A Streetcar Named Desire - Scenes 1-3

10/30/2012

32 Comments

 
Stanley's character is both brutish and wise and can be puzzling at times. Consider in detail Stanley's behavior in Scene 3. 

Post a message responding to these questions:

     What does Stanley fear?
     How does Stanley act toward others to alleviate his fears?
     Ask a question of your own about Stanley’s character for your classmates to answer.

 As a follow-up posting, answer a classmate’s question about Stanley’s character.

32 Comments
Trevor
10/30/2012 04:00:21 pm

Stanley fears that he won’t have enough money to support his family. He is living in a fairly rough neighborhood, and doesn’t have a very good paying job, so he probably has a hard time making ends meet when it comes to paying bills. He knows that the coming baby will cost him even more money. He thinks that Blanche has pretended to loose her family’s estate, but instead has sold it and not shared any of the money with his wife, Stella. Stanley alleviates his fears by acting confident around others. He thinks that as long as he keeps a strong image, everything will be alright. As a result, he is a little bit of a bully toward his friends and wife. Do you think Stanley will turn out to be like Hedda Gabler and make the audience feel both sympathy and scorn?

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Megan Wall
10/30/2012 06:28:16 pm

I am not sure, at this point in the play, if Stanley will cause the audience to feel both scorn and sympathy. He seems like such a bold and aggressive character that I, personally, do not have any valid reason to feel sympathetic toward him. However, as we learned from Hedda, people act the way they do for a reason. Should facts be presented later on in the play that shed light on why Stanley puts on such a heavy mask and why he treats people the way he does, then the audience will be more likely to willingly feel compassion toward him.

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Megan Wall
10/30/2012 06:18:26 pm

Though Stanley has a rough exterior he is enslaved to deep issues of insecurity and fear. His greatest fear thus far seems to be out of control. This is seen multiple times throughout scenes 1-3, especially when he reprimands Stella by saying, "Since when do you give me orders?" He also displays his fear of being out of control when Mitch won't rejoin them at the poker table on his beckon, and when the radio continues to play after he had already shut it off. In order to alleviate this fear he over compensates through his actions. Again, take the instance of calling Mitch away from Blanche; at first he yells, then the stage directions turn into "bellows," to which Blanche responses with, "gracious, what lung power!" This trivial situation tried not only Stanley's patience, but also his tolerance for not being in control of other people. The next situation where Mitch's rage flares after not being listened to is regarding the radio. Instead of tolerating the music and realizing that the world does not revolve around him, it seems as if something whispers in his ear, "they aren't listening to you, Stanley. You deserve respect. You should be in control, not your wife!" He then takes the radio and throws it out the window, which then snowballs into grabbing his pregant wife and abusingn her.

After watching Stanley's character deveolp so much in just three scenes, do you think that he will be different toward the end of the play, or will he remain an abusive and forceful person?

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Celeste
10/30/2012 06:49:02 pm

I think that Stanley will change, in what way I am not sure yet, but I think he will. I think that it is inevitable that characters like people will change as time progresses.

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Kelti Lorence
11/1/2012 04:18:07 am

This is a hard thing to pre-determine. Half of me thinks that Stanley is one of those people who does everything rashly and with little thought. He will mess up and then have the nerve to wonder why he is reaping consequences, believing it was not his fault. On the other hand, Stanley's ability to beg forgiveness and showing such harsh qualities at the poker table was a huge contrast. This leads me to believe that he does possess the qualities needed to change his "spur-of-the-moment" lifestyle, and morphe into a matured, adult composure.

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Celeste
10/30/2012 06:41:16 pm

I think that Stanley fears losing objects or people that "belong" to him. He is worried that Blanche, his wife Stella's sister, has sold the plantation that was in her family for a long long time and didn't share the money. He bring up the Napoleonic code in the second scene " In the state of Louisiana we have the Napoleonic code according towhich what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa. For instance, if I had a piece of property, or you had a piece of property -" this shows he was already thinking of the plantation as part his and that he was entitled to any money it brought in. When he hit Stella and then called to her for her to come down he didn't like the fact that he could be losing Stella but he also did not at all like the thought of losing his baby. It shows that he really doesn't like and ultimately fears losing things he sees as his own property. I think he hides this fear with the tough guy act. He always has something to say and you can tell by the way he wales for Stella that he loves her . So one can make the inference that it is an act. Do you think that Stanley is truly an abusive husband or was it just in the heat of a drunken rage that he hit Stella?

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Hannah Cox link
10/31/2012 07:45:52 am

Stanley seems to have a general lack of respect for anything but himself, and therefore expects to be treated the best. There are also many places that indicate a controlling and prideful manner. All of these things make him more likely to show disrespect for Stella, especially if he views her as lesser to himself, a being that should do as he wishes at all times. I think that there is great possibility that Stanley may be abusive even outside of drunkenness. However, he may be less likely to physically abuse her when he is sober. He may lean more towards mental or emotional abuse at the times when he is in full control of his mind.

