A Streetcar Named Desire

by Tennessee Williams
 
Stanley's Brutality
 
In "A Streetcar Named Desire", by Tennessee Williams,
Stanley Kowalski displays his brutality in many ways. This
classical play is about Blanche Dubois's visit to Elysian
Fields, her encounters with her sister's brutal and
arrogant husband, Stanley Kowalski. and the revealing truth
of why Blanche really came. 
 
Stanley Kowalski, is a very brutal and barbaric person who
always has to feel that no one is better than he. 
Stanley's brutality is shown in several places during the
duration of " The Streetcar Named Desire" . For example,
his first array of brutality is evident at the poker night
when he gets so angry and throws the radio out the window.
Another example of his brutality is displayed when he beats
his wife, Stella. Lastly, his arrogance and ferocious
actions are most apparent when he rapes Blanche, while his
wife is in labor in the hospital.
 
Stanley Kowalski's first exhibition of his brutal actions
occurs at poker night. Blanche turns on the radio, but
Stanley demands her to turn it off. Blanche refuses and so
Stanley gets up himself and turns it off. When Stanley's
friend, Mitch, drops out of the game to talk to Blanche,
Stanley gets upset and he even gets more upset when Blanche
flicks on the radio. Due to the music being on, Stanley, in
a rage, stalks inyo the room, grabs the radio and throws it
out the window. His friends immediately jump up, and then
they drag him to the shower to try to sober him up. This is
the first example of Stanley's rage and brutality.
 
Not only does throwing the radio out the window represent
an impure demeanor, but so does beating his wife. During
the entire night of the poker game, he is not sober which
leads to another problem. When he threw the radio out the
window, he then immediately charged right at his wife,
Stella. He was in such rage and he was so drunk that when
he reached her he hit her in the face. Luckily, before he
could strike her again, his friends grabbed him and pinned
him to the floor. This action leads the reader to believe
that he is a very brutal person and needs some
psychological help to aid him to control his temper. This
is another example of Stanley's anger. 
 
Lastly, and the most evident action that leads the reader
to believe that Stanley is very ferocious and rapacious is
when he rapes Blanche Dubois. When Blanche finds out that
Stanley has to spend the night at home because Stella did
not give birth yet, she becomes wary and is alarmed at the
thought of being alone in the house with him. When Blanche
tells Stanley that she has put Mitch in his place for being
mean to her, Stanley explodes in terror. Then Stanley
retreats to the bathroom to put on his silk pajamas. When
he comes out of the bathroom, Blanche is threatened by his
words and she smashes a bottle on the table to use the
sharp edge to fend him off. Stanley approaches her
carefully, but Blanche swings at him and Stanley catches
her arm and forces her to drop the weapon. She then
collapses at his feet and he picks her up and carries her
to the bedroom and rapes her. 

This event shows that Stanley is very brutal and
avaricious. It shows that he is greedy and wants to control
more than one woman. It also shows that he is very arrogant
because he feels that because he "conquered" Blanche, he
has won. 

In the play "A Streetcar Named Desire", by Tennessee
Williams, Stanley's brutality is evident throughout the
entire course of the play. His rape of Blanche, beating of
Stella, and throwing the radio out the window are all
examples of why Stanley is such a fierce and intimidating
character in this play.