Introduction the Homecoming by Harold Pinter Has Been More

Voice of Research Vol. 1, Issue 1, January-March 2012

HUMAN INTERACTION/DISCOURSE AS COMMUNICATION IN HAROLD PINTER'S THE HOMECOMING Dr. Manjari Johri, PhD. Sudhir Kumar Pandey Asst. Prof. Amity School of Languages, Amity Academic Associate, University U.P. (Lucknow) IIM-Ahmadabad

 ABSTRACT  The present article attempts an analysis of human behaviour as communication in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming. Though, much has been written on the play from the communication and interactional point of view, most of it only focuses on the behavioural part of the characters. The ways in which they interact with each other reveals a significant part of their communication style. Based on the previous studies in the area, our approach depicts the pattern of human communication in a confined space. It also focuses on how characters behave with each other to convey their message. Pinter has, undoubtedly, shown in The Homecoming that how a certain type of interaction can convey a unique sort of dramatic communication. Keywords: Communication, Human behaviour, Pinteresque, The Homecoming, Pause.

Introduction the character word by word. A separate The Homecoming by Harold Pinter has analysis of an individual character would been more frequently analysed from help to understand the meaning of his communication point of view than any other message, which he communicates to the of his plays. Hugo Bowles (2009) considers audience or characters. Pinter's treatment the narrative episodes of the play as a major of the characters is to push them as near part of the dialogue. According to him the confusion as possible. Characters talk and close analysis of his plays reveal a significant act in unexpected and unexplained aspect of Pinter's style of writing. The contradictions. Communication from Homecoming has 14 storytelling episodes character to audience is thwarted (William, (Bowles, 2009.). It clearly suggests that 1969). The relationship among characters is Pinter wants to communicate something not straightforward but symbolic which through these stories but at the same time results into an exercise of obscurity (Arthur, it, as is the case with Pinter, it is not clear 1969). to whom and what. Pinter's plays have It has also been remarked that Pinter's unreal reality, or an unrealistic reality characters do not communicate with the (Bernard, 1962). It is a very tenuous task to audience but they communicate with each decipher the meaning of Pinter's play. As other (William, 1969). Pinter's characters Pinter accepts his inability: transact rather than connect; they encounter I can sum up none of my plays. I can but they do not relate (Michal, 1982). Three describe none of them, except to say: That types of communication occur in Pinter's is what happened. That is what they said. plays: information exchanged That is what they did. (Harold Pinter: Plays communication; conscious transmission of Three, 1997) trivial information; and communication at the If one has to take out the meaning of level of relationship, covert communication characters, it becomes necessary to follow (Richard, 1975). Scholars such as Susan

...44... HUMAN INTERACTION/DISCOURSE AS COMMUNICATION IN HAROLD PINTER'S THE HOMECOMING Mandala (2007) have also focused on the area of behavioural aspect of communication stylistic features of The Homecoming. Alice to understand the meaning of the play. Rayner (1988) has studied the narrative Pinteresque Style structure of Pinter's plays; especially It would be unfair on the part of Harold "infamous pauses" in order to understand Pinter to not mention his style of writing. His the meaning of his plays. Austin E. Quigly style of writing is called Pinteresque, an (1978) has analysed the plays of Pinter from adjective; very few writers have (Xiao & the linguistic point of view to understand the Wang, 2007). He is a different sort of writer utterances of characters as speech acts who uses the 'common place' for his which affect one another. settings. The play, The Homecoming, is set Human Communication in a working class area. There is an open As for as human communication is invitation of fear and insecurity in his plays. concerned, we have reviewed only those He seems to create meaning of his plays papers, which deal with the behavioural and from an unknown tension accompanied with mental aspect of communication. a long silence. It evokes a sense of The most notable work in the area has discomfiture and the atmosphere is filled been done by Watzlawick et al (1967). In the with horror. book, 'Pragmatics of Human Allison and Wellborn (1973) remark Communication', they have studied the that, his plays are full of intrigue and interactional patterns of human behaviour. frustration . It infuriates the reader at times. According to them, communication is a It will, however, not be inappropriate to relationship that is qualitatively different assert that Pinter has experimented with a from the properties of individual involved. new dimension of dramatic communication. Goldstein (1985), in his paper, Rabillerd (1991) mentions that critics 'Communication and Mental Events', has have, often, found his plot are insufficient in studied the feelings and sensations and terms of a story line. The entire focus of the their role in communication. play rests on the character. Hence, it lacks Miller (1977) has talked about the motion and results into a static one. linguistic communication and the nature of According to Staney Evelyn (Pinter's human mind. He, in fact, questions the Stagecraft), "when weeping and words and nature and the use of the word the occasion brief spasm of violence is over, communication in day to day life. so is the play'. Donogue (1979) has studied Martin Esslin, in his The Theatre of the conversation as a part of one way Absurd, has famously remarked about Pinter: communication. According to Donogue, it is ...absurdity of the ordinary speech the most complete form of verbal enables him to transcribe everyday communication. Gauker (1992) has argued conversation in all its repetitiveness, about the understanding between the speaker incoherence, and lack of logic or grammar. and the hearer during communication. The dialogue of Pinter's play is the casebook On the basis of the above existing of the whole gamut of non sequiturs in small literature, the present paper, thus proposes talk....There are also a misunderstandings to study the patterns of human arising from inability to listen; communication in Pinter's The Homecoming. incomprehension of polysyllabic words...; The paper tries to confine itself within the Pinter's dialogue follows a line of associative

