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Theme Of Cruelty In A Streetcar Named Desire

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Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire has a setting off back in time when there were not any cell phones and when not very many people had cars and could not just drive from place to place anytime they wanted. In Tennessee Williams’s play, it is clear that none of his characters have a lot of money that they could just spend on what they like. When Stella’s sister, Blanche, comes to visit, it is not what Stella thinks it is for. Blanche needs her help, because everything and everyone in her life have left her or had passed away, leaving her with nothing but a broken heart. Blanche needs help and is hoping that her sister will take her under her wing. Blanche and Stella are both from the old south raised with values, but the values mean nothing to either one of the girls. Williams’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire, displays the theme of cruelty and violence through the relationship of Blanche and Stanley. The relationship is seen in the way he treats her throughout the play, in the final scenes when he …show more content…

Blanche starts to feel unworthy, venerable when entering the scene. Stanley starts to take Blanche down piece by piece by making indifferent comments such as “Swine, huh?” (10.1872) and “You did, huh?” (10.1873) Stanley means by all of the hateful comments because he is tired of all her bogus lies and wants Blanche to feel like she has been treating Stella. Blanche is in the process of trying to redeem herself when Stanley picks her up and throws her on the bed. The violence here shows that Stanley then rapes Blanche. C.E. Atkins states, “Talk about rape, like talk about love, hardly ever hits its target” (175). This quote from Atkins can relate to what the audience is thinking about how Blanche is feeling right now. At this time, Blanche is discouraged by how she has been treating her sister. At this time, Stella realizes that Blanche needs help, and plans to put her into a mental

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