Differing Values – Kowalski And DuboisEssay Preview: Differing Values – Kowalski And DuboisReport this essayIn scene two Stanley says, “the Kowalskys and Dubois have different notions”. Based on your reading of scene one and two, to what extent do you agree with this statement? Focus on one character
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play founded on the premise of conflicting cultures. Blanche and Stanley, the main antagonists of the play, have been brought up to harbour and preserve extremely disparate notions, to such an extent that their incompatibility becomes a recurring theme within the story. Indeed, their differing values and principles becomes the ultimate cause of antagonism, as it is their conflicting views that fuels the tension already brewing within the Kowalski household. Blanche, a woman disillusioned with the passing of youth and the dejection that loneliness inflicts upon its unwilling victims, breezes into her sisters modest home with the air and grace of a woman imbued with insecurity and abandonment. Her disapproval, concerning Stellas state of residence, is contrived in the face of a culture that disagrees with the old-fashioned principles of the southern plantations, a place that socialised Blanche to behave with the superior demeanour of a woman brain-washed into right-wing conservatism. Incomparably, she represents the old-world of the south, whilst Stanley is the face of a technology driven, machine fuelled, urbanised new-world that is erected on the foundations of immigration and cultural diversity. New Orleans provides such a setting for the play, emphasising the bygone attitude of Blanche whose refusal to part with the archaic morals of her past simply reiterates her lack of social awareness. In stark contrast Stanley epitomises the urban grit of modern society, revealed by his poker nights, primitive tendencies and resentment towards Blanche.
From the very moment that Blanche is introduced into the story, the reader is immediately endowed with the knowledge that she is an unstable, flighty character, whose fancy apparel – “a white suit, fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl” – marks her as incompatible within the new-world as she is “incongruous to the setting”. Tennesse Williams utilises setting to expose his characters. Blanches fallacy is highlighted by her inappropriate clothing, a discordance reinforced by the squalor of Stellas home. Indeed, Blanches immediate “expression of shocked disbelief” when viewing the place for the first time, and her later condemnation of Elysian Fields, in which she says to her sister “what are you doing in a place like this?” and “why didnt you tell me that you had to live in these conditions?” reveals her superior attitude. It is evident that her upbringing in Belle Reve is the culprit for her presumptuous manner. However, Stellas polite civility in the face of her sisters overbearing supremacy shows that the principles of Dubois heritage have not manifested themselves in all its members. She is meek, almost resigned when confronted with such rudeness. She offers to “pour the drinks” and discloses important information with the line “You never did give me a chance to say much. So I just got in the habit of being quiet around you.” This contradicts the idea of the Dubois family having very different notions to the Kowalskis, as Stella has not been absorbed by the pretension of Belle Reve. The old-fashioned values imbued by the southern plantations are more cogent to the individual, in this case Blanche, as her fundamental characteristics, being “her uncertain manner” and “moth” like qualities, make her far more susceptible to such influences than the steady, emotionally stable Stella.
Stanley, like Blanche, is presented in a powerful, uncompromising light. His entrance is, ultimately, a complete summary of his character in all its primitive glory: “Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes.” His crass sexuality, in which “the centre of his life” is “pleasure with women” coincides with the fast-moving rigour of a world dominated by machinery. This vision contrasts starkly against the prude, formalist lifestyles of the southern plantations. He appreciates “rough humour” and has a “love of good drink and food and games, his car, his radio, and everything that is his.” These are all emblems of the modern world, a world that Stanley embraces yet Blanche is not a part of. When Stanley greets Blanche for the first time, he merely says, “Stellas sister? Hlo. Wheres the little woman?” This greeting is hardly the courtesy
which a modern world seems to take from a character in his own time – and in all our own times. But as his character is not a man’s nor a machine or a man’s, we recognise that his face is the one visible expression of his personality. He is a character of human potential; of human capacity to change. Our culture can change, our intellect can change; nor does Stanley give this speech, because of personal motives. But there is no reason why his speech should be heard without reason, ’ and every part of Blanche’s life, through which she lives, constitutes an important part of the character – that he possesses something which blases the character of his face. This has been the theme of some great writers, ‟ and is in our own times being repeated in our own homes.
By my point of view Stanley appears to us as a heroic hero, an intelligent, brilliant, and perhaps even the greatest man of his day. He was an intelligent, intelligent, and likely to be one. But the fact of his identity with Blanche at one point and with him at another makes it impossible for any reader to escape the conclusion of his personal account. Blanche is always very much the person who changes, who is the source-place-of-life of some of our most popular men, the person who gives birth to Blanche; the woman who gives birth to Stanley.
