Essay
Confrontation in Streetcar named Desire
- Module
- Unit 1 - Drama
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
Explore how Williams presents the theme of confrontation in Streetcar named Desire. A* Essay
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Explore the ways in which Williams makes use of confrontation in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Youmust relate your discussion to contextual factors
PLAN:
- LITERARY ALLUSIONS - BLANCHE DOES POEM ULALUME - STRENGTHENING
OUR CONCEPTION OF BLANCHE AS EDUCATED
- Stanley confronts Blanche about money
- Stanley rapes Blanche - echoed in Mitch’s attempted rape, showing that even the meek men
are awful when it comes to comnfrontation
- Stanley yelling at Stella then beats her
In a Streetcar named desire, Williams uses confrontation to convey how women, particularly in the
1940s, are vulnerable to male character’s transient moods. Through his skilful and emotive portrayal
of this vulnerability, Williams demonstrates the inequality which is evident between men and women
in the patriarchal society, and how men are able to have control over women. Williams’ displayed
inequality is dramatised in the male characters’ animalistic, primitive behaviour towards women, their
overpowering actions and their forceful interactions with women.
In scene one of ‘A Street Car Named Desire’, Williams depicts men’s forceful interactions with
women as the source of conflict which foregounds how imbalanced gender relations are in New
Orleans. In this scene Stanley corners Blanche into a spiteful, demanding conversation where he is
trying to discover information about her past life and her dead husband. In this particular instance, he
questions Blanche on multiple occasions, ‘You going to shack up here?, ‘What happened?, ‘How long
you here for?, ‘You were married once weren’t you?’ This tone of voice is interrogatory and from this,
one can infer that Blanche would feel extremely uncomfortable, as a new guest in his home. This
offensive conversation leads to Blanche rather dramatically exclaiming that she’s about to vomit ‘I’m
afraid I’m going to be sick!’ [Her head falls on her arms.]’. The plastic theatre in the National Theatre
production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ dramatises Blanche’s sense of unease, which combined
with her exclamatory sentence displays a disturbing scene which expresses 1940s female fragility and
the feminine vulnerability towards male attitudes. (idk what is happening here - come back and
change)
In Scene 3 of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Williams uses male animalistic attitudes and behaviour to
demonstrate how vulnerable women are to men in society. In this particular scene, Williams
deliberately scripts Stanley to become enraged at Stella for not being quiet enough for him at his
poker match, a very stereotypically brute affair. This lack of respect from Stella causes him to
exclaim, ‘You hens cut out that conversation in there!.’ This use of an exclamation heightens the
expressed anger from Stanley and Williams has skilfully crafted a metaphor of the ‘hen’ to portray
women as at risk, weak figures. This is because the symbolic nature of a hen features attributes of
vulnerability as well as a lack of power. They are often eaten by foxes and killed off viciously, which
could perhaps be a sociopolitical message from Williams suggesting that women are far too
endangered when it comes to men in the 1940s American Dream society. Moreover, in this scene,
Williams uses physical violence to further highlight the brutal dominance of the male characters in ‘A
Streetcar named desire’. After Stella refuses to quieten down, which is disobeying her patriarchal
female role of being subservient, Stanley beats her, ‘[Stanley charges after Stella]....[There is a sound
of a blow, Stella cries out]’. Here, one can infer that Williams has chosen the verb ‘charge’ to convey
Stanley’s rushed movement, which implies a great lack of care for Stella and her body. As well as this,
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ollyfwarren. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £10.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
76462 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now