The Street Car Named Desire

The author starts Scene Three with ‘The Poker Night.’ giving the impression this scene is an important one in the book through the use of a short direct three word sentence with each word capitalised, this suggests that the happenings in this scene are going to have an important impact on the rest of the play.

After this, Williams carries on with stage directions; these directions show from the beginning what kind of ambience the scene is going to take on, the kind of ambience that he wanted to portray is that of a drunken night. Williams wanting a ‘picture of Van Gogh’s of a billiard-parlour at night’ to be shown on stage is intentional, as it reflects some of the characters problems such as Blanche and her substantial amount of alcohol consumption that is expressed on several occasions where she tries to hide that she had been drinking Stanley’s alcohol. The picture painted by the author of the surroundings gives the impression of a somewhat depressing working-class environment. Williams sets the mood with a description for the kitchen that is demoralising and forlorn, ‘The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance’.

The description Williams gives for the poker players as “men at the peak of their physical manhood” highlights that the men in the scene are strong and well built which in the atmosphere created by the author can also serve to make them appear intimidating. Williams gives a pause for the play; ‘there is absorbed silence as a hand is dealt’ and this is for emphasis on what is about to unravel in this scene. Breaking this pause Steve’s question “Anything wild this deal?” and Pablo's response of “One-eyed jacks are wild” gives the scene an even more tense aura because the sense of deception and lies is becoming more obvious. This is illustrated as one-eyed jacks show only half of their face, indicating that the one-eyed jack is hiding the other half.

The writer carries on the scene calmly for a few lines until Mitch asks if