Assailment The modernist literature p-9
Topic name: Character analysis of “The Birthday party”
Name: Nasim Gaha.
Roll No: 22
Email id : gahanasim786@gmail.com
Enrollment no : 2069108420190014
Sem-3
Submitted to Department of English MKUBU.
About Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter was born on Oct. 10, 1930, the only son of a Jewish tailor, in Hackney, East London. He won a scholarship to the local school, Hackney Downs Grammar School. In 1948 he entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and then joined a repertory company as an actor and toured England and Ireland. After marrying actress Vivien Merchant in 1956, he began writing plays, giving up the poetry, short stories, monologues, and an autobiographical novel.
Here fames work:
The Room (1957)
The Birthday Party (1957)
The Dumb Waiter (1957)
A Slight Ache (1958)
The Hothouse (1958)
The Caretaker (1959)
A Night Out (1959)
Night School (1960)
Birthday party(1957)
Birthday party is the second full-length play by Pinter first published in London by Encore Publishing in 1959. It is one of his best-known and most frequently performed plays.
About all character
Stanley Webber
Meg Boles
Petey
Lulu
Goldberg
Dermont McCann
Stanley Webber:
A man who has been living for the past year in Meg and Petey Boles’ boarding house. Stanley is reclusive and unkempt, wearing filthy old pants and a pajama top. If Meg didn’t go out of her way each morning to make sure he ate breakfast and drank his tea, it seems he would never leave the comfort of his bedroom. This is perhaps because he has come to this seaside town in order to hide from his past life, although Pinter never clarifies what Stanley is running from. All the same, he leads an isolated existence, refusing to venture beyond the boarding house and claiming that he’d have “nowhere” to go even if he did leave. Having become accustomed to this kind of solitude, Stanley is distraught when Goldberg and McCann come to the boarding house and start interrogating him, making him feel guilty despite the fact that they never actually reveal what he’s done. Unfortunately, Meg and Petey hardly notice the effect these newcomers have on Stanley, even when he finally has a mental breakdown as a result of their tormenting. At the same time, the darkness Goldberg and McCann bring out in Stanley is shocking, as he eventually tries to strangle Meg and rape Lulu (one of his acquaintances). As such, Pinter portrays him as someone who has either always been dangerous, or who has been pushed to the edge by Goldberg and McCann’s psychological games. Indeed, by the end the play, Stanley is completely unhinged, finding himself incapable of communicating or standing up for himself, which is why he allows Goldberg and McCann to escort him out of the boarding house and away from his sequestered life.
Meg Boles
She is wife of Petey. Along with her husband, Petey, Meg is one of proprietors of the boarding house in which Stanly lives. What Meg lacks in intelligence, she tries to make up for in fastidiousness, constantly trying to please her guests and establish routines that will impose order on the boarding house. Her connection to Stanley is particularly bizarre, as she treats him maternally and romantically, forever scolding him to eat his breakfast while also making potentially sexual remarks about their relationship. What’s most interesting about Meg, though, is that she devotes herself to order and routine even when it doesn’t make sense to enforce these everyday practices. For example, when she runs out of cornflakes one morning, she still insists that Stanley should come downstairs to eat breakfast, caring more about going through her habitual motions than acting in accordance with reality. This is the same kind of naïveté that makes it hard for her to see that Goldberg and McCann when they arrive are intent upon psychologically torturing Stanley. Instead of recognizing their malicious motives, she simply focuses on throwing Stanley a birthday party (though he tells her it’s not his birthday). What’s more, on the morning after the party, she acts as if nothing extraordinary has happened, even though Stanley tried to strangleherand then tried to rape Lulu. Knowing how important it is to her to maintain order and routine, Petey tells her at the end of the play that Stanley is still upstairs sleeping when—in reality—Goldberg and McCann have taken him away for good.