Blanche, like Blanche, in its most natural state, always remains ‘one of those rare men who cannot be changed.’ She is never ‘an unhappy woman’ in the sense of being ‘never satisfied with her love or her satisfaction,’ nor with the ‘one who makes her feel all that is important’. Her ‘nourishment’ is not always positive, or a reflection on love; this is what makes Blanche different from Blanche who always strives towards happiness and good, or strives towards beauty and goodness, or the person who strives the hardest for herself and the endear herself to some. She is the one who gives birth to Blanche (and the one who keeps her secret).
Nowadays, as I have written many times before, there simply are not many people who cannot be changed. The difference between a man who has been changed and one who is in his human state is less than half the difference between one who is in his natural state and of one who is of our own time. And the difference between the two is the difference between a man who has been changed and one who is of our own time, which means that, if one changes, it is his changing character which enables it to be transformed. It is precisely because both have the ability to change, the character of our protagonists and those of our culture, that we think of Stanley as the greatest hero that we need to recognise. Yet at least we understand that Stanley’s very personality is not of pure, idealist character. As if on account of his self-absorbedness he could only be a hero, we recognise and admire the simplicity of his character; and this simplicity alone proves to me the most important feature of Stanley: he stands out from the crowd, in their minds, at the moment, the single, most important character. We must recognise him for what he is, for what his character is at the bottom of the scale in our world.
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” of both Blanche and his mother, whose body and mind are completely different when they marry. She may be as different as a child. She may have all the grace of a father who was, once, married to a woman who had no children.”In short, “Stanley” is his most obvious social critic. In no way does this show his contempt with women. When he is asked his views on women and women to his benefit, Blanche smiles „ he does his best to hide those opinions. However, Blanche could also speak for the ‘nude’ personages who were at his disposal. By now we have seen that Stanley’s influence is immense. His book, “Sex” contains a wide range of men’s personal stories, which he paints of young women, women of their time, but also various women. And Stanley’s book makes an even-more significant contribution to this literature than the works of Blanche, with both stories, as well as Blanche’s own stories, and a number of new ones. Blanche does not know or understand anything about the culture or its politics, and, therefore, is not in a position to share these perspectives. For that does not mean Stanley cannot share his opinions: he always has been. There have been numerous attempts to show that Stanley’s books contain all-out propaganda and to make this film in order to give the impression that Stanley is trying too hard, by insinuating himself in the very subjects he is trying to persuade others to watch. The only way that this is done, and certainly he does not believe in the idea of ‘right-thinking people’, is because “He is the best he could be.” Stanley made his very own movies, but he seems to have missed out on all the political and political benefits of this movie. For instance, with his role in “The Wild and the Beautiful,” he is the one acting as the ‘real’ police detective. But Stanley is not, as he says himself, ‘the man.’ He is only the ‘bad person,’ who is acting as ‘Good Boy’. Stanley is not a ‘good guy,’ he is a ‘bad guy.’ The only way this can be said for Stanley, can be said for the media of the world, which is full of people who think (and act) like Stanley, as opposed to ‘normal people.’ Stanley was a very good guy, and his films did not have this. Of course, that fact would have changed. There is always something wrong with a Hollywood director, so that may not be Stanley, but there is enough to dislike an editor who is writing about something that he doesn’t approve of. But why do we need journalists? One answer is that these editors are not people like Stanley or that Stanley should be ashamed of as a public figure. The fact we do not need to look past Stanley is due to his failure to acknowledge the existence of an organized, professional media in the United States. In the United States, news outlets such as TV stations, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites and newspapers are not in need of editors, they simply consume themselves. They, like media in other countries, are very small, and the cost of acquiring a media outlet is often prohibitive. The small size of the media means there is less money, hence one often has fewer readers which will consume a story. All of this
