The realistic elements of A Streetcar Named
Desire are mostly based on the cruelty of Stanley Kowalski, the sexual
co-dependence of Stella, and the wreck of life that is Blanche
Dubois.
Scene one places Blanche asking for her sister's
address in a raggedy, dusty, and evidently working class New Orleans street. Blanche's
white and elegant dress contrasts enormously with the sounds of everyday life and the
dump of a place where is standing.
Realism here is obvious
when we see that Stella has moved from a former rich life to a dirty, small, and stuffy
apartment with only one bathroom, two bedrooms and no doors. Already this appeals to the
senses of the audience as one feels the uncomfortable situation in which Blanche
enters.
On Scene I we also learn about how Belle Reeve was
lost to creditors, how Blance claims to have stayed to save their mansion, and the pain
she had to endure with the death of her parents. All of these situations are realistic
in nature and are not "sugar coated" with figurative language and symbolism. That is
what makes naturalism and realism different from other
genres.
Scene two of A Streetcar Named
Desire starts to reveal the mysoginist nature of Stanley's character. He is
rough, miserable, and brings the whole atmosphere of the house down. He is disrespectful
to a point (he will be worse later), and he is clear in that he is willing and able to
hurt Stella, Blanche, or any woman that crosses him. In this scene we see again the
roughness of nature at its best. We sense the danger, we resent Stanley, and we fear for
the women's lives. Once again, there is no sugar coating on this one. The girls are on
their own, and at the mercy of a man capable of all the evils in the
world.
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