Stella knows that Blanche
is not used to people like Stanley
and the others with whom he
associates. Stella asks Blanche to not
judge them based on the "normal"
people in the South.
Work Cited
Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. 1947. The Norton Introduction
to Literature. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York City: W. W.
Norton & Company Inc., 2010. 1804-67. Print.
Relation to Marxist Lens:
Stella and Stanley- "Rags"
Blanche- "Riches"
- Tension between the social groups:
- Blanche sees herself above Stanley because he's Polish and Stanley does not like Blanche because of her Old South, chivalric sensibilities.
- Blanche represents the Old South.
- Illusion of prosperous life, but in reality falling apart.
- Blanche: "I want to be I near you, got to be with somebody, I can't be alone! Because-as you must have noticed-I'm-not very well." (1809)
- Blanche doesn't view their life as acceptable because it's not sophisticated like the life in the Old South.
- Blanche: "I never thought you would come back to this horrible place!" (1807)
Basics of Marxist Critical Lens
Change in Economic System
In Conclusion:
- After the Civil War, plantations could not continue as previously.
- Northern industry and factories drew workers away from the South.
- Southern way of life quickly declined.
- Stella: "You'll get along fine together- if you'll just try not to-well- compare him with other boys we went out with at home." (1809)
The Marxist Criticism applies to A Streetcar Named Desire because of the social tensions, the decline of the South, and the change in economic system.
- Institutions and ways of thinking are determined by economic organization.
- Historical events and changes are reflected in literature.
- Tension between the social groups.
Relation to Marxist Criticism:
- Changing mode of material production: slaves -> factories
- Conflict between North and South for social, political, and economical advantage.
Tension Between Social Groups
Decline of
Old South
- Stanley: "The Kowalskis and the DuBoises have different notions." (1816)
- Blanche: "He acts like an animal, has an animal's habits! ... There's even something- sub-human - something not quite to the stage of humanity yet!" (1832)
- Stella: "Belle Reve? Lost is it? No!" Blanche: "Yes, Stella." (1810)
- The loss of Belle Reve represents all of the plantations that were lost after the Civil War.
- Blanche herself represents the breakdown of the way of life in the Old South.
Marxist Critical Lens
A Streetcar Named Desire