Language and Power: Who's Really in Control?
Notice how Williams uses different speech patterns to show social class and power? Eunice's dialogue includes "elision" (dropping letters like 'g' in "lookin'") and "multiple negation" ("don't have to look no further"), which reflects working-class speech patterns of 1940s New Orleans.
Blanche, meanwhile, speaks in standard English with elaborate vocabulary - she's operating in what linguists call the "elaborated code" versus Eunice's "restricted code". This immediately signals that Blanche doesn't belong here, making her seem pretentious and out of place.
The power dynamics shift throughout their conversations. When Eunice repeatedly asks questions, she controls the conversation. But Blanche's minimal responses ("No.") show her upper-class assumption that she doesn't need to engage with someone she considers beneath her.
Williams cleverly shows us that social status doesn't always equal power - Blanche needs Eunice's help, despite feeling superior to her.
Remember This: Pay attention to how characters speak differently - it reveals their background, education, and current power in any situation.