A Streetcar Named Desire is a socially challenging work in light of the way Tennessee Williams depicts human nature's capacity for brutality and deception. He is of the view that, no matter how structured or "civilized" the society, all people will rely on their natural animal instincts, such as dominance and deception, to get themselves out of trouble at some point in life . William's created three main characters, Blanche Dubois, Stella Kowalski and Stanley Kowalski. Each of these characters is just as civilized as the next, yet all are guilty of acts of savagery to varying degrees. Throughout the work Williams symbolically connects these three characters to animals, to "savages", through the revelation of their attitudes, beliefs, appearances and desires. The most obvious example of the savage in the work is Stanley Kowalski. He is a large, well-toned male, territorial, with simple beliefs and a short temper. He doesn't have many manners and doesn't care what people think of him. He seems very simple but there is more to him than meets the eye. Stanley feels threatened by Blanche not only because she has invaded his territory, but also because she reminds his wife of what she sacrificed to marry him and the severe limitations on what he could provide her in return (Adler 51 ). Early on, Stanley acts physically dominant over both Blanche and Stella, rummaging through Blanche's possessions (Williams 124), quoting to Stella and Blanche that "every man is a king" (Williams 197-198), throwing the radio outside the door. window in a drunken frenzy and actually hitting his pregnant wife (Stella) (Williams 152-155). However, towards the end of the play, Stanley realizes that his… medium… is that lifestyle they shared in their youth. However, Stanley has shown her his world and she is caught between the two, like a ping-pong ball. In the end Stanley wins the game, due to Stella's primal nature, her sexual desire and her need to be dominated. It seems that Tennessee Williams has asked the entire world to be aware of the fact that humanity is still a member of the animal kingdom in spite of society's efforts to mask its primal impulses and somehow give the impression that it is beyond above other animals. Works Cited Adler, Thomas P. A Streetcar Named Desire: The Moth and the Lantern. New York: Twayne, 1990. Kazan, Elia. 20th century interpretations of a streetcar called Desiderio. Ed. Giordano Miller. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Williams, Tennessee. A tram called Desiderio. Stuttgart: Phillipp Reclam, 1988.