Conflict Blanche and Stanley A Streetcar Named Desire
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Unit 1 - Drama
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
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Streetcar Named Desire
An A-grade essay that explores the view that A Streetcar Named Desire is a play concerned with the conflict between the values of the old world and the new world and that this conflict is expressed through the battle between Stanley and Blanche.
A Grade A-level English lit streetcar essay on characters inner lives with feedback
How is Masculinity presented in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
A Streetcar Named Desire: Scene 3 and 4 summary notes for revision A Level English Literature AQA PEARSON EDEXCEL
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
English Literature 2015
Unit 1 - Drama
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Leah Stewart
Explore the view that A Streetcar Named Desire is a play concerned with the conflict between the values of the
old world and the new world and that this conflict is expressed through the battle between Stanley and Blanche
Within ‘A Street Car Named Desire’ Williams’ characterization of Blanche and Stanley deliberately juxtapose in
order to serve as a key demonstration to the audience of the conflicting morals and values of the New South and
the Old South. Thereby, Blanches character represents the Old South which encompasses polite morals and is ‘not
used to such –‘ violence. Whereas, Stanley ‘the gaudy seed-bearer’ represents the New South- Stanley is crude and
unrefined thus there is ‘animal joy in his being’. Subsequently, Williams’ utilizes Blanche’s Old South portrayal to
serve as a contextual reminder of the harsh realities of the new post-war America as the ‘dainty’ Old South is being
taken over by the ‘crude’ and ‘rough’ New South.
In scene 1 the description of Blanche structurally juxtaposes to the other characters as the stage directions provide
the audience with a highly detailed description of Blanche therefore highlighting her Southern Belle superiority to
the other characters- the other characters are representative of the ‘raffish’ New South. Hence, this establishes to
the audience Blanche’s Old South demeanor as this mirrors her illusions- she sees herself somewhat superior to
the ‘cosmopolitan’ setting of New Orleans. Furthermore, this highlights Blanche as a southern belle due to her
social superiority within the impoverished setting of New Orleans. Alternatively, it could be interpreted that
Blanche imparts a Southern Belle façade due to her aristocratic upbringing thus she is in denial of the values of the
Old South dying out in 1940’s America.
In addition to this, Blanche’s aristocratic origins are established as she is describe as being ‘daintly dressed in a
white suit’. Thereby, emphasisng Blanche’s fragility and wealth- Marxist critics suggest “Blanche and the Old South
are representative of the ‘old’ built up money of society due to their aristocratic origins whereas the New South
like Stanley graft in order to earn sufficient income thus establishing a root of envy for the New South”.
Alternatively, the adjective ‘dainty’ could emphasise the fragility of Blanche’s values thereby suggesting Blanche is
duplicitous in terms of her values- she projects the stereotypical 1940’s Old South values to others but however
behind the curtains she does not live by these values. Subsequently, some critics suggest ‘as a Southern lady,
Blanche’s narrowly defined role has kept her from admitting to her natural appetites and pursuing them
forthrightly so she has felt obliged to lie’. Moreover, the semantic field of ‘white’ clothing acts as a paradox as it
juxtaposes to the ‘dim’ and ‘dark’ surroundings of the French Quarter providing light to the setting. Thereby,
establishing Blanche as the outsider; Blanche is deemed as a Southern Belle and represents the Old South due to
having old and pure morals. Alternatively, the repetition of ‘white’ clothing could symbolize Blanche’s purity and
innocence which is ironic thus portraying the Old South as deceitful. Thus, some critics suggest ‘the use of
Blanche’s white clothing serves as a reminder of her feeble but pure mind- Blanche is isolated from the society
within the play and solely desires a companion’.
Whereas, 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. 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. Evidently, this establishes the conflicting differences of Stanley and Blanche-
Blanche is narcissistic whereas Stanley is simplistic and despises of Southern Belle characters.
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
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