Sheila,+Luke,+Dillon,+Kathleen

Group Members: Sheila Grant Kathleen Moriarty Dillon Mitchell Luke Dutton Task: What type of characters are - Stanley - Boorish (crude), aggressive, unrefined Stella - Passive, loyal, polite, timid Blanche - Haughty (snooty), dishonest, overly dramatic

Sheila: Reasons to condemn Blanche
 * Intruding into the life of her sister Stella and thus Stanley
 * Not only overstays her welcome, but micromanages
 * Lying about her past, (scandal with high school boy)

Kathleen: Reasons to pardon Stanley Scholars have defended Stanley Kowalski as a victim worthy of sympathy. First of all, Stanley feels poor and sloppy compared to Blanche. When he rips open her suitcase, he is flabbergasted at her collection of fancy dresses, fine jewelry, riches, etc. Thus, he hates Blanche with indignation. Second, Stanley is very aggressive and crude, because has difficulty expressing his feelings. Although little is known about Stanley's past, it could be that his parents were also hot-tempered and crude, just like him. At the end of the story, however, when Blanche is confined to an insane asylum, Stanley and Stella are cradling their new baby. As Stanley gently caresses the baby's head, his sensitive side, while rarely shown, is revealed. This may be the first (and last) time we ever see Stanley acting this way. Yes, indeed, Stanley has a softer side. The complete turn-around he pulls in Scene Three from a raging, abusive drunk to a tender, loving husband certainly leaves our heads spinning. “My baby doll’s left me!” he cries, and “breaks into sobs” (3.189). When he and Stella reunite at the bottom of the stairs, it’s a touching and incredibly tender moment. As Stella tells Blanche the next day, “He was as good as a lamb when I came back, and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself” (4.16). This duality makes Stanley a tough nut to crack. We can't stand him for hitting his wife, then we feel bad for him when Blanche treats him like an ape, and then we hate him when he rapes Blanche. What’s so interesting is the opposite way these characteristics are interpreted by the two sisters. Blanche makes her opinion pretty clear in a long passage in Scene Four which we distill here for you:

BLANCHE He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! […] There’s even something — sub-human — something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something — ape-like about him […] Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle! […] Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you! (4.118)

Wow, Blanche isn't shy about telling us what she thinks. Stella, on the other hand, finds him to be, well, kind of hot. In fact, Stella's love for Stanley is very passionate. Or, as she says of his violent foreplay, "I was – sort of – thrilled by it” (4.22). However, Stella doesn't see his flaws. She only sees the masculine, attractive qualities of Stanley. Stella wants to be a very traditional and obedient wife, so she wants to let Stanley dominate her. Thus, she is blind to Stanley's flaws. On page 23 (Scene One), while Stanley is at the bowling alley with Mitch, Blanche is asking Stella questions about her husband: STELLA: "Stanley is Polish, you know." BLANCHE: "Oh, yes. They're something like Irish, aren't they?" STELLA: "Well–" BLANCHE: "Only not so– highbrow?" Clearly, Blanche is making prejudiced remarks about Stanley, which causes Stella to feel insecure. Blanche then feeds upon Stella's insecurities and begins to poison Stella's naïveté about Stanley from the very beginning. Adding to this already messy situation is the social commentary Williams makes through his antagonist. Many critics have pointed out that Stanley is part of a new America, one comprised of immigrants of all races with equal opportunity for all. Blanche, however, is clinging to a dying social system of “aristocrats” and “working class” that is no longer applicable in the 1940s. Modern readers especially tend to side with the more liberal idea that merit, and not ancestry, makes us who we are. Blanche loses points for being prejudiced, and Stanley garners some favor for being the classic “pulled up by his bootstraps” hard-working American. In contrast to Blanche, Stanley represents the immigrant New American, he is "proud as hell" of being "one hundred per cent American", and can see no place for the old order of the Southern aristocracy who are incapable of holding on to their inherited wealth.

Stanley also represents the primitive side of man, and Blanche sees this, she describes him with insight in her speech in Scene Four, "Stanley Kowalski - survivor of the Stone Age!"

Stanley is very male in the sense that he feels men should be superior to women in every way. He likes to possess and control everything around him, he almost“owns” Stella, and he has changed from her days at Belle Reve, pulling her "down off them columns and how [she] loved it". But the arrival of Blanche, and her aristocratic ways annoys Stanley.

While Stanley Kowalski has his flaws, you could justify “cutting him some slack” because his problems are magnified when his sister-in-law Blanche DuBois moves in to his home. As stated in Stanley’s character analysis on the website “Shmoop.com”:

“Problems arise when Blanche shows up with her elitist notions and criticism of Stanley. Now instead of feeling like the "king" of the house, he worries that Stella's attitude toward him has changed. Stella starts ordering him around in Scene Eight and telling him to clean up the table after dinner and stop eating so messily. According to the structure of their usual relationship, Stella is trespassing into his territory – he's the dominant one; she shouldn't be ordering him around.

Not to mention, he feels that his wife is looking down on him. He states it quite clearly: "'Pig—Polak—disgusting—vulgar—greasy!'—them kind of words have been on your [Stella's] tongue and your sister's too much around here! What do you two think you are? A pair of queens?" And when Stanley feels like he's being mistreated, he becomes aggressive, throwing things and breaking dishes.

