Stanley represents the lower class
of New Orleans, and he lives a
basic, fundemental life
He is often referred to
as a caveman, as in
chapter 1 he is seen
coming home with
"raw meat" a
traditional activity of
hunting and gathering
done in the
pre-historic era.
Scene 8. The verbs "spears" and "stalks" has
connotations of caveman
hunting
As a result, he doesn't own much property and isn't very wealthy,
so when he hears about the loss of Belle Reve, he is threatened by it
because it is a source of income for him and Stella
He believes in passionate, sexual
love and Blanche cannot understand
why Stella would fall for such a brute
He is loud and gaudy, as
sees by the "brilliant silk bowling shirt" he
wears and his "gaudy pyjamas". He is also very loud
in his speech and asserts
himself as the alph male
Relationship with
Blanche
In the opinion of Blanche, Stanley is a
brute, an animal and a caveman and she
sees herself as intellectually superior to
Stanley
"A cultivated woman, a woman
of intelligence and breeding...I
have those things to offer" (pg
93)
The mere presence of
Blanche annoys Stanley and
he has a short temper with
her. Scene 3, pg 31. The
phonology created by the
imperative "Turn it off!"
shows his anger and
resentment towards
Blanche's actions in his
home
The phonology "I've been onto
you from the start!" (scene 10)
highlights the menace and
malicious intent in Stanley's
voice and his desire to hurt
Blanche
The American
Dream
Relationship
with Stella
After the fight in scene 3, it is clear that
Stanley is remorseful and regrets his
actions towards Stella. The stage
directions "he falls to his knees" suggest
Stella has power of him in this situation
as she is the one who has to make the
decision whether to forgive him or not.
This shows that Stanley genuinely cares
about Stella
This role reversal is seen again through
the adverbs "slowly" and "clumsily"
when Stanley is trying to apologise to
Stella. Also the colloquialisms "Stell"
and "Honey" shows how he is using
terms of endearment to fix their
relationship
The imperative "I want to know why. Tell me why" shows how
Stella is demanding and strong as she stand up to Stanley. The
short sentences show how serious she is
Page 35. The dynamic
verbs "charges" and
"advances" create
animalistic imagery
and suggest Stanley is
uncontrollable and
aggressive in their
relationship.
"I am the king around here, so don't forget it" (scene 8)
uses metaphoric language to present Stanley's
threatening behaviour. This declarative sentence
shows Stanley asserting him dominance
"got to tolerate each others habits" (pg 41/42). The
verb "tolerate" shows how she almost blames
Stanley's anger on herself to avoid the fights and she
feels like she just has to get on with it