The Theme of Power in The Homecoming
Author: Sarah Marchant
In Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" one of the important themes is power. Many of the characters try to exert power. Many of the characters try to exert power over others through various means such as sexuality and intelligence. The use of violence within the household is believed by the men to be the most important tool of power. However, when Ruth, the only woman in the play, enters, she appears to defeat the men's power, but not with violence. Her sexuality and apparent intelligence become part of the way in which she takes control of the house. Power itself is the ability to take control and exert authority over others. Violence is a physical form of this. It usually takes the form of a display of force and this could be an unjust or even unlawful action. There could be a use of violent language or an element of threatened violence. However, the degree of power this holds is determined by the reaction of those threatened, or whether or not anything comes of the threat.
Teddy introduces his wife, Ruth, into his childhood home that is a scene of tense threats and reports of violence - both sexual and physical. As soon as the play begins there is conflict between Lenny and his father, Max. Having been insulted by Lenny, Max threatens him with his stick, saying "Don't you talk to me like that. I'm warning you". However, nothing comes of this threat. The only element of power that can be inferred comes from the way in which Lenny makes no response. Perhaps he has previous experience of Max's anger, or it could be that both parties know that there is no point in pursuing the matter. The power that is expected to come with a threat is non-existent in this household as the threats are well-worn and always empty.
Max demands that Teddy and Ruth leave his house, yet by the end of the play, he is sobbing and yearning for attention from Ruth. The insults and derogatory terms used within the family are not so much an element of power as a way of life. As there is no real mother figure within the household, the men have lapsed into a way of life in which they can show no affection to each other. Instead they insult each other in ways usually reserved for women: "bitch" and "slag".
Compare how race has been presented in literature from the classical era with literature from today. What is the cause of these differences/similarities? What does that say about the society in general?
After he uncovers Teddy’s paper world, the uncle reacts in a manner of ignorance and derision, mocking him for his decision to occupy himself with paper dolls. The uncle dubs Teddy as a “great big lummox … playing with paper dolls”, insulting Teddy for his hobbies with a tone of amusement and hysteria. In spite of Teddy’s agitation, the uncle prefers to make a mockery out of Teddy rather than accepting his unique hobbies, suggesting the uncle’s belief that Teddy’s activities are unfitting of someone of his age. In addition, Teddy’s uncle further aggravates Teddy by continuously ridiculing him, leading him to eventually destroy his treasured paper world. Despite Teddy’s attempts at validating the reality of his paper dolls, the uncle “burst into laughter, his cheeks the colour of a tomato.” Teddy’s uncle persistence in mocking Teddy implies his disapproval of Teddy’s world, believing that his world is ludicrous and absurd for someone of his age to be occupied with. The sustained laughter of Teddy’s uncle is explicit and deliberate, intended to warn Teddy against his immature hobby, an evident symbol of society’s expectation of
Power is like alcohol or drugs, it’s an addiction and it’s hard to quite it and then there is this fear of losing it. John Steinbeck once said “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…Perhaps the fear of a loss power.” What this quote means is that when someone has power they are not corrupted but once they feel threaten about losing power they would do anything to keep it. That’s when they get corrupted because they are blinded by the fear and are capable of doing anything to keep it and have more power. Some examples for this quote would be to a novel title Animal Farm by George Orwell. Also it can connect to the universal theme of power and loss and finally it can connect to a history by the
Power Struggles are very common is many marriages. In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee, the relationship or marriage between George and Martha is based in power. The power struggle between George and Martha has become the basis of their relationship. Their love has turned into hate. The only connection they have is through their insults and the series of games they play. The power struggle between George and Martha develops is reveled and is resolved through out the play.
The struggle for power between characters is pivotal to The Homecoming, nowhere more so than in this extract, where Ruth meets her brother-in-law Lenny. Throughout, Pinter portrays a glass of water as a symbol of sexual and physical dominance, and this begins when Lenny offers to take the glass saying, “Excuse me” and “shall I”. “Me” and “I” suggest that although Lenny is asking Ruth a question, he focuses on himself and his dominance. A further demonstration of this is the repetition of “in my opinion”. “My” shows that he thinks his views are superior to hers, while the possessive pronoun suggests his need to be in control. These firm remarks are reflected in the short stage directions, for example “He does so.” His eloquent politeness suggests intelligence, which Lenny often uses to overpower his family, shown when he says, “Could I possibly change the subject, Dad?” to Max in the opening of the play. “Could I possibly” is equally courteous but also contains the possessive “I”. This shows that Lenny uses a similar approach to overpower Ruth as he uses with his brothers and father.
