Stanley, the Non-Conformist in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party

Abstract

S.M. Abu Hanifa Abstract: Like in other absurd dramas, Stanley the hero of the play The Birthday Party is in the world of alienation for the preservation of self-identity. He wants to be in his own world but could not as the state agents__ Goldberg and McCann capture him to take the unknown person, Dr. Monty. If we compare Pinter and Beckett, we find that they seemed to be different from each other. In Pinter the intensity of the metaphysical theme was not as apparent as in Beckett’s work. Man for Beckett was being contemplated in relation to a void. He seemed to be a ‘tragic joke in a context of total cosmic absurdity. In plays such as Waiting for Godot metaphysical concerns seemed to be involved with the dilemma of man’s existence. Pinter’s vision, however, centred largely on man without reference to the spiritual void. In this respect it was possibly easier to associate Pinter with Ionesco who had quickly regarded as the spokesman for absurdist theatre. Menace, fear, the clutter of daily living, the concentration on trivial possessions, the focus on the banality of language were elements which seemed to form a common denominator between the two absurd dramatists. Keywords: Absurd, Alienation, Agents, Theatre, Trivial. Click here to print/download PDF of this research paper From a great revolutionary movement which delivered the 19th century from God liberated it neither from judgement nor from necessity. Courts of justice is everywhere; the innocent accused themselves publ...