Blanche's Guilt In A Streetcar Named Desire

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Though Blanche and Jasmine both share similar experiences of guilt, shame, harassment and trauma, I believe that Blanche faces these ordeals to a greater extent, which is why I sympathize with her rather than Jasmine.
One of the biggest reasons why I think Blanche deserves more sympathy is because she has to deal with an actual antagonist, Stanley. Throughout the play, Stanley displays a sense of skepticism and resentment towards Blanche. First of all, Stanley accuses Blanche of being greedy by stating that Blanche kept all the money that she has gotten from “selling” Belle Reve, when in reality, Belle Reve was actually lost to the bank. This leaves Blanche questioning how Stanley really perceives her and if she is really wanted in New Orleans, …show more content…
Stanley is also aggressive towards Blanche to display his superiority and to instill fear in Blanche’s mind. For example, in scene three, Stanley throws the radio out of the window because Blanche refuses to turn it off, another example would be Stanley raping Blanche to further emphasize his power and to show how vulnerable and powerless Blanche really is. Furthermore, Stanley does not show any respect towards Blanche and any of her possessions which is also a way for Stanley to show that he is above Blanche. For example, during scene two, Stanley proceeds to open Blanche’s wardrobe trunk without her permission and then rampages through Blanche’s belongings, throwing them everywhere, as if they were his own. Another example would be when Stanley rummages through Blanche’s box of papers including poems that her husband wrote, in which Stanley displays apathy towards the poems and continues on to search through the box. Clearly, Stanley’s lack of respect and his intrusive nature leads Blanche to feel unsafe and threatened. Stanley is also responsible for wrecking Blanche’s one and only chance of ever getting back on her feet and living a normal life. Stanley does this by revealing to Mitch that Blanche had many
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