Character Analysis

Blanche DuBois: When the play begins, Blanche has already lost the family fortune, the estate, and her social status.  Her husband already had committed suicide and has started drinking heavily.  These problems have made her become an insecure and confused individual.  Blanche has to have the attention of males to help her self-esteem, and believes that marrying a man will help her escape from poverty and her past.  She enjoys society's views on women and the need for a man to take care of her, but unfortunately the things society desires of a women she does not have anymore.   Throughout the entire play, she lies and tries to show her sister and Stella's friends that she should be admired and other women should want to be jealous of her.  The only person who can see through her act is Stanley, and he then begins to try to find information on her.  The final step that makes Blanche lose her sanity is when Stanley rapes her and informs Mitch of her past; she then feels that she has lost everything.

Stanley Kowalski: At the beginning of the play, the audience see Stanley as a committed and passionate husband to Stella that came from a lower social class than Stella and Blanche.  Blanche can only see him as a Polish man that took Stella away from her, and he does not deserve Stella.  His hatred of Blanche begins when she first arrives and with her attitude towards him.  His main interests are poker nights with his friends, bowling, sex, and drinking which is seen throughout the play.  However, when he has been drinking, he turns into an animal-like, brutal man that makes Blanche and Stella upset.  This characteristic is discovered when Stanley beats his pregnant wife and rapes Blanche, and he does feel remorse for his actions.  

Mitch Mitchell: Mitch is the most sensitive man in the play.  His love and his care for his dying mother makes him stand out not only to Blanche but also to the audience.  Throughout the play Mitch is a decent human being wants to find a wife to bring to his mother before she dies.  Although his poker friends think of him as a mama's boy, he does not pay attention to them.  Because of both his desire and Blanche's desire to have a relationship, they are both drawn to each other; however, even with the attraction these two characters have, Blanche refuses to sleep with him.  After Mitch finds out about her past, not only is he angry but also he is embarrassed and ashamed of Blanche.  Because he knows of her past, he thinks he deserves to sleep with her, but he is too ashamed of her past and thinks she is not suitable for a wife or to bring to his mother.