Explore Williams’ dramatic presentation of Stanley’s violent nature
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Williams’ juxtaposes Stanley’s characterization to the other characters
within play in order to emphasize Stanley’s alpha male attributes. Thus, ‘the gaudy seed-bearer’ Stanley
represents the New South- Stanley is crude and unrefined whereby there is ‘animal joy in his being’.
Subsequently, Williams’ utilizes Stanley’s New South portrayal to serve as a contextual reminder of the
harsh realities of the new post-war America.
Most notably Williams’ short description of Stanley within scene 1 mirrors his characterization- Stanley
is portrayed as a man of few words due to his monosyllabic expressions. Thus, Stanley is seen
‘bellowing’ a short and sharp remark of ‘hey, there! Stella, Baby!’ thereby establishing Stanley’s efforts
as a breadwinner within his relationship with Stella in 1940’s America- his efforts are non-existent
whereby he utilizes psychological violence upon Stella in order to express his purely sexually spurred
love for her. Evidently, psychoanalytic critics suggest ‘Stanley represents the id whereby he expects
instant gratification for all his desires and pays little or no attention to the potential consequences of his
actions when trying to achieve these desires thus when his desires are not met he resorts to animalistic
aggression/violence to get what he wants’. Furthermore, Williams’ structurally establishes Stanley’s
alpha male attributes within this scene as he dominates the dialogue by depriving Mitch of any speech
as he is seen ‘bellowing’ thereby highlighting Stanley’s controlling and authoritarian nature- Stanley
utilizes psychological violence upon Mitch by in order to belittle him.
In addition to this, , in scene 1 Williams’ provides a short description of Stanley as he is ‘roughly dressed
in blue denim work clothes’ and appears to be ‘about twenty eight or thirty years old’. Thereby,
portraying to the audience his work status as a manual worker thus this instantly establishes a
roughness about him as manual workers were often heavy-built masculine men in 1940’s deep south.
Hence, this emphasizes his hardship and efforts as a breadwinner to Stella- in 1940’s America men like
Stanley were deemed as superior to women thus women were subsequently surpassed to be
housewifes . Alternatively, this shows Stanley’s lack of care of his appearance which therefore could
symbolize his ‘rough’ and ‘animalistic’ attributes.
Williams’ also explores how the New South is taking over the Old South by utilizing violence as Stanley
and Blanche are embodiments of the New South and Old South respectively. Thus, Blanche and Stanley
evidently collide as Stanley who is ‘strongly and compactly built’ is the direct juxtaposition of Blanche’s
‘delicate beauty’. Thereby, exemplifying they have conflicting attributes- Stanley is bold whilst Blanche is
gentle. Moreover, Williams’ describes Blanche as a ‘moth’ thus she must avoid ‘bright light’ which
suggests the Old Southern values were modest and subtle whereas Stanley is described as ‘bold as
primary colours’ thereby demonstrating to the audience that the New South is brutally taking over the
Old South thus these two societies cannot coexist as the Old South will DEMOLISH the New South with
its assertiveness. Moreover, William’s utilizes costume in order to establish the conflict as the pokermen
wear ‘solid blues, purple…’ whereas Blanche wears ‘white’ clothing thus implying the Old South is fading
and the boldness and greatness of the New South is taking over. Evidently, through this Williams
contextually highlights the harshness and poignancy of Stanley and the New South as a whole within
1940’s America whereby some critics suggest ‘Streetcar is a social drama as Blanche and Stanley
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Williams’ juxtaposes Stanley’s characterization to the other characters
within play in order to emphasize Stanley’s alpha male attributes. Thus, ‘the gaudy seed-bearer’ Stanley
represents the New South- Stanley is crude and unrefined whereby there is ‘animal joy in his being’.
Subsequently, Williams’ utilizes Stanley’s New South portrayal to serve as a contextual reminder of the
harsh realities of the new post-war America.
Most notably Williams’ short description of Stanley within scene 1 mirrors his characterization- Stanley
is portrayed as a man of few words due to his monosyllabic expressions. Thus, Stanley is seen
‘bellowing’ a short and sharp remark of ‘hey, there! Stella, Baby!’ thereby establishing Stanley’s efforts
as a breadwinner within his relationship with Stella in 1940’s America- his efforts are non-existent
whereby he utilizes psychological violence upon Stella in order to express his purely sexually spurred
love for her. Evidently, psychoanalytic critics suggest ‘Stanley represents the id whereby he expects
instant gratification for all his desires and pays little or no attention to the potential consequences of his
actions when trying to achieve these desires thus when his desires are not met he resorts to animalistic
aggression/violence to get what he wants’. Furthermore, Williams’ structurally establishes Stanley’s
alpha male attributes within this scene as he dominates the dialogue by depriving Mitch of any speech
as he is seen ‘bellowing’ thereby highlighting Stanley’s controlling and authoritarian nature- Stanley
utilizes psychological violence upon Mitch by in order to belittle him.
In addition to this, , in scene 1 Williams’ provides a short description of Stanley as he is ‘roughly dressed
in blue denim work clothes’ and appears to be ‘about twenty eight or thirty years old’. Thereby,
portraying to the audience his work status as a manual worker thus this instantly establishes a
roughness about him as manual workers were often heavy-built masculine men in 1940’s deep south.
Hence, this emphasizes his hardship and efforts as a breadwinner to Stella- in 1940’s America men like
Stanley were deemed as superior to women thus women were subsequently surpassed to be
housewifes . Alternatively, this shows Stanley’s lack of care of his appearance which therefore could
symbolize his ‘rough’ and ‘animalistic’ attributes.
Williams’ also explores how the New South is taking over the Old South by utilizing violence as Stanley
and Blanche are embodiments of the New South and Old South respectively. Thus, Blanche and Stanley
evidently collide as Stanley who is ‘strongly and compactly built’ is the direct juxtaposition of Blanche’s
‘delicate beauty’. Thereby, exemplifying they have conflicting attributes- Stanley is bold whilst Blanche is
gentle. Moreover, Williams’ describes Blanche as a ‘moth’ thus she must avoid ‘bright light’ which
suggests the Old Southern values were modest and subtle whereas Stanley is described as ‘bold as
primary colours’ thereby demonstrating to the audience that the New South is brutally taking over the
Old South thus these two societies cannot coexist as the Old South will DEMOLISH the New South with
its assertiveness. Moreover, William’s utilizes costume in order to establish the conflict as the pokermen
wear ‘solid blues, purple…’ whereas Blanche wears ‘white’ clothing thus implying the Old South is fading
and the boldness and greatness of the New South is taking over. Evidently, through this Williams
contextually highlights the harshness and poignancy of Stanley and the New South as a whole within
1940’s America whereby some critics suggest ‘Streetcar is a social drama as Blanche and Stanley