Petey Boles
Meg’s husband, and the co-proprietor of the boarding house in which Stanly lives. Petey is an affable man whose presence is rather minor in his own home, since he spends most of his time working at the nearby beach, where he puts out chairs for the public. Attuned to his wife’s eccentricities, Petey has no problem indulging Meg’s obsession with order and routine. When, for example, she talks about the same topics every morning, he simply goes along, agreeing that Stanley should come downstairs so that he isn’t late for breakfast. In fact, he even has this conversation with Meg at the end of the play, when Stanley is no longer in the house because McCann and Goldberg have taken him away. Despite the fact that he’s not very present, Petey is perhaps the only character in The Birthday Party who worries about Stanley after McCann and Goldberg psychologically torment him. In fact, he’s the only person who notices a change in Stanley at all, as made evident by the fact that he tries to stand up for him and, when this fails, yells, “Stan, don’t let them tell you what to do!”
Lulu
A young woman who visits Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Before McCann and Goldberg arrive, she tells Stanly that he ought to go outside for some air, prompting him to invite her to run away with him. When she asks where they’d go, though, he simply says, “Nowhere,” and then declines her invitation to go on a walk. Later, Lulu comes to Stanley’s birthday party and flirts with Goldberg, telling him that she has always liked older men and that he looks like the first man she ever loved. During the game of “blind man’s bluff,” she and Goldberg continue flirting and fondling one another. When Stanley plays the blind man, though, the party takes a dark turn and, when the lights cut out, he approaches Lulu and attempts to rape her. Thankfully, Goldberg and McCann stop him, and Lulu and Goldberg presumably continue their romantic evening, as made evident by the conversation they have the following morning, when she accuses him of having sex with her without having any intention of starting a relationship. “You taught me things a girl shouldn’t know before she’s been married at least three times!” she laments, but Goldberg only says that now she’s “a jump ahead.” With this, McCann enters and tries to get her to confess her sins, an attempt that drives her out of the boarding house.
Goldberg
A charming, swift-talking man who arrives at Meg and petey’s boarding house with his associate, McCann, with the intention of locating Stanley Webber. Goldberg introduces himself as Nat, but he frequently refers to himself as “Simey” while telling stories. Confusingly, he also calls himself “Benny” at one point, suggesting that his past is just as jumbled and inscrutable as Stanley’s. In fact, these two men seem to know one another, though when Stanley asks McCann if either he or Goldberg have spent time in Maidenhead, McCann upholds that they haven’t. Nonetheless, Goldberg later references the same Maidenhead tea shop that Stanley has already talked about, suggesting that he is indeed from the same town. Regardless of whether or not they hail from the same place, though, talking about the past is something Goldberg does quite often, speaking wistfully about old acquaintances and relatives and telling his listeners about the life advice he received from these people. This, it seems, is what Goldberg wants most: to be the kind of person who’s full of wisdom. Unfortunately, though, he himself has very little to offer in the way of life advice, and this is something that upsets him. Still, he’s smooth and socially confident, as made evident by the fact that he easily wins over Meg by complimenting her dress. He also gains the affection of Lulu, with whom he flirts during Stanley’s birthday party. The next morning, they have a frank conversation in which she lampoons him for having sex with her without intending to begin a relationship. However, Goldberg has other matters on his mind, focusing first and foremost on psychologically disturbing Stanley and taking him away from the boarding house.
Dermont McCann
Goldberg’s associate. An Irishman who takes orders from Goldberg, McCann doesn’t know why he has been assigned to locate Stanley Webber and remove him from Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Nonetheless, he carries out his duties, acting as Goldberg’s muscle and helping him to psychologically unhinge Stanley. Like the other characters in The Birthday Party, McCann has a confusing past, such that it’s difficult to know what kind of life he has actually led until now. Nonetheless, Goldberg tells Lulu in Act III that McCann is a recently unfrocked priest, prompting McCann to pressure her into confessing her sins (though she runs away before doing so). And yet, McCann is perhaps more sensitive than he appears, considering that he seems troubled by his final interactions with Stanley. Indeed, when Goldberg asks for an update on Stanley’s mental state the day after the calamitous birthday party, McCann says, “I’m not going up there again,” insisting that he won’t return to Stanley’s room because of the fact that he (Stanley) has gone completely quiet—a fact that seems to unnerve him. Still, whether or not he empathizes with Stanley, McCann doesn’t hesitate to help Goldberg remove him from the house at the end of the scene, carting him away despite Petey’s protests.
