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Sound Used In A Streetcar Named Desire

1160 Words5 Pages

In a play, sound is used to help illustrate its emotional content as a result of a play being limited in its point of views. Therefore, sound in a Streetcar Named Desire is significant in its dramatic effect in reinforcing the protagonist, Blanche’s, inner conflict to the audience. By garnering this significance of sound, its effect is additionally contributed to the theme of the play due to it highlighting details of the play's scenes for the audience to ultimately recognize specifics that, in succession, applies to the construction of the theme. Therefore, Tennessee Williams emphasizes through the employment of sound, the deterioration of the protagonist, Blanche, through featuring diegetic and non-diegetic sound that illustrate Blanche's …show more content…

The Piano appears the most frequently and drastically in scenes seven and ten due to both scenes featuring climatic points of the play. At the conclusion of scene seven, “the distant piano goes into a hectic breakdown” (128), indicating the sound to be non-diegetic and therefore signifying Blanche’s complete vacancy from reality. However, in scene ten, a transition in sound is palpable due to the sounds that Stanley is characterized with become progressively integrated into the sound of the Blue Piano. The sound of the Blue Piano “…turns into the roar of an approaching locomotive,” (160) referencing to Stanley’s supremacy over the expression of life and what that subsequently means for Blanche and ultimately, humanity. After the transition in sound, “inhuman” (161) sounds are now utilized as a replacement of the Blue Piano due to inhumanity being the conclusive representation of the new World’s expression of life. This notion is further reinforced by the contrast that Blanche provides with the New World through her belief in humanity that conclusively diminishes at the end. In the play, Blanche “need[s] kindness” (69) which is initially presented through the kindness that Mitch exhibits towards her. Mitch being the light in humanity is emphasized when “the polka tune stops” (139), in reference to what the Polka music symbolizes for Blanche’s beliefs. However, when it is revealed that Mitch believes that she is ironically “…not clean enough to bring in the house…” (150), it aids in supplying to the theme of a society’s inhumanity. Therefore, the kindness from strangers is too much for Blanche to hope for and as a result, she succumbs inside herself to escape from the corruption of humanity that the New World

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