...45... Voice of Research Vol. 1, Issue 1, January-March 2012 thinking in which sound regularly prevails help us to analyse The Homecoming in a over sense....there is a deliberate evasion of better way. communication. Communication itself The Homecoming: A Communicational between people is so frightening that rather Approach than do that there is a continual cross talk, First of all we will have to understand a continual talking about other things, rather the nature of communication in the than what is at the root of their relationship. Homecoming for which it is imperative to (pp.244) understand all the characters of the play. A Guido Almansi and Simon Henderson in close analysis of the play reveals that every their book, Contemporary Writers, establish character has a past history and without the a significant aspect of the use of language information of the individual's past the context and speech in The Homecoming: of his/her communication cannot be The Homecoming is essentially a play understood. Every character has a story about language- about articulating a language which he narrates to the other characters and being articulated by a language. In and reveals his identity. In fact, Pinter's Pinter's world, social control lies ultimately character reveals their existence by retelling in the power to impose one's language on the unknown past. Pinter's characters another. There are layers and layers of oscillate between the past and the present. meaning in the utterances of the characters Pinter has said: in the play. An attempt to adopt a reductionist We are faced with the immense difficulty approach to deduce a "meaning" is bound to if not the impossibi1ity of verifying the past. be a self limiting exercise. As Peter Hall I don't 'mean years ago, but yesterday, this maintains in "Directing Pinter', The morning. What took place, what was the Homecoming is as multi faceted as a nature of what took place, what happened? diamond, and that 'any proposition we draw If one can speak of the difficulty of what in from one side of the play we can contradict fact took place yesterday, one can, 1 think or modify by a proposition from the other treat the present in the same way. What is side'. (p.61) happening now? We won't know until At this juncture, it will be judicious to tomorrow or in six months time, and we add Pinter's words on the subject of meaning. won't know then, we'll have forgotten, or our Almansi and Henderson quote from Pinter's imagination will have attributed false letter written to Peter Wood, London's first characteristics to today. A moment is sucked producer of The Birthday Party "…meaning away and distorted, often even at the time begins in words, in the action, continues in of birth. (Writing for Theatre, p. 81) your head, and ends nowhere. There is no After acquiring the information about the end to meaning. Meaning which is resolved, character's past, their use of language can parcelled, labelled and ready for export is be analysed. We will analyse the play on the dead, impertinent and meaningless". (p.70) available data given and will try to understand The above analysis of Pinter's style the meaning of their communication, and offers cues and means towards pattern of interaction as well. understanding his approach. It appears that The Plot Analysis of The Homecoming for Pinter language is just a medium and not Pinter's The Homecoming was first a packet of meaning. They are the subject performed by Royal Shakespeare Company of transfer. The present proposition would on 3 June 1965. A two-act play, The