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Tristan
10/31/2012 02:38:01 pm

I think he was completely drunk, for one thing he didn't even remember what had happened after the fact. Also, Stella seems to believe the same thing, she shows this in her conversation with Blanche the next morning (act 4). However, the fact that she came back down to Stanley that night also shows that she trusts him.

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Hannah Cox link
10/31/2012 07:40:25 am

Stanley may very well have more than one fear. However, his greatest fear seems to be losing control of the things around him and/or losing control of things that he sees as his. An instance of this can be seen in Scene 2, where Stanley feels "swindled" because of the loss of something that he saw as his wife's, and therefore his, property. He fiercely berates Stella for not caring enough about the situation and hounds Blanche until she allows him to see the papers that show where the property (Belle Reve) has gone. As Stanley says, "I want no ifs, ands, or buts!" He is only content once he has the papers in his hands. Another indication of his interest in control may be found in his continuous list of "acquaintances" that would allow him to, for instance, examine the papers associated with the loss of Belle Reve or some of Blanche's clothes. Even though he may not have such acquaintances, Stanley certainly likes the idea of being able to be well informed about many things. Another major place in the play where Stanley's fears are exemplified occurs in Scene 3 when he strikes his wife because of her seeming lack of respect towards him. After the whole episode he raises a ruckus calling her back. Note that his choice of words when calling her are, "I want my baby down here," and, "I want my girl to come down with me." There is no hint of apology. Stanley focuses on what he wants, not the fact that he has done wrong to his wife.
All of these instances show that Stanley's way of alleviating his fears is by taking control, no matter what he has to do to accomplish that. Whether it involves maintaining a lordly manner, hurting someone else, boasting, hounding, or destroying, Stanley seems fairly prepared to do it. However, as is exemplified in Scene 3, he does not seem entirely prepared for the consequences of these actions.

Do you think that Stanley has objectified Stella, or does he truly care for her? In other words, does he care about Stella as a person and as his wife, or does he only care about her for what she can do for him?

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Kendall
10/31/2012 11:56:33 am

I truely believe that Stanley really does care for Stella. The reason i think is because at the end of act 3 we see Stanley desperately crying out for Stella to come back. We can feel the emotion in stanley's words and see how lost he is without her. I think Stella is the other half to him, she is what keeps him stable and without her he'd be completely lost.

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Kendall
10/31/2012 11:50:10 am

Stanley's biggest fear so far seems to be financial fears. Stanely and Stella live in a little appartment in a poor area of New Orleans and they don't make a very steady income with only Stanely working. Throughout act 2 and much of act 3 we see how presistant Stanely is in finding out what Blanche did with the money from the plantation. He continuely accuses her of hidding it or spending it on something which inturn encourages him to start rampaging through all of Blanches papers. I think Stanley fears he won't beable to provide for his family especailly when the baby arives and that makes him insecure. Due to his insecurity Stanley puts up a front that he's superior to every one else by taking controling attitude. By protraying a controling attitude he can allviate his fears and pretend like nothing is wrong. In doing this he won't be looked down at by other men because he has a weakness, therefore losing pride.

I wonder if Stanley also fears lonliness due to his desperate behavior at the end of act 3 when Stella left the house after being hit?

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Brady
11/7/2012 10:06:40 am

I believe that Stanley does fear loneliness and he is very afraid of losing her. He is so insulting to Blanche because he believes that she could influence Stella into believing what Blanche believes which is that he isn't good enough for her.

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Tristan Rude
10/31/2012 02:28:53 pm

I think Stanley fears losing Stella, there are a variety of ways this could happen so he has to watch all of them at once. He could lose her due to her pregnancy, that or he may lose the baby; perhaps both. He also might not be able to support his family once the baby comes along, this could cause Stella to leave him and search for another man. Watching all of these potential problems builds stress in him which adds up to another way he could lose her, by hurting her. We see this come to the surface when he hits Stella while drunk, but then he is desperate to get her back and truly afraid that he might lose her. He alleviates his fears and stress with alcohol. Also, by surrounding himself with people who look up to him, he can pretend to be someone else, someone who doesn't have to worry about anything.
Do you think that Stanley will be a good father?

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Mary Sine
10/31/2012 03:41:14 pm

I am not entirely sure that Stanley would be a good father. He has a bit of a temper and he does drink a lot so he may end up being abusive to his future child, just like he abused Stella while he was drunk. But then he would probably really regret his actions if he did hit the kid, like he did with Stella at the end of Act 3. But maybe having a kid will make Stanley shape up his behavior and he would be a good father.