This is obviously not a flexible guy who can handle having his routine changed, but you can still sort of get where he's coming from. Blanche doesn't respect him as the head of the house, and she's trying to turn his wife against him. She acts like a tyrant queen instead of a thankful guest with nowhere else to stay. She's a bit of a house guest from hell. She considers his home a dump, she criticizes him personally and calls him an ape, insinuates that he is completely uncultured, is racist and classist against him, acts like he doesn't love his wife, drinks a ton of his alcohol and lies about it, hogs the bathroom, and tries to get his wife to leave him repeatedly.”

Source: []

According to an essay I found on “BookRags.com”, Stanley can be viewed as a sympathetic character when compared to Blanche DuBois. In this essay, the unnamed author states: “Personally, after some time, Blanche's endless charade grows to be tiresome, and one finds Stanley's lack of guile and earthy wit soon becomes refreshing. The remark by Stanley, "Nobody's getting up so don't be worried" is the sort that, after three scenes of Blanche's patronising manner, makes you smile audaciously from your theatre seat. The intensity and influence of Stanley's personality is undoubtable. In this extract, he is rude and spiteful to Stella, but he travels from one extreme to another, and in other instances one admires him for his genuine love for his wife.”

__**Plot Overview:**__ Blanche Dubois, a very haughty, talkative woman, arrives in New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella Kowalski. Blanche is overly concerned with her appearance, cleanliness, dress, and upper-class mentality, while Stella has married someone of lower status, Stanley Kowalski. Stanley is from Poland, works in a factory, has little education, but is extremely passionate and handsome. Stella and Stanley have strong chemistry, which fuels their love. From the beginning of her stay, Blanche and Stanley are at odds; opposing ideals, ways of life, and each other on every minute detail of life. Blanche tells Stella that she has lost Belle Reve, their childhood plantation home. Stanley wants to see the paperwork regarding the property and confronts Blanche about it. During their first conversation/confrontation, they argue and discuss Blanche's past. Stanley tells her that Stella is pregnant. Stanley has a poker game in his small flat in Elysian Fields inviting three good friends, including Mitch. Mitch spots Blanche at that game and they spark a romance. He has never been married and lives with his sick mother, while Blanche's young husband died tragically many years ago.. While Blanche is flirting with Mitch, she turns on the radio to dance. Stanley erupts, tears it out of the wall, and throws it out the window. Stella is furious and scolds him. He hits her. She runs upstairs away from him to stay with Eunice for the evening, but later comes back to him. They love each other very much despite Stanley's violence. Mitch and Blanche begin to see each other frequently. Blanche keeps up the facade of virginity, innocence, and properness. She tells him of her young husband's tendency toward homosexuality, her discovery of his secret, and his ultimate suicide. They open up to one another saying how they both need somebody and that they would be good for each other. Stanley continues to search for evidence on Blanche's blemished past, finding people who knew her in Laurel, the town where she lived and taught English. She lived at a second-rate hotel called the Flamingo, sharing company with many men. She was involved with a seventeen-year-old boy at her school, which is the reason for her sudden departure. She was also evicted from the hotel, because her personal life was too seedy even for them. Stanley tells Mitch these stories and Mitch stands Blanche up at her birthday dinner. Stanley presents her with the present of a bus ticket out of New Orleans on Tuesday, and erupts at the table, breaking plates and glasses and scaring both Stella and Blanche even more. Mitch arrives later to talk to the drunk Blanche. She attempts to cover up her drunken state and keep him in her life. They fight and he tells her he wants to sleep with her, but she responds that she will only if they were married. He tells her she is not clean enough for him and leaves. Blanche believes that she is to leave New Orleans to go on a Caribbean cruise with one of her old beaux, Shep Huntleigh. Stanley laughs at her, but tries to make amends because his wife is having a baby. They fight and Blanche tries to stab him with a broken bottle top. She admits to her sketchy past and he shows his bad temper. Weeks later, Stella has the baby and Stanley hosts another poker game. Blanche believes that she is going on a vacation in the country with Shep. Instead, a doctor and nurse arrive at the door to have her committed. She screams and tries to stay with Stella. After a skirmish, the doctor is kind to her and she begins to trust him. She walks out of the house with him and will go to the institution. Stella cries, wondering if she did the right thing while Stanley hopes that everything will go back to normal now that Blanche has gone.