...46... HUMAN INTERACTION/DISCOURSE AS COMMUNICATION IN HAROLD PINTER'S THE HOMECOMING Homecoming revolves around six characters. the sumptuous lunch and Max's wife, who is It is about four male members in the house dead, whom he regards as a "backbone of who have to deal with the homecoming of the family". Subsequently, Max narrates the couple returning from America. Two about his past life as a butcher. older brothers Max the butcher, a man of Ruth relaxes, and tells about her past seventy; Sam, the chauffeur a man of sixty- life. It increases Teddy's discomfiture and he three; Max's sons -Lenny, the pimp a man suddenly decides to go back to America. in his early thirties and Joey, the boxer a Soon after that, Lenny dances with Ruth. man in his middle-twenties attend the Then, Joey embraces Ruth, and makes out unexpected return of Teddy, a man in his with her on the sofa. Max tells Teddy not to middle-thirties and Ruth, a woman in her be ashamed of her status, and praises Ruth early thirties, a couple. The play is set in an as a very good lady. Joey and Ruth roll off old working class London house. Teddy, a the couch onto the floor, still embracing philosophy professor in America, has brought each other. his wife Ruth to introduce her to his family Swiftly, the entire environment of the members and show her his birthplace in family changes and Ruth begins to dominate North London. In fact, the story seems to the situation. She demands for something to suggest Teddy's homecoming to London in eat and drink. Apparently, everybody is the beginning and America at the end of the talking about the sexual encounter between play. Interestingly Ruth, Teddy's wife, doesn't Joey and Ruth, and they also infer that Ruth go to America with Teddy and stays back is not happy with her present marriage. with Teddy's family. The story is divided into When Ruth comes downstairs, Teddy tells two parts: Act one and two. her about the family wish; and then leaves Act one opens with a verbal fight her a choice to stay back or accompany him between Max and Lenny. Then it follows an to America. Ruth decides to stay back on ironical conversation between Sam and her own terms and conditions. Teddy leaves Max. Max, regretfully, glorifies his past life in for America. Suddenly, Sam collapses onto this part of the story. The scene changes the floor; everyone discovers that he is with the arrival of Teddy and Ruth. Teddy dead. They leave Sam on the floor and subsequently tells about his marriage and ignore him. The play ends with Ruth sitting visit to America some six years ago; and that on the chair, touching Joey's head softly, he has brought Ruth to visit her family Lenny stands, watching her; and Max saying, members in London. The story proceeds while looking at her helplessly, that he is not with a conversation between Teddy and an old man. Ruth; and Ruth's desire to go out for a fresh We will briefly look at the past of the air. Then Teddy meets Lenny and promises characters, which forms the basis of their him to meet at the breakfast in the morning. present and, thus, reveals their pattern of Next morning, Max suddenly discovers Teddy communication implied by Pinter. In Act one and Ruth. Mistakably, Max considers Ruth Max seems to be dominating the as a prostitute until he discovers that she is conversation. He appears almost eighty-four married to Teddy. Act one ends with fatherly times; he even initiates the conversation and love of Max for Teddy. begins the Act and ends as well. His Act two begins with a familial dynamics of communication can be analysed conversation between Ruth and other family from the people with whom he interacts. members; especially Max. They talk about

...47... Voice of Research Vol. 1, Issue 1, January-March 2012 At the beginning of the play we can Our father! I remember him. Don't infer from the communication between Lenny worry....Then he dandled me. Give me the and Max that they do not share very bottle. Wipe me clean. Give me a smile. Pat congenial relationship. me on the bum....Toss me up in the air. Max: What have you done with the Catch me coming down. I remember my scissors? father. (The Homecoming, p.27) Pause The second conversation between Lenny I said I am looking for the scissors. and Ruth reveals a significant aspect. When What have you done with them? Lenny asks to hold her hand and she reciprocates with a question, why. Lenny Pause says, "Just a touch". This is a very powerful Did you hear me? I want to cut out of remark which reveals that the characters the paper. are not satisfied with the conversation but Lenny: I'm reading the paper. (The they want a human contact. It clearly shows Homecoming, p.15) the failure of words to communicate the From the above conversation it is evident meaning. There is a striking similarity the that there is a huge misunderstanding way every characters narrates his/her past between Max and Lenny. Here, actually, except the way of narration differs with words fail to convey the meaning. Words respect to the listener. For example, when seem lifeless as they appear to be merely Lenny narrates his story to Ruth or Max a medium of transaction and not narrates to Ruth. When men communicate communication. They communicate to a woman i.e. Ruth their entire approach arbitrarily without taking into consideration changes. From the conversation between each other's intention. Afterwards, Max Lenny and Ruth it seems that Ruth is not narrates his past story about McGregor and convinced, as she responds with a question: his wife. He tells about his glorious youth. How did you know she was diseased? According to Lockean theory, as In fact, communication between Lenny Christopher Gauker puts it: and Ruth is about questioning and counter ...the hearer's grasp of a speaker's questioning. According to Richard M Coe, message is mediated by the hearer's this kind of communication is a conscious knowledge of the truth conditions of the effort on the part of Lenny to tell some trivial speaker's language. The speaker's primary information so that he can assert his power intention in speaking is the intention to utter over Ruth. words that will be interpreted by the hearer Lenny: Well, to sum up, everything was as having certain truth conditions. What in my favour, for killing....in the end I enables the speaker to realize this intention thought...Ah why go to all the bother....So I is the hearer's knowledge of the truth- just gave her another belt in the nose and conditions of sentences in the speaker's couple of turns of the boot and sort of left language. (p.305) it at that.(The Homecoming, p.39) Here, Max seems to build truth conditions The same is the case with Teddy when by giving some real life examples. Even he says to Lenny that he would never when he talks about his father, he tries to understand his works because he is a give specific details about him professor of philosophy, and they are working class ignonimous people.