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Mackenzie
11/1/2012 04:49:08 am

I agree with Mary here. Stanley definitely has a temper but I also believe that he has a lot of good intentions as well. He wants to be able to provide for his family and I do think he cares about Stella; when he hits her he shows remorse and it may be a sign that he has learned his lesson.

Mary Sine
10/31/2012 04:33:42 pm

I think that Stanley probably has multiple fears, like a fear of losing Stella, that we see at the end of Act 3, and a fear of losing the control he has over his life. The fear of losing Stella is obvious when, after he hits in a drunken rage, he yells for her to come back, practically begging her not to leave him. The other fear, the fear of losing his control over things, is a bit less obvious. This fear is shown in the way he feels "swindled" by Blanche losing Belle Reve because what is his wife's is his under the "Napoleonic Code" in Louisiana. Stanley's temper seems to be a way he copes with this fear of loss of control. He gets angry when he finds out about the loss of Belle Reve, and he gets angry when Stella orders him around, usurping his control. He hits Stella in a drunken rage because she wasn't listening to his orders during the poker night. The way he deals with the fear of losing Stella however is different because, I think in that moment he realizes that the angry front he put on because of his fear of losing control, is what caused her to leave in the first place. His reaction to Stella leaving seems really genuine, because in that moment he is really experiencing that fear.

How do you think that Stanley's anger will affect himself and the other characters as the play continues?

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Ariana
10/31/2012 05:30:41 pm

I think his anger will cause tension and conflict between Stella and Blanche because Blanche does not want Stella going back to Stanley. We saw this at the end of act three and I think it'll continue.

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Carley Crow
10/31/2012 04:44:26 pm

Stanley fears losing control, whether it be with Stella, finances, or even with his friends. He is constantly trying to keep Stella in his grasp, even trying to knock her down a peg, asking, "Since when do you give me orders?". He also is quite upset with Blanche and the fact that she lost Belle Reve. Even though he did not keep tabs on the estate or even put any interest in it, he was still very upset and felt "swindled" out of money that was apparently his. Stanley's group of friends also play a large role in his fear. His friends seem to be an average groups of men who all seem to be in agreement that Stanley is the head of their group. They go with whatever he says, even when they were playing poker, Stanley took the cards, and trying to bring the attention back to the game and himself, introduced a new version to keep them all interested. He alleviates his fears with overcompensating his dominance over everyone (for self security) and by drinking a lot of alcohol to forget about his selfish despairs.
How do you think Stanley's hunger for control will affect his relationship with Stella and their unborn child?

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Hannah H
10/31/2012 06:05:29 pm

I think it will. My guess would be that his hunger for control, and his fears cause him to contiue to drink, causing him to be abusive(physical, or verbal) to Stella which inturn could quite possibly harm/affect their unborn child.

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Ariana
10/31/2012 05:26:31 pm

I think Stanley fears loosing control of Stella, finances and his friends. When Stella brings up the lost of Belle Reve he is very concerned because Stella might have been scandaled and according to the " Napoleonic code, according to whatever belongs to my wife is also mine". Stanley is very concerned and uptight about the finances. He also seems to be afraid of loosing control of Stella but at the same time loosing her in general. When he hits Stella he puts her " in line" but then immediately begs for her back in order to keep her.
Do you think Stanley will continue to be abusive but then immediately feel bad and want her back?

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Lacayah
10/31/2012 06:55:18 pm

I believe that Stanley's fear is not so much loosing control, but failure to keep his grasp on the things that are important to him. For example, immediately after he realized that Stella was gone, he went to get her back. When she finally came to him, he dropped to his and humbled himself to her and silently asked for her forgiveness. It shows that he didn't want to brutally control her because, if he did, he could have stood over her and told her to get in the appartment or grabbed her and took her inside. Instead, he silently begged her to come home and then carried her inside. He did this so that he still had her in his grasp, where he could protect her and influence some of what she did, but not under his control to comand her and dictate everything.

Do you think that Stanley's drinking will become an even bigger problem for him?

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Carley
11/1/2012 03:17:08 am

I think his drinking might become a bigger problem if he's continually put into situations where he feels threatened in any way, that his stress will escelate, causing him to drink more, which is ultimately causing many of his problems.

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Trevor
11/1/2012 03:50:28 pm

Great response. I think that Stanley's drinking problem will become worse as his stress level increases. Right now he is stressed about putting up with Blanche. When the baby comes around, the stress will increase farther as it becomes harder and harder for him to pay his bills. This will lead to more drinking because he will be attempting to relieve all the stresses of supporting a family.

