Predator and Prey in Streetcar Named Desire Essay

The Battle For Predator and Prey

In Tennessee Williams, A Street Car Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is in a fight for the role of prey or predator. Blanche is visiting her sister, Stella, who is married to Stanley Kowalski in New Orleans. They live on the street of Elysian Fields. Blanche has many sides to her personality. When we first meet she seems to be a high-strung, but a socially refined woman. As the plot unfolds, we find that her past is revealing a total different woman. Stanley is certain to get to the bottom of the true Blanche DeBuis.

In the opening scene when Blanche first arrives she seems to portray the role of the prey. She is walking down the street of Elysian Fields carrying a bag with her. She looks out of place in this section of town; Blanche is dressed as if she is heading to the Garden District for tea. Blanche is the kind of person that is unable to view the common person without eyes of disapproval. In this area of town a woman that is carrying her self in this manner is defiantly not the predator of the neighbor hood, but more the prey. Later in the first scene Blanche meets up with Stella. Here she seems to show her prey-like form. She tells Stella how their family plantation, Belle Reve, has been lost for tax purposes. Blanche seems to blame Stella for leaving her with the burden of keeping up with the family plantation. With Stellas help, Blanche believes they would never have lost Belle Reve.

When Blanche meets Stanley for the first time he questions Blanche of how the plantation is actually lost. He suspects that Blanche has just sold it off to buy furs, jewelry, and expensive dresses. This sets up the sort of questioning that Stanley keeps with throughout. Stanley doesnt believe Blanch so he Tears through her bag looking for the papers for the sale of the property. Stanley instead finds letters from Blanches late husband Allen. This gives a sort of sad feeling toward Blanche for her loss. When she presents Stanley with the papers for the sale of the property it strengths her; Blanche is not lying and disproves one of Stanleys beliefs. At this point Blanche also finds out that Stella is not getting fatter but that she is expecting Stanley and her first child.

In the third scene Blanche shows a little of her predator side for she provokes Stanley to act rashly. Stanley and a few of his friends had been drinking and playing poker for some high stakes. Blanche then turns on the radio, but Stanley demands her to turn it off.. Blanche refuses and so Stanley gets up himself and turns it off. When Stanleys friend, Mitch, drops out of the game to talk to Blanche, Stanley gets upset and even gets more upset when Blanche flicks on the radio. Due to the music being on, Stanley, in a rage, stalks in the room and grabs the radio and throws it out the window. When Stella tries to stop Stanley. She is hit almost for her sister. His friends immediately jump up, and then they drag him to the shower to try to sober him up. When Blanche and Stella retreat up stairs moments later Stanley appears to call for his wife to return. She does and is taken off to the bedroom.

Blanche shows power over men as a predator would. When she flirts with and starts to date Mitch. She controls every aspect she can of the relationship. When Stanley discovers information about the men in the army that Blanche had relations with in the past he relays it to his friend Mitch. This is only to destroy Blanches chances with Mitch. Stanleys plan was foiled for Mitch still came back to Blanche to try to overcome this new information.

Blanche shows the side of prey when Stella is forced to stay at the hospital. When Blanche finds out that Stanley has to spend the night at home because Stella did not give birth yet, she becomes wary and is alarmed at the thought that of being alone in the house alone with him is a scary thought. When Blanche tells Stanley that she has put Mitch in his place for being mean to her, Stanley explodes in terror. Then Stanley retreats to the bathroom to put on his silk pajamas. When he comes out of the bathroom, Blanche is threatened by his words and she smashes a bottle on the table to use the sharp edge to fend him off. Stanley approaches her carefully, but Blanche swings at him and Stanley catches her arm and forces her to drop the weapon. She then collapses at his feet and he picks her up and carries her to the bedroom and rapes her. The rape seems to through Blanche over the edge she finally losses her mind and is going to be set a way to the mental hospital. Stella never!

did believe that the rape occurred. Blanche also started making up lies of being taken a way by a gentleman on vacation.

Blanche DeBois is the most complicated characters in the play. Her constantly over laying role of predator and prey is very apparent throughout the entire play of A Street Car Named Desire. Her battle with Stanley for the true predator is apparent. Even till the end of the play when she taken away to the hospital she lies to make herself to try to conceal the truth. The overall true predator in this play is Blanche because of her the lying throughout the play. Stanley is merely the detective that uses whatever means is necessary to get to the truth of what Blanche is really saying in the play.