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Explore William’s presentation of Stanley in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.…

- - - - The portrayal of Stanley represents the realism of men and their role in society at the time.
        
        Stanley’s power over all of the women in the play represents the societal expectation for women to obey men.
      - The rape scene
        
        This therefore shows Williams’ use of realism in his play and presenting to an audience what happens behind closed doors
        
        It was extremely controversial at the time and theatres did not go into detail of what Williams was trying to portray.
      - The expectation of men
        
        Men were expected to be masculine and overpowering and this is presented by the actions and language that Stanley uses.
        
        Stanley is portrayed to be carrying a bloody package of meat and heaving ‘the red stained package’ at Stella
      - Stanley also represents the New American ideologies, he is powerful, strong and fought for his country and this is what Stanley expected all men to have done at the time.
    - - A Streetcar Named Desire’ conforms to the idea of modernism by simply presenting a controversial play and topic.
        
        Stanley’s character in itself presents the new, evolving American man and therefore displays Williams’ desperation to depict how America as a whole is changing completely.
        
        The brutal ending to the play also does not conform to the traditional idea of a ‘happy ending’.
        
        The entire idea of the play being set in one place and there being little or no change in location also conforms to the idea that Williams wanted people to focus more on just the story of the play and instead look into the symbolism of small elements in the play such as the lighting or music used.
- - - - The poker game is a tense game and therefore adds to the tense atmosphere.
      - The table is filled with objects associated with masculinity such as "card, chips and whisky"
      - "The poker players-Stanley, Steve, Mitch and Pablo-wear coloured shirts... and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colours"
    - - The echoing of these scenes shows that Stanley is in complete control and the lack of change in environment presents this.
      - Williams therefore shows at regular intervals within the play that Stanley is the same person throughout; he seems to control the plays structure.
  - - - Stanley told Blanche that he had "been on to you from the start" (scene 11)
      - He said "come to think of it you wouldn’t be bad to interfere with" (scene 11)
      - Foreshadowing works to terrify Blanche, thus working favourably with the idea of men dominating women
    - - This makes Blanche seem trapped by Stanley, she seems to not be able to escape from Elysian Fields and this therefore shows again the control that Stanley has over the entire play.
      - These confrontations that they have escalate as the play proceeds and increases so much that one of them must ultimately be destroyed.
- - - - The USA was emerging as a dominant global power, the world was separating into East and West along the Communist divide and the Cold War was beginning.
        
        Stanley’s forceful behaviour is an expression of this social mood, just as Blanche’s clinging frailty represents weakness and failure.
      - The post-war period was a time of change, as soldiers (like Stanley and Mitch) returned from wartime experiences and refugees poured into America.
        
        A Streetcar Named Desire presents the conflict between the old and the modern
        
        Blanche’s pride in her French ancestry and her cultured mind are derided by Stanley, son of Polish immigrants, who calls her ‘hoity-toity’ (p.199).
        
        When Blanche calls Stanley a ‘Polack’ (p.196), she demonstrates the racism that she has been brought up to accept.
        
        Stanley represents the American Dream that all men are born equal and can succeed equally, whilst Blanche represents the old world, where class and race are still important issues
    - - Following their defeat by the Northern states, the South suffered economically.
      - However, this air of decaying grandeur added to the romantic appeal for many writer including
  - - - I write out of love for the South … once a way of life that I am just able to remember – not a society based on money … I write about the South because I think the war between romanticism and the hostility to it is very sharp there.
  - - - This world could not give Blanche what she needed (see scene 5) and so she tried to marry into the 'light and culture', she discovers that there is corruption and deceit behind the façade.
    - - The roots of this literature lay perhaps in the fact that the writers knew that they were part of a dying culture - where the dashing and romantic were founded on an economy based on injustice and cruelty.
    - - it also shows how men were able to treat women with such little respect in such a society, further made clear through his rape of Blanche at the end