Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams depict sharp and intimidating oppositions in their characters Stanley Kowalski and Goldberg and McCann. The oppositions in A Streetcar Named Desire and The Birthday Party strive to assert power over their victims, Blanche DuBois and Stanley Webber, through the emergence of their pasts into the present, represented in the plays. In A Streetcar Named Desire, increased knowledge of Blanche's background inflicted on her by Stanley K creates a lucid portrait of Blanche's intrinsic torment. On the other hand, Pinter does not provide any greater insight into Stanley W's character from Goldberg and McCann's interrogation, and instead creates ambiguity as to who Stanley W and the oppositions really are. This identity confusion, present in both plays, becomes clearer in Streetcar Named Desire through Stanley K's investigation, although Stanley has a less and more direct speech compared to Blanche, while Goldberg and McCann create more uncertainty in their intensive use of speech. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The oppositions in The Birthday Party and A Streetcar Named Desire represent order, society and justice, oppressing those who distance them from societal progress. Despite this similarity, Williams portrays Stanley K as leading his cause, while Goldberg and McCann clearly serve a higher order. When Stanley K first meets Blanche, he claims his "territory" (p. 14), which describes him as primal and possessive, unwilling to give way to Blanche or compromise her power. Williams embodies Stanley's sole leadership as he presents himself as the voice of Justice, representing "the Napoleonic code" (p. 18), by which he takes possession of what belongs to Blanche or Stella. This implies that Stanley believes his way of life is correct, but this superiority results in Blanche's oppression. Stella reflects on the consequences that Stanley's power has on Blanche, as she accuses him of having "abused [Blanche] and forced her to change" (p. 81). In A Streetcar Named Desire, it is clear that this oppression stems directly from Stanley's own desperation for power and leadership, whereas in The Birthday Party, the abuse towards Stanley W appears to be the result of higher orders. This is revealed by the fact that Goldberg refers to Stanley W's interrogation as "work" (p. 29), where Stanley is the "subject" (p. 30). This language is more distant and official, suggesting that Stanley, the “subject,” is just one victim among many. Pinter describes the existence of a powerful, oppressive state or group, while McCann states that Stanley “betrayed the organization” (p. 48). The public also better understands the size and power of this “organization,” as Goldberg calls it “our race” (p. 52), suggesting that it potentially controls all of society. This language also implies superiority, like that of the Nazis, where the quality of “race” is of the utmost importance. Those who do not contribute are discriminated against and excluded from society. Both opposition groups view their way of life as relevant and correct and anyone who does not contribute to it as useless, needing to be changed or eradicated. Thus, Stanley K, Goldberg and McCann both reflect the societies of the 1950s which do not allow for difference, their victims being helpless and vulnerable in the face of the change which leaves them behind. By suggesting that Goldberg and McCann are hitmen for a larger institution, Pinter potentially expresses hypocrisyin the post-war state that echoes the Nazi fascist qualities that Britain fought against during the war. Yet Pinter attempts to mask this, because the oppressors of The Birthday Party are traditionally the oppressed, Goldberg's Jews and McCann's Irish. Perhaps through this, Pinter is actually hinting at the state's greatest terror. It is above Goldberg and McCann, the fear of forcing the oppressed into violence. On the other hand, while Stanley appears to act alone and embodies masculinity, racial diversity, and realism, Williams instead reflects on the people-led power that replaces the tradition that kept Blanche safe. There is also a contrast between Blanche's quality and security. amount of language used by the oppositions in both games. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley K controls the plot with simple but brutally determined speech, although Blanche has many dramatic and drawn-out speeches. In comparison to Blanche's exaggerated diatribes, Stanley K speaks with a direct, investigative, "sourced from the most reliable sources" aggression. Williams structures Stanley's assault on Blanche; the clarity of stating “lie number one” puts more emphasis on the truth he uses to break Blanche. Like the effect of the chaotic verbal assault in The Birthday Party, the direct truth behind Blanche's lies that Stanley K expresses reduces Blanche and her speech to simple painful exclamations: "Stanley: Actually, there wasn't no son at all! Blanche: Oh, oh! Stanley: There is no millionaire! And Mitch didn't come back with roses because I know where he is – Blanche: Oh! Stanley: There's nothing but imagination! Blanche: Oh! » In The Birthday Party, on the other hand, Stanley W loses his ability to speak due to Goldberg and McCann's profuse and nonsensical speech. Pinter's opposition