A Streetcar Named Desire Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Words: 577
Pages: 3

Scene 10 page 77: What are you doing here?
Scene 10 page 79: There isn’t a goddamn thing but imagination

Content/Theme
In this text, Stanley has just reached back from the hospital after sending Stella to the maternity ward, whilst Blanche is in a state of alcohol-induced stupor. In the apartment, the only people left are Stanley and Blanche – without Stella there to protect Blanche, Stanley quickly asserts himself. Blanche goes on about the Texas millionaire to console herself that her looks are not deteriorating as she ages – but rather, that she is becoming more beautiful. Stanley at first takes on an amicable tone which quickly changes to one of anger when Blanche called Stanley a swine.
Immediately going on the aggressive, Stanley picked
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¬ Audience/Purpose
Through this text, the author is trying to target readers who are still unconvinced of Blanche’s delusion. Tennessee Williams wishes to convince all the readers that Blanche is totally and utterly delusional and to finally crystallise the deep chasm between Stanley and Blanche and depict the lead-up to Blanche’s destruction.
Stylistic Devices
The phrase “what are you doing here” at the start of the extract indicates how filled with indignation Blanche is toward Stanley and his group of friends - after the nasty encounter with Mitch having just occurred. Tennessee Williams also uses the aspect of language usage to show a stark contrast between the refined Blanche and the working-class Stanley. A few examples include the range of vocabulary whereby Blanche who is shown to be more cultivated by her usage of relatively more complex and flowery words such as “transitory”, “immeasurably”, “divine”, “cultivated and “destitute” whilst the more primitive Stanley uses considerably more colloquial and uses more primitive phrases such as “wasn’t no”, “goddamn imagination” and “you did, huh” to craft his sentences. Through this, the author is trying to reinforce the image of Stanley as an unrefined brute and Blanche as a more refined – albeit – somewhat