Stella and Ruth: Similar Women from Different Lifestyles :: Comparative, Williams, Hansberry

Although A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, and A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, appear to be very opposite plays, there atomic number 18 some capacious similarities. Ruth, from A Raisin in the Sun, lives with her immediate family and her sister and mother-in-law in the Southside of Chicago. However, Stella, A Streetcar Named Desire, has left her family behind and moved to New Orleans. Although these ii women come from very different backgrounds and are characters in very different plays, they have surprising similarities. Therefore, Ruth and Stella have similarities and differences in their overall lifestyles.Stella and Ruth share similar present liveness conditions but differ in their childhood lifestyles. Both women are presently living in poorer areas in small apartments. This is shown when Williams describes Stellas living situation as in the poor section of the cityhouses weathered gray with rickety stairs (Williams 1) and also when Stella explains to her visiting sister Blanche, in an embarrassed tone, that there were only two rooms- this oneand the other one (Williams 1). And in Ruths case, Hansberry describes how the apartment appeared to have been home to too many people for too long (Hansberry 1.1). end-to-end the first act, there are many descriptions made by Hansberry about the cramped situation of the apartment including a shortage of bedrooms and bathrooms (Hansberry 1.1). Although Ruth had always see living in these kinds of conditions (Hansberry 1.1), Stella had not. This is shown when Eunice, the woman who owns the other apartment in the complex, is discussing Stellas childhood home with Blanche (Williams 1). The home was actually a plantation called Belle Reve and described as a great big place with white columns (Williams 1). Through this conversation, the reader can see that Stella now lives a very different lifestyle compared to her childhood. Therefore, although both Ruth and Stella live in similar conditi ons now, there are obvious differences in their upbringings.A second major similarity between the two women is their spirit of being non-confrontational. Both women, in a sense, let others walk over them. Ruth is dominated by her husband, Walter, for the most part and Stella by her husband, Stanley, and sister Blanche. When situations are tense, both characters try to avoid the confrontational subject or shy away when it is brought up. For example, when Walter adamantly keeps trying to force Ruth into supporting his business ideals at breakfast-which she doesnt agree with-she tries to change the subject by repeatedly telling Walter to eat his eggs (Hansberry 1.