bombards Stanley with completely invented notions about him, these overwhelming Stanley, his speech and his ability to process information conquered by confusion. Unlike A Streetcar Named Desire, where Blanche still tries to protect herself after Stanley K's interrogation, Stanley W is soon completely defeated. His speech is quickly lost after this verbal assault of absurd remarks: “Stanley: What woman? Goldberg: What did you do with your wife? McCann: He killed his wife! Goldberg: Why did you kill your wife? Stanley: Which woman? McCann: How did he kill her? Goldberg: How did you kill her? McCann: He strangled her. Goldberg: With arsenic. » This is similar to the discourse between the opposition and the victim in A Streetcar Named Desire, but Stanley W is broken by the absurdity of Goldberg and McCann's aggression, rather than the truth that ruins Blanche. Thus, it is clear that each playwright illustrates the power of opposing forces to render their victims powerless. Williams focuses on the cruelty and power of truth in the face of Blanche's imagination and fantasy, while Pinter displays the deep despair of knowing nothing in Stanley's confusion and breakdown following chaotic and absurd questioning by Goldberg and McCann. Blanche's past interrogation of Stanley K leads the reader to perceive a greater understanding of the two of them intrinsically, but with Goldberg and McCann, despite their vocal presence and pursuit, the audience does not understand who they are. Williams provides insight into Blanche's character through Stanley's discoveries about her, but also through Blanche's behavior with different people. When she is alone, the audience becomes aware of her childish innocence, when with Mitch, her past and why she hides from it is exposed and when with Stanley K, the audience perceivesthe facade she wears to protect herself. Ultimately, as Blanche is further broken by Stanley K's questioning about the progress of the plot, her inner torment is revealed further. By comparison, there hasn't been a better insight into Stanley W's character since Goldberg and McCann's chase in The Birthday Party. They only create more confusion about who Stanley is and what is in his past. Through this, Pinter encourages a more traumatic assessment of Stanley, with the audience's fear heightened as he could have potentially done something horrible or nothing at all. Yet Stanley's feeling of fear at the beginning shows his inability to cope with change or actually suggests that he is running from something: "they won't come." Someone take the Michael. It's a false alarm. A false alarm. As a result, Pinter suggests the individual's inability to trust themselves, as well as the feeling of threat triggered by something new or different. The oppositions also reveal nothing about themselves during interrogation, even their names are uncertain, with Goldberg going by Nat, "Simey" and "Benny". The validity of Goldberg's stereotypically Jewish past is also questionable, as he uses the same description: "'Simey!' My old mother shouted: "Quickly before it gets cold." And there, on the table, what would I see? The most beautiful piece of gefilte fish you could wish for on a plate" - for his wife, replacing only the food item with another, typically Jewish one This unrealistic repetition implies a sense of forced character in Goldberg, leaving the audience with no knowledge of who he really is, let alone the ability to trust him in A Streetcar Named. Desire, the audience gains an understanding of the opposition, Stanley K, through his interrogation of Blanche. This is primarily an insecurity related to lack of identity, which is also briefly seen in Goldberg's character Stanley. K struggles with his lack of knowledge about Blanche's past, and also with how Blanche's presence unbalances his identity as powerful, as he sees her as a threat to his way of life. Therefore, he is depicted in. desperately accumulating “evidence” to create the White woman who appears weaker than him, thus reinforcing his identity as powerful. Pinter also indicates that Goldberg is affected by the loss of identity, which becomes evident as he is portrayed as a victim of his own verbal assault. In his nonsensical speech, using phrases from songs, the Bible, and World War I propaganda, he becomes unsure of who he really is, emerging "(vacant), (desperate), (lost)." Pinter gives the impression that Goldberg pieced together a personality from all these fragments of society, but got lost in them. Perhaps it reveals a brief disillusionment with being just one among many, serving the state, without individual significance. It's in this momentary collapse that the audience can see a small part of Goldberg's character, and it's him who doesn't know who. he is. It is through this paradox that Pinter highlights our incapacity to know anything. So it's clear that as opposites, Stanley K and Goldberg both have power over the other characters but struggle to maintain it over themselves. This lack of individuality is perhaps also manifested in Goldberg's sentimentality. While it's uncertain if any of this is true, Goldberg finds comfort in memories of a time before he worked as he does today. Thanks to this and Goldberg and McCann representing stereotypical figures, in terms of religion and origin, they both embody the.