Topic name: Character analysis of “The Birthday party”
Name: Nasim Gaha.
Roll No: 22
Email id : gahanasim786@gmail.com
Enrollment no : 2069108420190014
Sem-3
Submitted to Department of English MKUBU.
About Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter was born on Oct. 10, 1930, the only son of a Jewish tailor, in Hackney, East London. He won a scholarship to the local school, Hackney Downs Grammar School. In 1948 he entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and then joined a repertory company as an actor and toured England and Ireland. After marrying actress Vivien Merchant in 1956, he began writing plays, giving up the poetry, short stories, monologues, and an autobiographical novel.
Here fames work:
The Room (1957)
The Birthday Party (1957)
The Dumb Waiter (1957)
A Slight Ache (1958)
The Hothouse (1958)
The Caretaker (1959)
A Night Out (1959)
Night School (1960)
Birthday party(1957)
Birthday party is the second full-length play by Pinter first published in London by Encore Publishing in 1959. It is one of his best-known and most frequently performed plays.
About all character
Stanley Webber
Meg Boles
Petey
Lulu
Goldberg
Dermont McCann
Stanley Webber:
A man who has been living for the past year in Meg and Petey Boles’ boarding house. Stanley is reclusive and unkempt, wearing filthy old pants and a pajama top. If Meg didn’t go out of her way each morning to make sure he ate breakfast and drank his tea, it seems he would never leave the comfort of his bedroom. This is perhaps because he has come to this seaside town in order to hide from his past life, although Pinter never clarifies what Stanley is running from. All the same, he leads an isolated existence, refusing to venture beyond the boarding house and claiming that he’d have “nowhere” to go even if he did leave. Having become accustomed to this kind of solitude, Stanley is distraught when Goldberg and McCann come to the boarding house and start interrogating him, making him feel guilty despite the fact that they never actually reveal what he’s done. Unfortunately, Meg and Petey hardly notice the effect these newcomers have on Stanley, even when he finally has a mental breakdown as a result of their tormenting. At the same time, the darkness Goldberg and McCann bring out in Stanley is shocking, as he eventually tries to strangle Meg and rape Lulu (one of his acquaintances). As such, Pinter portrays him as someone who has either always been dangerous, or who has been pushed to the edge by Goldberg and McCann’s psychological games. Indeed, by the end the play, Stanley is completely unhinged, finding himself incapable of communicating or standing up for himself, which is why he allows Goldberg and McCann to escort him out of the boarding house and away from his sequestered life.
Meg Boles
She is wife of Petey. Along with her husband, Petey, Meg is one of proprietors of the boarding house in which Stanly lives. What Meg lacks in intelligence, she tries to make up for in fastidiousness, constantly trying to please her guests and establish routines that will impose order on the boarding house. Her connection to Stanley is particularly bizarre, as she treats him maternally and romantically, forever scolding him to eat his breakfast while also making potentially sexual remarks about their relationship. What’s most interesting about Meg, though, is that she devotes herself to order and routine even when it doesn’t make sense to enforce these everyday practices. For example, when she runs out of cornflakes one morning, she still insists that Stanley should come downstairs to eat breakfast, caring more about going through her habitual motions than acting in accordance with reality. This is the same kind of naïveté that makes it hard for her to see that Goldberg and McCann when they arrive are intent upon psychologically torturing Stanley. Instead of recognizing their malicious motives, she simply focuses on throwing Stanley a birthday party (though he tells her it’s not his birthday). What’s more, on the morning after the party, she acts as if nothing extraordinary has happened, even though Stanley tried to strangleherand then tried to rape Lulu. Knowing how important it is to her to maintain order and routine, Petey tells her at the end of the play that Stanley is still upstairs sleeping when—in reality—Goldberg and McCann have taken him away for good.
