Tara Vingelli
Mrs. Medvesky
ENC 1102 T/Th 9:30am
27 March 2008
The Conflict in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
In the story, there is a big conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Blanche is a woman stuck
in the idea of still being young and rich. Stanley however is pretty much the complete
opposite being from a lower class with a violent temper.
Because of their differences in personalities and values, it causes a great deal of conflict.
Stanley does not value the frivolities like clothes and jewelry like Blanche and she does
not respect the truth in anything which seems to have a high place in Stanley’s life.
Neither of the characters could be considered a hero because neither of them did anything
extraordinary to prove themselves to be good. Stanley would take the role as a villain in
the story due to the violent outbursts, and the disturbing rape. Blanche is not the villain
because she did not do anything to purposely harm anyone, like Stanley did. Yes, Blanche
did have some moral issues but that was a problem within her, not a fit of violent rage
causing harm to other people.
By the end of the play, Blanche gets the most sympathy. Between knowing all the tragedies
that she has gone through, the rape, and the final act of her going to a mental hospital, the
audience cannot help but feel her pain. It is not until Stanley rapes her that most of the
audience does finally begin to feel sympathy for the character, and realize the true
destructiveness of Stanley.
The conflict in this story has a major part in the plot of the story. Overall, neither of the
characters were right in their actions, but people cannot help but feel remorse for Blanche
and hatred for Stanley.