sound effects

• The blue piano:

  • "expresses the spirit of life which goes on here"
  • Excitable but condensed
  • Callous vitality of New Orleans
• Varsouviana Polka:

  • The Polka was playing the night of Allan's suicide, which comes on every time that Blanche is descending into a traumatic flashback.
  • When we see Blanche suddenly becoming aware of her true reality and her past, the polka starts playing until something suddenly stops it, such as the gunshot, the end of the scene, or a distraction.
• Williams adds the Polka motif so that the audience comes to an understanding that, when the polka is playing, what they are seeing can no longer be trusted - they are transported into Blanche's head, witnessing her struggles from within.
• In Scene 10, "the night is filled with inhuman voices like cries in a jungle" - evokes tension and fear in the audience and represents Blanche's state of mind.
• The Varsouviana is non-diegetic to all characters except Blanche.
• The Paper Moon song - Williams ironically juxtaposes Blanche's fantastical understanding of herself with Stanley's description of Blanche's real nature.

  "It wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me" - shows how Blanche believes lying is the best approach to life.