Nazeefa Ahmed
ELA 30-1
June 3, 2021
The “Subhuman” King
Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator in your chosen text about the role self-perception plays when individuals seek to reconcile the conflict between illusion and reality.
It is a primal, human desire to be seen by others as seen by oneself. The reconciliation of these two views – internal and external – is only possible in an illusory world, for self-perception is almost always fixated on an ideal way of being, one without flaws or sin – one without deception or deceit. Very few people are granted this world within their reality; Stanley Kowalski from a Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, however, creates this opportunity for himself. Stanley, portrayed as a brute, and dominating man, reconciles his self-perception with his reality through the aid of illusion. He is able to maintain this until Blance Dubios – the splitting contrast of Stanley – degrades others’ view of him, risking the loss of his illusory world. Her sabotage attempt is met with Stanley’s unforgiving grip on the reality and truth of others. His struggle – and ultimate triumph – illustrates that an individual who desires to be perceived as powerful by others will use illusion to reconcile their self-perception into a less than ideal reality. However, when the truth of their identity is opposed by the external presence of truth, they will hold their self-perception firmly in their mind and use the truth of their opposition against them, ultimately to be revealed as triumphant.
One is able to project their ideal self-perception from their mind into an imperfect world only if there is no opposition to their actions. Stanley is aware of the closed world that he needed to build to maintain his position as a man of power and control. This is why, on their wedding night, Stella recalls how Stanley “shattered the lights with the heel of [her] slipper.” This action is symbolic of Stanley’s dependence on illusion to hide his self-perception and desires. Stanley, as per the stage direction, prides in being the “seed bearer” and therefore his self perception is defined by someone in a position of power with others to depend on them. He is a man with strong sexual desires, something that is both truth and reality in its purest form. Instead of seeing the action under bright lights, however, he choses to partake in sex in the darkness, forshadowing his relationship with Stella, one where she is kept in the dark where Stella perceives and loves Stanley for his physicality only. In fact, she is so entrenched in his illusion that after Stanley beats her during the poker night, Stella once again returns to the dark with him, willingly allowing his illusion of manly power to over take her. She further justifies the beating to Blanche as something that happens naturally when men play poker while drunk. To deceive the women in his life, Stanley relies on the illusion of power through the symbol of sex in the dark – one that represents the truth of Stanley’s violence hidden in darkness – to hide the reality of the abusive and brutal man he is. His character represents that self-perception, something that is usually hidden in the hopes and dreams of the mind, can become a reality through the careful indoctrination of illusion in a closed system. Only then can the external environment be the ideal place for the individual to be seen and treated as powerful. Stanley’s self-perception of a powerful man in Elysian Fields is peacefully accepted by Stella because no one from the outside comes to contradict it. However, Blanche Dubois’ entry into the quarter threatens the perfect world Stanley created for himself. His cards, once firmly in his hands, begin to disappear.
If the closed system of illusion is shaken by truth, an individual will find that the very once entrenched and content with their self perception will no longer be deluded. Blanche Dubois, Stella’s sister with her own struggle of self-perception – represents raw and undeniable truth in the context of Stanley Kowalski. The minute she enters the quarter, she is taken aback by the condition of the apartment, which is a direct contrast to the columns of Belle Reve that had raised both her and her sister Stella. Stella had “glossed over” their living situation in the letters she had sent to Blanche, the action a result of living within his illusion for years does not hide the fact that Stanley is a lower middle class man who is trying to take care of his family through hard work and labour. His image of a powerful and respected man falls short of his two bedroom reality. Blanche, however, does not stop her sabotage at his home. She dives deeper, attacking his identity by calling him a “P-word”, a derogatory term used to describe polish immigrants in America. This word is like a crack in his externally projected self-perception, as Stella is now awakening to what is her reality. Blanche continues with her insults – such as “sub-human” and “ape-like” – each word, a symbolic jab on his self-perception, and ultimate reality. Finally, Stanley can not watch his kingdom crumble anymore. At Blanche’s birthday party, Stanley shouts at Stella and Blanche, “Pig – P-word – Nasty – Vulgar – Greasy!” referring to all of the attacks Blanche had made to his self-perception, and ones that Stella had adopted into her own vocabulary. Banche’s reality defines these words to be Stanley’s reality, but Stanley reasserts his ideal self-perception, bellowing, “I am the King! Don’t you ever forget that.” His desperate, external portrayal of his self-perception to contradict the reality of his world possibly crumbling reveals that an individual who has always relied on illusion to support the external portrayal of their self perception will find themselves facing the possible demise of their illusion if opposition of truth arises. Stanley Kowalski, in his mind, could and would become a fallen king. However, as Stanley has a strong grasp of illusion and reality – and how to reconcile it for himself – he also knows how to put the illusion and reality of others into chaos. By doing so, he is able to then protect his self-perception and its external portrayal. The poker game begins.
