Post-1945 Drama
Family grudges and violence
‘The Homecoming’ is a complex, confrontational and brutal play by Harold Pinter. It belongs to the genre of the theatre of the absurd. The play depicts the suffocating relationship between the tyrannical father Max and his two sons Lenny and Joey, and brother Sam. The arrival of his eldest son Teddy and his wife Ruth unleashes a barrage of family grudges and tension within the household.
Teddy and Ruth are subject to abuse when they return. The language used by Max is coarse and offensive. He describes Ruth in a very derogatory manner, “smelly scrubber” and “pot ridden slut”. Lenny calls his father a “daft prat” which emphasises a distinct lack of respect. The language used is as disturbing and shocking to modern audiences as it would have been to audiences when the play was first published in 1965.
Throughout the play there is violent imagery and language. This represents the power struggles within the household. Max tells Lenny that he will “chop off your spine”, which is emphatic of his dominance. The arrival of Teddy and Ruth as outsiders disrupts the fragile equilibriums of the family. The play is set in a very confined area and this represents security. The introduction of outsiders poses a threat to the family “unit”. Teddy is an outsider as he is intellectual, highly educated and more socially acceptable. The family humiliate him intellectually and socially, which is all part of their battles for dominance. Ruth is the only female in the male dominated household, which makes her an outsider. She plays both the role of mother and whore, although at the end of the play she rejects her role as a mother. Ruth brings out the worst, most vile characteristics of the members of the household. Pinter has used the other characters to vocalise and act out the worst attitudes of human nature, which are normally suppressed or not communicated. He asks the audience to question what lies beneath the surface of conversation.
The Essay on Family Walter Play Ruth
Walter (In-Depth Analysis) As Mama's only son, Ruth's defiant husband, Travis's caring father, and Beneatha's belligerent brother, Walter serves as both protagonist and antagonist of the play. The plot revolves around him and the actions that he takes. Most of his actions and mistakes hurt the family greatly, but his belated rise to manhood makes him a sort of hero in the last scene. His character ...
Ruth uses her sexuality to gain dominance over the male members of the household. At the end of the play the family put her on the game. However, Pinter has reversed the stereotypical weak role of a prostitute. She makes an “inventory” of things she would need, symbolising her complete dominance. Critics have described her as a “manipulator” which is indeed true. This is similar to the character Abigail Williams from ‘The Crucible’ who manipulates the community to gain power over society. She uses the Puritan’s greatest fear; the defiance of God. Ruth gains control over the family and their violence if proved to be a cover for impotence and weakness.
The play belongs to the theatre of the absurd. The non-sequitur, disjointed conversations represent the dysfunctional family. In the play the individual is stressed, instead of society. It focuses on the oddness, incomprehensibility and unpredictability of the world. Lenny tells Ruth about his encounter with a prostitute and stated that he was going to “kill her”. This is very shocking and violent in the extreme. However, Ruth’s response was to ask how he knew she was “diseased”. This is not what the audience would have expected, which adds to the shock impact of the violence.
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a work of social realism. It is set in the American Deep South in the 1940’s. The play uses expressionism and plastic theatre. It follows the story of the protagonist Blanche, who is a fallen woman in society’s eyes. Blanche seeks protection and security in New Orleans with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley.
Stanley is a violent, domineering man. He is Polish and represents the new face of America. Blanche claims he is a “Polack”, which makes her appear ignorant as in fact he is American “born and raised”. Stanley married Stella who belongs to the upper class, whereas he is working class man. This is similar to Jimmy from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ by John Osborne. Stanley feels threatened by the arrival of Blanche. He likes to be in control. When he has friends over to play poker he ends up by throwing the radio out of the window and hitting Stella, he is very short tempered. However, afterwards he is repentant and “falls to his knees” and “sobs” as he wants Stella back. Unlike the characters in ‘The Homecoming’ he is remorseful for some of his violent actions. However, he feels no guilt for his gradual destruction of Blanche.
The Essay on Streetcar Named Desire Blanche Stanley Stella
Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire contains more within it's characters, situations, and story than appears on its surface. Joseph Krutch, author of Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Streetcar Named Desire wrote, "The authors perceptions remain subtle and delicate... The final impression left is, surprisingly enough not of sensationalism but of subtlety" (38. ) As in many of ...
Blanche is a very insecure, dislocated individual who relies on sexual admiration to boost her self-esteem. Similar to the character Amanda Wingfield in ‘The Glass Menagerie’, she is a fading beauty. She can not distinguish between fantasy and reality behind her constant mendacity, claiming “I don’t want realism”. Stanley’s destruction of Blanche comes to a climax when he rapes her. He said that “we had this date with each other from the beginning” as if trying to justify it to himself. In this scene expressionism is used through the sounds of the music. It reflects the tension between Stanley and Blanche. The walls also become transparent, which emphasises that the home is not a sanctuary. Sounds can be heard from outside. Williams has used the personal breakdown of Blanche to highlight social and cultural disintegration.
The violence in ‘The Homecoming’ is more explicit and shocking than that in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Violent language and imagery is used throughout, which shows the dysfunctional family and battlers for dominance. Pinter wanted to shock his audiences and expose society. However, in ‘The Homecoming’ there is no victim of the violence. In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Blanche is a victim at the hands of Stanley. To some degree Stella is also a victim, even though she cannot leave him. This highlights her dependence on men.