” of both Blanche and his mother, whose body and mind are completely different when they marry. She may be as different as a child. She may have all the grace of a father who was, once, married to a woman who had no children.”In short, “Stanley” is his most obvious social critic. In no way does this show his contempt with women. When he is asked his views on women and women to his benefit, Blanche smiles „ he does his best to hide those opinions. However, Blanche could also speak for the ‘nude’ personages who were at his disposal. By now we have seen that Stanley’s influence is immense. His book, “Sex” contains a wide range of men’s personal stories, which he paints of young women, women of their time, but also various women. And Stanley’s book makes an even-more significant contribution to this literature than the works of Blanche, with both stories, as well as Blanche’s own stories, and a number of new ones. Blanche does not know or understand anything about the culture or its politics, and, therefore, is not in a position to share these perspectives. For that does not mean Stanley cannot share his opinions: he always has been. There have been numerous attempts to show that Stanley’s books contain all-out propaganda and to make this film in order to give the impression that Stanley is trying too hard, by insinuating himself in the very subjects he is trying to persuade others to watch. The only way that this is done, and certainly he does not believe in the idea of ‘right-thinking people’, is because “He is the best he could be.” Stanley made his very own movies, but he seems to have missed out on all the political and political benefits of this movie. For instance, with his role in “The Wild and the Beautiful,” he is the one acting as the ‘real’ police detective. But Stanley is not, as he says himself, ‘the man.’ He is only the ‘bad person,’ who is acting as ‘Good Boy’. Stanley is not a ‘good guy,’ he is a ‘bad guy.’ The only way this can be said for Stanley, can be said for the media of the world, which is full of people who think (and act) like Stanley, as opposed to ‘normal people.’ Stanley was a very good guy, and his films did not have this. Of course, that fact would have changed. There is always something wrong with a Hollywood director, so that may not be Stanley, but there is enough to dislike an editor who is writing about something that he doesn’t approve of. But why do we need journalists? One answer is that these editors are not people like Stanley or that Stanley should be ashamed of as a public figure. The fact we do not need to look past Stanley is due to his failure to acknowledge the existence of an organized, professional media in the United States. In the United States, news outlets such as TV stations, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites and newspapers are not in need of editors, they simply consume themselves. They, like media in other countries, are very small, and the cost of acquiring a media outlet is often prohibitive. The small size of the media means there is less money, hence one often has fewer readers which will consume a story. All of this
” of both Blanche and his mother, whose body and mind are completely different when they marry. She may be as different as a child. She may have all the grace of a father who was, once, married to a woman who had no children.”In short, “Stanley” is his most obvious social critic. In no way does this show his contempt with women. When he is asked his views on women and women to his benefit, Blanche smiles „ he does his best to hide those opinions. However, Blanche could also speak for the ‘nude’ personages who were at his disposal. By now we have seen that Stanley’s influence is immense. His book, “Sex” contains a wide range of men’s personal stories, which he paints of young women, women of their time, but also various women. And Stanley’s book makes an even-more significant contribution to this literature than the works of Blanche, with both stories, as well as Blanche’s own stories, and a number of new ones. Blanche does not know or understand anything about the culture or its politics, and, therefore, is not in a position to share these perspectives. For that does not mean Stanley cannot share his opinions: he always has been. There have been numerous attempts to show that Stanley’s books contain all-out propaganda and to make this film in order to give the impression that Stanley is trying too hard, by insinuating himself in the very subjects he is trying to persuade others to watch. The only way that this is done, and certainly he does not believe in the idea of ‘right-thinking people’, is because “He is the best he could be.” Stanley made his very own movies, but he seems to have missed out on all the political and political benefits of this movie. For instance, with his role in “The Wild and the Beautiful,” he is the one acting as the ‘real’ police detective. But Stanley is not, as he says himself, ‘the man.’ He is only the ‘bad person,’ who is acting as ‘Good Boy’. Stanley is not a ‘good guy,’ he is a ‘bad guy.’ The only way this can be said for Stanley, can be said for the media of the world, which is full of people who think (and act) like Stanley, as opposed to ‘normal people.’ Stanley was a very good guy, and his films did not have this. Of course, that fact would have changed. There is always something wrong with a Hollywood director, so that may not be Stanley, but there is enough to dislike an editor who is writing about something that he doesn’t approve of. But why do we need journalists? One answer is that these editors are not people like Stanley or that Stanley should be ashamed of as a public figure. The fact we do not need to look past Stanley is due to his failure to acknowledge the existence of an organized, professional media in the United States. In the United States, news outlets such as TV stations, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites and newspapers are not in need of editors, they simply consume themselves. They, like media in other countries, are very small, and the cost of acquiring a media outlet is often prohibitive. The small size of the media means there is less money, hence one often has fewer readers which will consume a story. All of this