Source: []

References: [] []

BLANCHE He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! […] There’s even something — sub-human — something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something — ape-like about him […] Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle! […] Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you! (4.118)

Wow, Blanche isn't shy about telling us what she thinks. Stella, on the other hand, finds him to be, well, kind of hot. In fact, Stella's love for Stanley is very passionate. Or, as she says of his violent foreplay, "I was – sort of – thrilled by it” (4.22). However, Stella doesn't see his flaws. She only sees the masculine, attractive qualities of Stanley. Stella wants to be a very traditional and obedient wife, so she wants to let Stanley dominate her. Thus, she is blind to Stanley's flaws. On page 23 (Scene One), while Stanley is at the bowling alley with Mitch, Blanche is asking Stella questions about her husband: STELLA: "Stanley is Polish, you know." BLANCHE: "Oh, yes. They're something like Irish, aren't they?" STELLA: "Well–" BLANCHE: "Only not so– highbrow?" Clearly, Blanche is making prejudiced remarks about Stanley, which causes Stella to feel insecure. Blanche then feeds upon Stella's insecurities and begins to poison Stella's naivete about Stanley from the very beginning. Adding to this already messy situation is the social commentary Williams makes through his antagonist. Many critics have pointed out that Stanley is part of a new America, one comprised of immigrants of all races with equal opportunity for all. Blanche, however, is clinging to a dying social system of “aristocrats” and “working class” that is no longer applicable in the 1940s. Modern readers especially tend to side with the more liberal idea that merit, and not ancestry, makes us who we are. Blanche loses points for being prejudiced, and Stanley garners some favor for being the classic “pulled up by his bootstraps” hard-working American. In contrast to Blanche, Stanley represents the immigrant New American, he is "proud as hell" of being "one hundred per cent American", and can see no place for the old order of the Southern aristocracy who are incapable of holding on to their inherited wealth. Stanley also represents the primitive side of man, and Blanche sees this, she describes him with insight in her speech in Scene Four, "Stanley Kowalski - survivor of the Stone Age!" Stanley is very male in the sense that he feels men should be superior to women in every way. He likes to possess and control everything around him, he almost "owns" Stella, and he has changed from her days at Belle Reve, pulling her "down off them columns and how [she] loved it". But the arrival of Blanche, and her aristocratic ways annoys Stanley. Sources: http://www.shmoop.com/streetcar-named-desire/stanley-kowalski.html http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Conflict-Between-Stanley-Blanche-Streetcar/21270 Plot Overview:

Blanche Dubois, a very haughty, talkative woman, arrives in New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella Kowalski. Blanche is overly concerned with her appearance, cleanliness, dress, and upper-class mentality, while Stella has married someone of lower status, Stanley Kowalski. Stanley is from Poland, works in a factory, has little education, but is extremely passionate and handsome. Stella and Stanley have strong chemistry, which fuels their love. From the beginning of her stay, Blanche and Stanley are at odds; opposing ideals, ways of life, and each other on every minute detail of life. Blanche tells Stella that she has lost Belle Reve, their childhood plantation home. Stanley wants to see the paperwork regarding the property and confronts Blanche about it. During their first conversation/confrontation, they argue and discuss Blanche's past. Stanley tells her that Stella is pregnant. Stanley has a poker game in his small flat in Elysian Fields inviting three good friends, including Mitch. Mitch spots Blanche at that game and they spark a romance. He has never been married and lives with his sick mother, while Blanche's young husband died tragically many years ago.. While Blanche is flirting with Mitch, she turns on the radio to dance. Stanley erupts, tears it out of the wall, and throws it out the window. Stella is furious and scolds him. He hits her. She runs upstairs away from him to stay with Eunice for the evening, but later comes back to him. They love each other very much despite Stanley's violence. Mitch and Blanche begin to see each other frequently. Blanche keeps up the facade of virginity, innocence, and properness. She tells him of her young husband's tendency toward homosexuality, her discovery of his secret, and his ultimate suicide. They open up to one another saying how they both need somebody and that they would be good for each other. Stanley continues to search for evidence on Blanche's blemished past, finding people who knew her in Laurel, the town where she lived and taught English. She lived at a second-rate hotel called the Flamingo, sharing company with many men. She was involved with a seventeen-year-old boy at her school, which is the reason for her sudden departure. She was also evicted from the hotel, because her personal life was too seedy even for them. Stanley tells Mitch these stories and Mitch stands Blanche up at her birthday dinner. Stanley presents her with the present of a bus ticket out of New Orleans on Tuesday, and erupts at the table, breaking plates and glasses and scaring both Stella and Blanche even more. Mitch arrives later to talk to the drunk Blanche. She attempts to cover up her drunken state and keep him in her life. They fight and he tells her he wants to sleep with her, but she responds that she will only if they were married. He tells her she is not clean enough for him and leaves. Blanche believes that she is to leave New Orleans to go on a Caribbean cruise with one of her old beaux, Shep Huntleigh. Stanley laughs at her, but tries to make amends because his wife is having a baby. They fight and Blanche tries to stab him with a broken bottle top. She admits to her sketchy past and he shows his bad temper. Weeks later, Stella has the baby and Stanley hosts another poker game. Blanche believes that she is going on a vacation in the country with Shep. Instead, a doctor and nurse arrive at the door to have her committed. She screams and tries to stay with Stella. After a skirmish, the doctor is kind to her and she begins to trust him. She walks out of the house with him and will go to the institution. Stella cries, wondering if she did the right thing while Stanley hopes that everything will go back to normal now that Blanche has gone.

Source: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/snd/SUM.html

References: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/snd/SUM.html http://www.shmoop.com/streetcar-named-desire/stanley-kowalski.html http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Conflict-Between-Stanley-Blanche-Streetcar/21270