"A Streetcar Named Desire" and the Poker Night

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire", one of the most recurring images is the overpowering masculinity of the protagonist Stanley and how it pervades the atmosphere in Stella and Stanley's home, which is shown through dialogue, stage direction and description of the surroundings. The author points out that this masculinity serves to highlight the striking difference between Stanley and Blanche, a delicate remnant of the old ways of gentility and femininity and emphasizes not only the contrast between the primitive and the civilized, which is present throughout the play, but also the difference between the Old South and the New South, a difference that Blanche cannot accept. The paper relates that, in scene three, Stella and Stanley's relationship is without tenderness, only a raw feeling that manifests itself in anger or sex; their relationship is contrasted with Blanche and Mitch who calmly sit down to smoke on the steps, looking up at the night sky.

From the Paper:

"Scene three opens with a description of the surroundings during a poker night. The kitchen is bathed in a "lurid nocturnal brilliance, the raw colors of childhood's spectrum," (p. 2301). It is not an innocent child's scene, though; the amount of bright color in the room makes it look crude and garish. However, the mention of the colors as "childhood" colors could indicate the immaturity of the men, their childish way of acting during the night to come. The poker players are introduced, and they are described as wearing vividly colored shirts. These men are "at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colors." These men are strong and powerful, and yet they have a childish aspect to them, in the ways they use this physical strength they possess. The hard alcohol, namely whisky, on the table also underlines the masculinity of these men."

More papers on "A Streetcar Named Desire" and the Poker Night:

• Analytical Essay # 18782 : "Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Glass Menagerie"
• Analytical Essay # 53343 : "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Blanche Dubois"
• Analytical Essay # 58222 : "Tennessee Williams: Two Plays"

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