Superfluous In Stella And Stanley's Lifestyle example essay topic

Tennessee Williams gives insight into three ordinary lives in his play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" which is set in the mid-1930's in New Orleans. The main characters in the play are Blanche, Stanley, and Stella. All three of these characters suffer from personalities that differentiate each of them to great extremes. Because of these dramatic contrarieties in attitudes, there are mounting conflicts between the characters throughout the play.

The principal conflict lies between Blanche and Stanley, due to their conflicting ideals of happiness and the way things "ought to be". Williams begins by introducing us to the happy couple, Stanley and Stella Kowalski. The two live in a run-down part of New Orleans, but are content in their surroundings and their lifestyle. Stanley Kowalski is a Polish Immigrant who strongly believes in the role of a man in his own household. One may perceive him as being unrefined and rude, due to his blunt nature, but to himself and Stella, it is just his practical attitude towards life. Evident, through his interaction and dialogue with Stella and other characters, is his need to prove his masculinity by being dominant and imposing.

In contrast, Stella is overly mild-tempered and always striving to please. Generally, she is able to adapt to all situations. This ability to adapt proves to be useful, as both her husband and her sister, Blanche, have such strong personalities. From the beginning, it is apparent that Stella often plays the peacemaker.

She was able to foresee that Stanley and her visiting sister would clash. In hopes of avoiding any confrontation, she warned them both to be on their best behaviour. Stella is soft-spoken, speaking only when it is needed, and expressing her grief only when it overwhelms her, whereas Blanche is the opposite: an outspoken woman, with many opinions. Superficial is the first impression that Blanche gives when she enters the play. Consumed by appearance and face value, she is unable to see that Stella's new lifestyle is not as horrid as she imagines. In comparison to Belle Reve, it is true that these New Orleans slums may not meet Dubois standards, but Blanche is unable to see beyond the way things appear in order to realize that Stella's world does not revolve around material items.

This flaw is intertwined with her vanity and her need keep up appearances. On the surface, Blanche appears to be snobbish and conceited. She came to visit Stella with a trunk full of decorative dresses and fancy jewels, and although it was obvious that these items are superfluous in Stella and Stanley's lifestyle, she paraded them about as if to show her true importance and beauty. When more thought is dispensed on this matter, there lies the question of whether Blanche is as confident in herself and her beauty as she seems. Surely, when one is as confident as Blanche seems, it is not necessary to fish for compliments from others. Nor is it necessary to worry, as much as she did, about what others thought.

Blanche was never sincerely confident. She was a young girl who was trapped in a woman's body. Her youthful insecurities lingered with her as she matured physically, but was unable to do so mentally. From the beginning, it was clear that Stanley and Blanche had irreconcilable differences.

Their confrontation was inevitable. The two characters are very much alike, but to opposite extremes. Both are stubborn and imposing, but the attitudes behind these traits are emphatically different. Blanche put in great efforts to "save" Stella from what she saw as a horrible life with the drunken tyrant, Stanley. Stella's view on her life with Stanley was a picture of a typical, loving and somewhat thrilling relationship.

Stanley saw his life as perfectly satisfying, maintaining a steady job, friends who appreciated him, and control over a wife whom he did love, although he would occasionally lose control of his temper. Because Blanche and Stanley are so dominant, it was impossible for them both to stay in such proximity to one another and not get in each other's way. Both were fighting for their own cause, trying to justify themselves and destroy each other. It seemed as if they were both concerned for Stella's well-being, but inwardly both were fighting for the pride of the lifestyle they maintained, or in Blanche's case, the lifestyle she once had, and longed to have once again..