Streetcar Named Desire Essay, Research Paper

How relevant is the poker night (Scene three) to our understanding of Blanche, Stella and Stanley?

Scene three is a very relevant part of A Streetcar Named Desire and shows the differences in personalities of each character. This scene illustrates the dominance of Stanley, the forgiveness of Stella and the sense of need within Blanche s character.

The scene opens with a stage direction, and this instantly gives the reader a feel for what the scene might be based around. Williams uses the words, they are men at the peak of their physical manhood already suggesting that we will see some illustration of male dominance. We then enter the scene on the poker night, in the middle of a game, to create the image that the reader is intruding and watching in on their lives. Within the four men playing the game, Stanley seems to be very much the leader of the gang and makes fun of the others. For example, after Mitch comments on needing to get back to his ill mother, Stanley says we ll fix you a sugar-tit to him, suggesting that he is acting like a baby. We also see here that Stanley is very blunt and to the point, for example when Blanche enters and is greeted by the men she tells them not to stand, as this is what she is used to. However, Stanley is almost rude to her and tells her, Nobody s going to get up, so don t be worried . He also will not let her join in, although this is partly understandable because it is a man s night in for him and his friends. When Stella suggests that they stop soon, Stanley slaps her thigh hard. Stella does not like this and it is obviously not something he does very often, but Stanley did it to assert dominance in front of his mates. It was as if to say, She s only joking, she wouldn t dare to tell me what to do really. I control her . Mitch then leaves the poker game to talk to Blanche. Here we see an example of Stanley s extremely quick temper. He calls Mitch, and even when Mitch tells Stanley to deal him out Stanley continues to call Mitch back to the game. It is almost as if he is jealous of Mitch getting to know Blanche better because he cannot as he is married to her sister. Stanley then chases after Mitch into the bedroom and throws the radio out of the window in a fit of rage. Stella gets angry, and he advances on her and hits her. The other men grab Stanley and carry him away. He then drops and becomes limp, and seems to not be able to remember what has happened or what he has done. Therefore it does not seem that this act of violence was to impress his friends, but simply in his character. Also, by the way the men grab him and hold him down, it seems as though Stanley has done this before. This is yet another example of his quick temper and need to be noticed. We then see Stanley as animalistic and almost prehistoric, calling out Stella s name and summoning her back to him after he mistreated her. He cries out for her with animal calls, screaming for her and wanting her back on his territory. One of the cries is preceded by the stage direction with heaven-splitting violence , but Stella still goes back to him, and at the end of the scene, Williams describes their reconciliation as they come together with low, animal moans , again illustrating the animal instinct within Stanley and the animal attraction between the two lovers.

Stella is a forgiving and understanding lover to Stanley, but perhaps a little too forgiving as we see in this scene. Stella is very complimentary to Blanche at the start of the scene, although she does not seem to understand why Blanche wants to look so good in front of her husband and his friends. Stella wants the poker game t end, perhaps because she no longer wants her house being invaded and taken over by the game and Stanley s friends. She does not like it when Stanley slaps her leg, but puts up with it because she knows Stanley would not like to be made to look like a fool in front of his friends. Stella realises that Blanche is interested in Mitch but does not compliment him. She points out that Stanley s the only one of his crowd that s likely to get anywhere . Stella is deeply in love with Stanley and although she can see all his good points, it seems as though she is failing to see all his bad points. She is blinded by her love for him. When Stanley gets angry, Stella seems to know that he is going to hit her, as she says, You lay your hands on me and I ll – . This also indicates that this sort of violence has happened before. Stella leaves immediately with Blanche, but moments later she returns to Stanley s cries, going back to him once again as she has done many times in the past. Stella goes back to him because she still loves Stanley with all her heart and he is the father of her unborn baby. Stella needs Stanley; she relies on him for money and to provide for her. She will be dependant on him once she has the baby and if she leaves him, she won t be able to support herself. Williams uses the words, her eyes go blind with tenderness , emphasising the fact that she is blinded by love. There is no dialogue when Stella returns, and it is possible that she honestly believes that this is the last time that Stanley will ever hit her. She feels that Stanley is better than no-one, and that she will be better off than Blanche if she has a husband, even if he does hit her. She is possibly scared that Stanley will just continue to chase her and never give up if she doesn t go back to him also.

In this scene Blanche s true side is revealed; the not so innocent side of her character that she keeps well hidden when she doesn t want it to be discovered. Blanche first starts flirting when she enters the room where the men are playing poker. She asks if she can join in, and it not a usual thing for a woman to join in with four men playing poker. Blanche also decides to have a bath while the men are still in the house, and as she enters the bathroom, she meets Mitch. There is an obvious attraction from Mitch to Blanche, but whether this is reciprocated is not clear. It is almost as if Blanche just wants to get to know him better for a one-off . It is also possible that she does not want anything from him, she just wants to flirt and to know if she can still charm a man. However it pleases Blanche that he likes her as it puts her in control of the situation. Mitch is very polite and courteous towards Blanche, providing a complete contrast to how Stanley acts around Stella. Blanche and Mitch also have much in common, for example they are both widows, and they both have sickness in their families. Mitch is not so much of a lad as the others and Blanche likes this as she is more used to men like him and knows how to handle them. As Blanche is getting undressed she deliberately stands in a shaft of light so that her shadow will be reflected on to the curtain that separates them from the poker game. She hopes that the men will look over and see her provocative movements. Stella notices this and tells her that she is in the light. Blanche acts as if she didn t realise and moves away. However, when Stella goes out of the room, Blanche moves back into the ray of light. When she is talking to Mitch, she also switches on the radio and dances using romantic gestures. However, the mood is rapidly changed when Stanley stalks in and disturbs the peace. Blanche is deeply shocked by Stanley s actions and immediately goes to help her sister. She then meets again with Mitch, and provokes him into wanting her. This is how the scene ends, with Mitch and Blanche under the starlight.

This scene provides a well-rounded image of each of the three main characters, showing both their good and bad points. It is very relevant when trying to understand Stanley, Stella and Blanche, and helps the reader to decide what they are really like and what they hide form public view. This, for Stanley, is his quick and violent temper, for Blanche it is the less pure image of herself that she tries to cover up. Stella does not seem to have anything to hide, but is too forgiving of her husband and does not stand up for herself in any situation. This scene provides a good, detailed description of these three characters and helps dramatically with our understanding of the characters and both their internal and external personalities.