Question No.

01:

Discuss The Caretaker as an absurd play.

Answer:

Theatre of the Absurd, in essence, refers to the dramatic plays which came in the
1950s and 1960s, written by European and American dramatists. The term was
used for the first time by Hungarian-born critic Martin Esslin in 1962. The major
element of these plays was the focus on the meaningless of life, and the futility of
finding logic, purpose and sense in the existence of humanity, and the world it
inhabits. The driving force behind these plays was the hopelessness that prevailed
in the Europe after the World War II. Europe had seen a Great War, and believed that
was the last one, but then it found itself in the middle of another war. Two wars
within such a short space of time placed Europe in a state where beliefs started
getting questioned.

The Caretaker is a three-act play written by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter (1930
2008). It was performed for the first time on 27 April 1960. The play revolves around
three characters: Aston, Davies and Mick. Aston and Mick are brothers, while Davies
is a homeless man who has been invited over by Aston. Davies had a bar fight,
which led to Aston rescuing him.

It appears, that the play is an interesting combination of realist, as well as absurdist

elements. Traditionally, absurd plays have more unrealistic settings (Waiting for
Godot, for example), so The Caretaker is a bit different from the other absurd plays.
The characters of the play, too, are very much real, and belong to the world we live
in. The setting as well, is realistic. The absurdity, however, is moving through the
characters, as well as the setting; its radiance being felt by those perceiving.

The Caretaker is devoid of any plot. The characters do appear to be ambitious at

times, but it is soon realized that theres nothing like that. The characters, apart
from Davies, appear and disappear. They seem to believe that they will get things
done, but in reality they are just stalling. There are several instances in the play
where it seems that the characters will definitely do what they have been intending,
but then they dont. Take old Davies, for example. He keeps saying that he has to go
to a place called Sidcup, and fetch the documents of his identity (which have been
there for 15 years!). But he never goes there, making excuses every single time.
He, at times, says that he is waiting for the weather to break. After his continued
delay, one begins to suspect whether there are any documents at all, and Davies
has a delusion.

In the play there is no logical sequence of events, as such. There are instances
where you expect the characters to talk about something, but they dont. There is
also repetition and the characters and the plot appear to go nowhere.
The communication between the characters is integral to the play, with regards to
the absurdity. There appears to be a painful incoherence. The characters,
seemingly, cannot make each other truly understand. The problem, however, lies
with both the speaker and the listener. The speakers language is incoherent, and
the listener is too preoccupied to gather the speech. This leads to a terrible situation
where there is no order. An important aspect is the repetition. The characters keep
on repeating what have been occupying their minds. Davies wants to go to Sidcup,
Aston wants to build a shed and Mick wants the house to be renovated, and
decorated. Their respective intentions keep on coming up. This actually shows that
there is a perpetual conflict going within Mick, where dreams and reality are
colliding with each other.

Another interesting thing to note is the relationship between Aston and Mick. They
never converse properly through the course of the play, and almost always do not
share the space, creating a serious communication gap.

The Caretaker, is a fascinating play that juggles with realism, along with absurdist
elements. This makes it rather unique, and different from the other absurdist plays.
Pinter, used the canvas of realism, to paint a picture using the colors of absurdity.