Dialogue
Stanley: He specifically speaks in very simple, blunt sentences. In fact, he doesn't say more than two words per sentence until he brings his friends home from bowling. His lines are often followed by exclamation points like his first four lines "Hey, there! Stella, baby" "Catch!" "Meat!" "Bowling!" The fact that he uses such blunt sentences so often and keeps his thoughts generally to the point shows us his masculinity and his desire to be "real" and never put on fronts. The fact that he constantly justifies his actions too through his moral stance "The Napoleonic Code" shows us that he is very rigid and has his own set of standards that he lives by regardless of how it makes others feel. He is unwavering and consistent. He weighs all thoughts and actions on his moral stance and is very much a stereotypical "tough guy."
Blance: She is a fascinating character because her dialogue really reveals a lot of sadness. When we understand her character and take into perspective her growth as a character throughout the play we come to realize that she is very superficial and concerned with appearance. We can see in her dialogue that she is very concerned with the social standards of what it means to "be a lady" and have men interested in her. Stanley constantly questions her as a character and tries to get her to see past her own superficiality and "bullshit."
She is frequently dropping in French words or quotes from French plays (including one from "La Dame aux Camelias" by Alexandre Dumas – she says this to Mitch, and I'm pretty sure she is remarking on how Mitch does not appreciate her)
It is also of note that the only references Stanley brings into the play are in the current, political genre. He talks about both Napoleonic code and Huey Long (elected governor of Louisiana in 1928), both of which are meant to reassert his dominance and relevant knowledge; however, he knows little of the art, music, language and poetry that Blanch often recites. Again, he appears less cultured and more barbarian.
Stella: She stands in between Stanley's and Blanche's in the sense that Stanley is blunt and barbaric and Blanche is educated and proper. Stella speaks in a familiar voice, never quoting any historic media or using overcomplicated words like Blanche, but also never retracting to the simplicity that Stanley verbalizes. She always supports Stanley. Blanche attacks her and Stanley in almost every conversation she has in the play, but Stella is strong and clings to Stanley with her every word. Regardless how offensive and hurtful Blanche gets with her, Stella still attempts to support her sister. She is caring and compassionate throughout and tries to always make the best of situations. Whenever Blanche speaks badly of Stanley or vice-versa, Stella tries to mediate and explain the good sides of both, in hopes of having them all get along.
Mitch:
We can learn a lot about the character Mitch throughout the play through his dialogue (his dialogue with Blanche says a lot about his character too. We can easily get the vibe that he is not particularly bright or ambitious in that he is very clumsy and is often teased by Blanche (such as when she speaks to him in French which she knows he will never understand, also when he uses bad grammar and slang "Kind of on your high horse ain't you€¦ I oughta go home"). He tries to behave as a gentleman to Blanche though, being very polite to her and trying to meet the social standards of what it was to be a gentleman during this time period. (Ie calling Blanche Ms DuBois and the beginning and acting awkwardly respectful)
We learn that he is also a lonely person through his dialogue who wishes to make his mother happy. We can see this in the fact that we hear of his mother a lot but never actually see her. She is just constantly referenced. (such as at poker night when they talk about the custard Stella sent to his sick mother)
Research:
In 1929, Williams is admitted to the University of Missouri where he sees a production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts and decides to become a playwright, but two years later, his father forces him to withdraw from school and work in a St. Louis shoe factory where he meets a young man named Stanley Kowalski who became an obvious inspiration for Streetcar. Later, two of his plays, Candles to the Sun and The Fugitive Kind, are produced by Mummers of St. Louis. He eventually moves to New Orleans and changes his name from "Tom" to "Tennessee" which was the state of his father's birth. A prefrontal lobotomy is performed on Williams' sister Rose who had long suffered from mental illness. The operation, however, is a failure and leaves Rose incapacitated for the remainder of her life. Tennessee never forgives his parents for allowing the operation, which could lead to how horrible the thought of being in a mental institution was for Stella to put Blanche through. The Glass Menagerie then becomes a major hit and then Streetcar opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams his first Pulitzer Prize and establishing him as one of the top dramatists of the American theatre. Streetcar was written the same year that the WWII peace treaty had finally been signed.