Petey Boles
Meg’s husband, and the co-proprietor of the boarding house in which Stanly lives. Petey is an affable man whose presence is rather minor in his own home, since he spends most of his time working at the nearby beach, where he puts out chairs for the public. Attuned to his wife’s eccentricities, Petey has no problem indulging Meg’s obsession with order and routine. When, for example, she talks about the same topics every morning, he simply goes along, agreeing that Stanley should come downstairs so that he isn’t late for breakfast. In fact, he even has this conversation with Meg at the end of the play, when Stanley is no longer in the house because McCann and Goldberg have taken him away. Despite the fact that he’s not very present, Petey is perhaps the only character in The Birthday Party who worries about Stanley after McCann and Goldberg psychologically torment him. In fact, he’s the only person who notices a change in Stanley at all, as made evident by the fact that he tries to stand up for him and, when this fails, yells, “Stan, don’t let them tell you what to do!”
Lulu
A young woman who visits Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Before McCann and Goldberg arrive, she tells Stanly that he ought to go outside for some air, prompting him to invite her to run away with him. When she asks where they’d go, though, he simply says, “Nowhere,” and then declines her invitation to go on a walk. Later, Lulu comes to Stanley’s birthday party and flirts with Goldberg, telling him that she has always liked older men and that he looks like the first man she ever loved. During the game of “blind man’s bluff,” she and Goldberg continue flirting and fondling one another. When Stanley plays the blind man, though, the party takes a dark turn and, when the lights cut out, he approaches Lulu and attempts to rape her. Thankfully, Goldberg and McCann stop him, and Lulu and Goldberg presumably continue their romantic evening, as made evident by the conversation they have the following morning, when she accuses him of having sex with her without having any intention of starting a relationship. “You taught me things a girl shouldn’t know before she’s been married at least three times!” she laments, but Goldberg only says that now she’s “a jump ahead.” With this, McCann enters and tries to get her to confess her sins, an attempt that drives her out of the boarding house.
Goldberg
A charming, swift-talking man who arrives at Meg and petey’s boarding house with his associate, McCann, with the intention of locating Stanley Webber. Goldberg introduces himself as Nat, but he frequently refers to himself as “Simey” while telling stories. Confusingly, he also calls himself “Benny” at one point, suggesting that his past is just as jumbled and inscrutable as Stanley’s. In fact, these two men seem to know one another, though when Stanley asks McCann if either he or Goldberg have spent time in Maidenhead, McCann upholds that they haven’t. Nonetheless, Goldberg later references the same Maidenhead tea shop that Stanley has already talked about, suggesting that he is indeed from the same town. Regardless of whether or not they hail from the same place, though, talking about the past is something Goldberg does quite often, speaking wistfully about old acquaintances and relatives and telling his listeners about the life advice he received from these people. This, it seems, is what Goldberg wants most: to be the kind of person who’s full of wisdom. Unfortunately, though, he himself has very little to offer in the way of life advice, and this is something that upsets him. Still, he’s smooth and socially confident, as made evident by the fact that he easily wins over Meg by complimenting her dress. He also gains the affection of Lulu, with whom he flirts during Stanley’s birthday party. The next morning, they have a frank conversation in which she lampoons him for having sex with her without intending to begin a relationship. However, Goldberg has other matters on his mind, focusing first and foremost on psychologically disturbing Stanley and taking him away from the boarding house.
Dermont McCann
Goldberg’s associate. An Irishman who takes orders from Goldberg, McCann doesn’t know why he has been assigned to locate Stanley Webber and remove him from Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Nonetheless, he carries out his duties, acting as Goldberg’s muscle and helping him to psychologically unhinge Stanley. Like the other characters in The Birthday Party, McCann has a confusing past, such that it’s difficult to know what kind of life he has actually led until now. Nonetheless, Goldberg tells Lulu in Act III that McCann is a recently unfrocked priest, prompting McCann to pressure her into confessing her sins (though she runs away before doing so). And yet, McCann is perhaps more sensitive than he appears, considering that he seems troubled by his final interactions with Stanley. Indeed, when Goldberg asks for an update on Stanley’s mental state the day after the calamitous birthday party, McCann says, “I’m not going up there again,” insisting that he won’t return to Stanley’s room because of the fact that he (Stanley) has gone completely quiet—a fact that seems to unnerve him. Still, whether or not he empathizes with Stanley, McCann doesn’t hesitate to help Goldberg remove him from the house at the end of the scene, carting him away despite Petey’s protests.
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