for the recent boom in car sales. He is the breadwinner of the family who often becomes over controlling and sometimes violent. As part of the working force, Stanley has few luxuries. He is proud of his job and life; however, he does not have anything spectacular to show for it. He is proud of his Polish family heritage and takes great offense when being called a Polack. As a realist, Stanley sees things as they are and does not try to distort or mask the truth.

Blanche Dubois is the most complex character in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Like the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," she is from the old south. For both these characters, the inability to adapt and change to the recent times is their downfall. Blanche is the exact opposite of Stanley. She came from a well off family that has lived in America for several generations. She is well educated and is fond of literature and the arts. She is very concerned with how she appears and with what others think of her. However, Blanche is far from perfect. She has just as many, if not more, problems as Stanley does. However, instead of trying to confront these problems and change them, she alters her perception on reality and does not wish to see things as they are.

These characteristics of the antagonist and protagonist are what cause the conflict. The extreme separation of their cultures causes them to feud and bicker between one another. This feud, like the last train Blanch took to get to her sister's house, symbolizes the inevitable end of the old ways of life and the beginning of a new time.

As soon as Blanche steps off of the streetcar, she is shocked at the state of her new residence. Her old home, Belle Reve, is much more extravagant than the home her sister and Stanley live in. The new residence causes her distress and anguish because she was raised as a proper, wealthy southern lady. The home in New Orleans is much less then what she expected. This house does not live up to the standards she has grown accustomed to over the years.

At the very beginning of the play, Williams shows the drastic differences in the new and old expectations. The old way of life is much slower paced and more sophisticated. The new way of life is much different. It is faster paced and does not have the standards and etiquettes that the old way of life prides itself on. The America is much more in touch with reality. The old way of life is full of false images and alterations.

While talking to her sister Stella, Blanche learns of Stanley and his friends. Stella, sensing the cultural differences, tells her sister to not judge him by the group of men from their home. From the description her sister gives, Blanche concludes that Stanley is "a survivor of the stone age" (1.5). She feels that Stanley is a barbarian because he was not raised to the same standards and education as she was. When they finally meet he is sweaty dirty and not properly dressed. Blanche has just taken one of her many baths and is neatly dressed and perfumed.

In the play, Stella acts as a mediator. She was from the old style of life but now lives in the new. Because of her experiences in both styles of life, she tries to reason with both Stanley and Blanche.