Streetcar named desire: poker night

A detailed Summary of Streetcar named desire: poker night

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. H

lla 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 !

b 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 tw!

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 h

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1534
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English