Impressions of Stella Essay Example for Free

Impressions of Stella Essay A Streetcar Named Desire contains many different themes and symbolism, included by Williams to help introduce the characters and ideas of the play. I believe one of the main ideas Williams tries to convey in this play is to do with the streetcar being a metaphor for the idea of fate, going down one route and not being able to change your direction but being destined to arrive in one, pre-chosen destination. Take a streetcar named desire, and then transfer to one called the cemeteries shows further how Williams chose the name of the play to symbolise how desire and passion (in Blanches case) lead to death or self destruction. Within the first two scenes of the play, my first impressions of Stanley were that he was the alpha male, in charge of his household, very stereotypical of a working class man. You also see Stanley as quite short tempered and slightly violent without many manners. Stanley is first seen in the play in a bowling jacket which shows immediately his working class background and joy in sports. He is also carrying a red meat stained package showing his savage manliness and that he is bringing home the food for his family. His character is also constructed through the language he uses in the first scene; in a conversation with Stella he answers Catch! Meat! Bowling! Come on all very short to the point plain answers showing again he is working class with primitive speech. Throughout the play Williams builds on his character and we see a more violent and equally passionate side of Stanley as he becomes more and more angry towards Blanche finally raping her and then with Stella, as we see the violence he shows towards her suddenly change into a raw, animal like passion. Stanleys lines are very to the point and often shouted showing his working class and straight up attitude, but also his tendency to anger and need for dominance of his life and the people in it. My first impressions of Stella arise from the conversation she has with Blanche. They show her as very quiet, and quite simple compared to her sister. She appears to not be worried about her appearance, as she is wearing simple clothes that have been made dirty. This additionally shows how Stella has become more working class than the way she was brought up because she married a working class husband, and could symbolise that unlike Blanche hiding behind fancy clothes, she has nothing to hide. Right from the beginning you are given signs of Stellas infatuation with Stanley, and it seems that from Blanches speech, she has matured and settled down becoming more lower class than the class she was born into at Belle Reve. The way Blanche speaks to Stella shows the drop in class as she seems surprised and looks at Stella with a slight distaste. This is shows when she exclaims, What Two rooms, and we are shown Stellas maturity in, How quiet you are, youre so peaceful As the play goes on I dont think my impressions about Stella change dramatically I think I understand more the extent of Stellas desire for Stanley as she continues to go back to him after violence and rage. I think you learn most about Blanches character within the first two scenes although some of these impressions maybe false. Within her first conversation with Stella she comes across as very open, speaking freely and plentifully but later on we see how closed she is with a lot of history that she tries to keep hidden. She also becomes a lot frailer; she is described as a moth having to avoid strong light but as the play goes on she is shown in light and we see how old and decayed she really is. We discover in the first two scenes that Blanche is an alcoholic, and shows she is unable to control it I never had your beautiful self-control. She also shows that she is secretive about this and deceitful to Stella when the subject occurs. This shows a side of Blanches character that develops through the play as we see how much she is hiding and lying about to Stella and Stanley. I do think Blanches appearance is of her true character right through the play though, as Williams describes her daintily dressed that her appearance is incongruous to this setting of a rough neighbourhood and that Her delicate beauty must avoid strong light. I think these descriptions show more of Blanches character than the way she acts or what she says at the beginning because you are able to tell straight away she is fragile, used to posh places and could be quite snobby and that she cares about her appearance. She shows this very openly through the first conversation with Stella, wanting to show it off, look at my figure! She also shows vanity, mentioning Stellas appearance Youve put on some weight, youre as plump as a little partridge! Blanches snobbery is shown as she expectantly asks Stella, You have a maid, dont you?