When attempting to salvage and mend the illusion of ideal self-perception in reality, an individual will have to go to any means necessary to overcome the opposition – even if the pursuit results in deception and deceit that widens the gap between reality and illusion forever. A woman like Blanche is not one to “lay her cards on the table” as Stella had for Stanley. She represents the “wild card” that Steve had recognized on the poker night, one that Stanley does not have control over. He can not even try to put Blanche in darkness as he had with Stella, because her motivation – in regards to Stanley – is to sabotage his illusory world for her benefit. Stanley first knew that his self-perception was being attacked when Blanche was persuading Stella to leave Stanley because of is violence, saying “Don’t stay back with the brutes!”. He, instead of confronting Blanche at that moment, decides to deceive, maintaining an illusion of innocence to then work behind her back in reality For four months, he contacts everyone he knows to gather evidence of Blanche’s reality, one that she masterfully hides under the illusion of innocence as well. Then, when he feels confident in his conclusions, he asks Blanche a question that makes her falter: ”Do you know of someone by the name of Shaw?” Immediately, Blanche’s reality is exposed and her illusion wavers. Stanley, once again not confronting her, ruins the harmony between Blache’s illusion and reality with the intention of protecting his self-perception from her Southern Belle glare. He gains ultimate power over her in the same way that he does with Stella – sex. But while Stella became enamoured by Staney’s illusions because theirs was filled with desire, Blanche became disengaged from his reality to focus on hers. Stanley had seen all of her cards – her reality – and had used it to combat the lack of reconciliation of his own life. He has won because he perceived that that would be his reality as stated in the line, “To hold front place in this rat race, you have got to believe that you are lucky.” So when Blanche tells of Stanley’s cruelty to Stella, Stella, once again, returns to believing in Stanley’s self-perception of a man with power and truth, horrified that her sister would create such a story. Stanley cleverly makes the reality of Blanche’s rape into an illusion in his illusory world. Then, he rids of her completely and everything returns to the way it was before her visit, symbolized sexually by Stanley reaching into Stella’s blouse. Stanley’s triumph illustrates that repeated attacks at one’s self-protection drives an individual to use the truth and reality of others to cause chaos in their lives. By doing so, attention is removed from their deceitful actions to that of others. Stanley Kowalski will continue his reign in Elysian Fields with Stella’s cards in his hand.
Stanley, the king of his home, uses sexual desire to control Stella and viel her from his real violence and status. However, Blanche Dubois contradicts this through insults at his self-perception that ultimately shake his illusory world. Ultimately, Stanley, through deceit and cunning, shifts the focus from his illusion to Blanche’s reality. He once again regains power over Stella’s perception of him when Blanche is sent away – broken and insane. Stanley’s struggle – and ultimate triumph – illustrates that an individual who desires to be perceived as powerful by others will use illusion to reconcile their self-perception into a less than ideal reality. However, when the truth of their identity is opposed by the external presence of truth, they will hold their self-perception firmly in their mind and use the truth of their opposition against them, ultimately to be revealed as triumphant. Ultimately, it is desire for being seen by the world and seen by oneself that drives individuals to create an illusion within their reality.
