competing realities

Name:David Rosario

Professor Brady

EGL 102 Pub#02

Date: March 16, 2023

 The quote "I couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanley," uttered by Stella in Scene 11 of Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire highlights the central conflict between

the competing realities of the play's characters. Stella is torn between her loyalty to her husband and Stanley, and her sister Blanche insists on creating a false reality to cope with her troubled

past. Stella recognizes that Blanche's stories are fabrications but feels trapped between the love

she has for her sister and the life she has built with Stanley.

This conflict can be interpreted as a reflection of the struggle between personal values and

societal norms, a common theme in sociology. Stella's decision to choose Stanley over Blanche

exemplifies how societal norms and expectations can override personal values and lead

individuals to compromise their integrity. This is a phenomenon known as cognitive

dissonance, where individuals experience psychological discomfort when their beliefs or

behaviors are inconsistent with their values or goals (Festinger, 1957).

This theme is relevant in current political discourse, where individuals and politicians may

compromise their personal values to align with the ideological norms of their political party. For

For example, Republican politicians who may personally support climate change initiatives may not

publicly advocate for them due to the party's denial of the phenomenon (Leiserowitz et al., 2020). Similarly, individuals may refrain from voicing their support for a political candidate or movement.  due to social pressure to conform to their peer group's beliefs, even if they hold different personal values.

In conclusion, Stella's quote from A Streetcar Named Desire reflects the conflict between

personal values and societal norms and the theme of cognitive dissonance that arises from this

struggle. This conflict is relevant in sociology and current political discourse, where individuals

may compromise their personal values to conform to societal norms and expectations.

Works Cited:

Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Ballew, M., Goldberg, M., Gustafson, A.,

& Roser-Renouf, C. (2020). Climate Change in the American Mind: April 2020. Yale University

and George Mason University