My Reaction to The Caretaker

I am on the whole indifferent to this play, on the one hand I can see why it would be dismissed as boring and pointless, but on the other hand I feel obliged to make an effort to recognize its value, simply because it has received such positive reviews. The Caretaker probably does deserve critical acclaim and although Harold Pinter is certainly a writer that deserves to receive the recognition he has gotten, it is not as easy to appreciate his work if its context is not understood which in this case reflects England’s situation almost 20 years after WWII. People are still living rather desolate lives and it was a time when England was just getting back on its feet. The setting justifies many of the things that stand out in the play, such as Davies’s racism, and his superior attitude. The plot may seem pointless because nothing of too much significance happens, but the three characters are uniquely developed. Overall, it is well written, the stage directions are specific but borderline frustrating, and despite being under the genre of the Theater of the Absurd, its writing style is very naturalistic, unlike the other absurdist plays we’ve read such as The Bold Soprano, and Waiting For Godot (in HL). It is perhaps this element of his writing that makes it even more morbid- because it does reflect an aspect of reality. The more you read, especially with regard to Davies character, the more you question whether what he is saying is true or just made up. Mick says to him, “you can’t take anything you say at face value.” They all have plans that aren’t realized, and that probably never will be. Mick plans to fix up the house, Aston wants to build a shed in the back yard and Davies plans on going down to Sidcup to get his papers, “when the weather clears up”. This is something I think we can all identify with, making plans we don’t follow through with. I think one of the only things I personally enjoyed about this play is Davies’s manner of speaking- for some reason I was amused by it.