...48... HUMAN INTERACTION/DISCOURSE AS COMMUNICATION IN HAROLD PINTER'S THE HOMECOMING Teddy: You wouldn't understand my from pragmatic point it is impossibility not to works ....You are way behind. All of you....You communicate. Every action is are just objects. You just move about. I CAN communication whether it is nonsense, OBSERVE IT. (The Homecoming, pp.69- silence, withdrawal, or immobility. The 70.) obvious fact is that pauses exists in relation Even, Ruth is aware that if she allows to the character and situation, hence they Lenny to take the glass, it would result into are not separate. In fact they are the a different situation. extended form of communication, which The next important aspect of analysis is cannot be conveyed through language. the analysis of pauses and silences in The We would like to conclude in the words Homecoming. Silence, as a dramatic of Paul Waltzlawick et al that behaviour has technique was first used by Anton Chekhov. no opposite. To put it differently, it is Chekhov used it to reveal the subtext. For impossible not to behave. People even talk Chekhov it was more of a spiritual nature. to themselves. Thus, existing behaviour But Pinter exploited it in a different way, possess a message value, i.e., which furthers the interaction. Approximately, communication. It is also evident from the pause has occurred for one hundred and play that communication can take place five times in act one and one hundred and even in gaps and silences, whether you fifteen times in act two. If we look at the want it to happen or not it will happen. Pinter frequency of pauses, it appears more that has offered the potentiality of communication any character in the play. We would like to in the sense that it can occur in the form of study pause not only as dramatic device but miscommunication or misunderstanding. His as a separate character of the play, which dealing of communication is very much constitutes most part of the play. In Pinter's realistic and human. A close observation of plays, pauses and silences form the major human behaviour suggests that level of communication. Pinter famously communication actually happens in an said on silence/pauses: arbitrary form as Pinter has depicted in The There are two silences. One when no Homecoming, that day to day family word is spoken. The other when perhaps a communication is actually Pinteresque. torrent of language is being employed. This References speech is speaking of a language locked l Allison,R & Wellborn,C. (1973). beneath it. That is its continual reference. Rhapsody in an Anechoic Chambers: The speech we hear is an indication of that "Pinter's Landscape". Educational we don't hear. It is a necessary avoidance, Theatre Journal, 25(2), pp.215-225. a violent, sly, anguished or mocking smoke- l Almansi, G. & Handerson, S. (1983). screen which keeps the other in its place. Contemporary Writers: Pinter. London: When true silences falls se are still left with Methuen Publishing Ltd. echo but are never nakedness. One way of l Bowles, H. (2009). Storytelling as looking at speech is to say it is a constant Interaction. Language and Literature, stratagem to cover nakedness. 18(1), pp.45-60. (Writing for Theatre, 1962) l Coe, R.M. (1975). Logic, Paradox, and According to Pinter pauses and silences Pinter's "Homecoming". South Atlantic are not about halt but about the progression. Bulletin, 34(4), pp.1-5. Paul Waltzlawick et al (1967) believe that

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