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Hannah H
11/1/2012 12:23:59 am

Stanly has many fears. His biggest would be the fear of losing control. After losing control of himself, Stanly, crying and upset had lost control of his anger, and was forced to beg for forgiveness. He also fears losing Stella. He becomes completely undone after hurting Stella. Afraid he is going to lose her, he begs and begs, to get her back. Stanly also fears losing things that belong to him. After hearing about the plantation that Blanche lost, he feels entitled the collectings of that deal. He goes out of his way to get to the bottom of things, even when Stella says it will upset her sister. You could also say he is afraid of losing his friends. It is obvious that Stanly is most comfortable when they are around. He loves being the head; the head of the house, the head of his group of friends, and maybe even the head character.
To alleviate his fears, Stanly surrounds himself with people that look up to him. ( a women who loves him, and is willing to put up with his drunken state, and the events that are a result of that state, and friends who look up to him.) Stanly also get drunk to alleviate his fears. He acts strong and mighty, as if to play the role of having no fears, which allows his friends to look up to him.
Stanley’s fears and actions have introduced him as a major character in the play. In order to technically be a “Major” character do you think his character/ priorities will change through the course of the play?

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Mika
11/1/2012 11:22:44 am

If Stanley were to change, something drastic would have to happen to him. If his own selfish actions unexpectedly took something away from him, such as Stella, it would ruin him, maybe even force him to change so he could get Stella back. For example, the scene when he hit Stella and she left and he did not have an angry fit, as I would have expected, but begged and cried. It was so very easy for him to get to that state that I think it could just as easily happen again and instead become a permanent change.

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Kelti Lorence
11/1/2012 04:14:11 am

Stanley, though described as being stout and strong, crumbles to pieces after upsetting Stella enough to push her out of the house. He appears to fear nothing until he becomes drunk enough to lose control, and to lose his wife. He tries to cover up the fear of not being in charge by drinking and becoming a brutish man towards others and anything that is bothering him. His actions become rash and sharp, acting without thinking. I find it interesting however, that he is willing to beg forgiveness of Stella even though his initial reaction to not being the leader is a violent one.
Because of Stanley's two-sided personality, do you think he will begin to influence the characters around him, altering the play's climax in ways that would not occur had he not been a character?

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Mackenzie
11/1/2012 04:47:01 am

I believe that Stanley fears having this baby. I think he is scared that he will not be able to provide for his family with the job that he has right now. To alleviate his fears he seems to put on a confident, "I-have-everything-under-control" shell around him. He lets everyone believe that he is the tough guy who can handle everything, even though he really can't. He tries to be the leader of his group of friends and doesn't always treat his wife very nice; he wants to come off tough and fearless but by trying so hard it is almost more noticeable.
What effect do Stanley's fears play in the rest of the characters?

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Mika McCrary
11/1/2012 11:07:48 am

Stanley is afraid to lose all the things he has and owns: his wife, his coming baby, and his friends. When Mitch talks to Blanche and does not come back to play the poker game, Stanley is afraid he will lose Mitch to Blanche. In an angry fit, he throws the radio out the window and then Stella comes in to stop him. He releases his anger on her when he hits her. His anger was focused on Blanche, but he releases it on his wife because he can. When Mitch tells Blanche, "It's a shame this had to happen when you just got here. But don't take it serious." he implies that this happens regularly. It appears that Stanley's habit to take his anger out on Stella has become an everyday thing for the both of them. But when Blanche takes Stella away, Stanley breaks down and begs and cries for her to come back.
But does Stanley want and love Stella or only the baby? He only calls her "baby", but I wonder if he is addressing her or the baby. After Stella has the baby, will he still call Stella "baby"?

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Jacob Jones
11/1/2012 05:16:30 pm

I think that Stanley has fears of losing people. Stanley does not want to lose people that are close to him like his wife. Therefore, Stanley tries to get control over others so that he can control what they do so that he does not loose people that are close to him. However, to control people he does not treat them nice but he is rude and he beats his wife when he is drunk. Another fear that Stanley has is money. He is afraid that he will not have enough money for what they may need. In addition, to make it worse him and his wife is expecting a baby that will require more money that he does not have. What will happen to Stanley and Stella and their unborn baby?

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Jacob Jones
11/1/2012 05:27:44 pm

Yes, I think that Stanley’s drinking will become a bigger problem for him. I think that he will start to rely on drinking to settle all his problems.

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Emily
11/5/2012 12:30:15 pm

Stanley is afraid of not being able to support his family when his baby comes along and of losing Stella and the baby. He also is afraid of seeming weak in the eyes of his friends. He is always angry and controlling towards everyone, especially Blanche because he doesn't trust her. Why do people just go with Stanley's actions?

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Brady
11/7/2012 10:04:18 am

Stanley is afraid of losing Stella. He believes that he is not god enough for her and doesn't come from the same background. He is quick to anger because he fears he won't be able to provide for her and their upcoming family. When Blanche calls him an ape and unrefined, he gets angry because he believes that Stella may start seeing him this way also. This is the main reason he is so mean to Blanche. He believes that Blanche could influence Stella in a way that she wouldn't love him anymore. Will his character change once their baby is born?

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