When somebody abuses a great amount of power, that individual can lose all their power. The struggle against someone who abuses power is perfectly depicted in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. When someone abuses their power, they can impose certain feelings and actions onto others. If someone tries to conceal their personality, . Finally, if someone abuses power and is constantly challenged by another individual who is trying to take the power abuser’s power away from them, the power abuser will always be frightened of his or her challenger. When someone abuses power and takes full control, they can lose all their power and respect quickly.
Characters have played a large role in setting the theme of abusive power; they gain power over a group of individuals and misguide them. One obvious example from Lord Of the Flies was Jack. Towards the beginning of the novel, when the “elections” for the leader of the group took place Jack tried to get power. “‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I’m the chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp’” (Golding 22). After losing the election to Ralph, he became the head of the hunters. Here he abused the miniscule powers given to him over the small group of boys formerly known as the “choir”. Jack’s influence possibly corrupted the minds of the young boys and made them into cold blooded killers going from killing pigs for food to harming humans for enjoyment. “The circle moved round. Robert squealed in mock terror then in real pain… Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife.” (Golding 114). The significance of this was that it was the first major point that lead to the collapse of society on the island. Jack thought that Ralph did not appreciate what he was doing for the group by gett...
If there was ever an element in our society that has been so intensely studied, so manipulated, so extremely perverse and awe inspiring it would have to be the ideological phenomena of power. Power has the ability to take on infinite manifestations across both the conception of time and space; it’s built vast sprawling empires and has destroyed them, it has turned great men terrible and the most heinous men true, it can be as ginormous as an exploding star and has miniscule as the collision of two atoms. There is no definitive definition of the word “Power” because it is so contextual and subjective in our minds and life. Power permeates every letter of any story, poem, play, musical, etc; just think about it, even the letters you are reading right now have the power to form a word, which can invoke any number of feelings within yourself! Therefore, it can be said that writers and authors have much more power than we can even fathom! One author that challenged me to think critically about the use of power within our lives is Pervical Everett and his narrative, “The Appropriation of Cultures”.
From the displays of power that have been shown through out this essay, we see that this story is a story about power. Power is the story is primarily about peoples need for some small amount of power to survive in life and to feel that hey have a purpose within their society which every society it may be whether its is Gilead or Nazi Germany or modern day Britain.
The entire family is involved with lies to Big Daddy and Big Momma, as are the doctors. They tell them that Big Daddy does not have cancer, but only a spastic colon. Brick lies to himself about his feelings for Skipper until Big Daddy forces him to face it. He then understands that he is upset about the way his clean friendship has been misinterpreted. Gooper and Mae pretend to be loving and doting children, when in fact all they want is money and land. Big Mama lies to herself, think all the cruel things Big Daddy says are just jokes. She also lies to herself by thinking that a child from Maggie and Brick would turn Brick into a non-drinking, family man qualified to take over the family place. Big Daddy is even wrapped up in the mendacity. He admits to Brick that he is tired of letting all the lies. He has lied for years about his feelings for his wife, his son Gooper and his daughter-in-law Mae, he says he loves them, when in fact he can't stand any of them. Maggie, who seems to tell close to the truth the entire play, breaks down and lies about her pregnancy.
Robots have been widely viewed and seen as “the future.” Although they can definitely have their downfalls, robots can change the world as we know it. Providing care for the elderly and sick is just one possibility. Imagining a world filled with robots can be scary, but realizing the potential that can come with that is exciting. Even though it may not happen in the near-by future, robots will make a prominent entrance. We, as the people, have to decide what we want for the future
Lie detectors can be useful to determine whether or not on is telling the truth. However, polygraph test cannot be applicable to all crimes, as Raymond Hernandez discusses in his article about lie-detectors and alleged rape victims. The article is dated, however it provides a great reasoning of why not to use polygraph test on alleged rape victims.
Athol Fugard’s “‘Master Harold’ . . . and the boys” illustrates that power is an issue that has so many people playing a part. Hally’s relatively short visit to his parent’s shop reveals so many problems within society in South Africa and around the world that still exist today. Everything from the interactions between the characters, to the title of the play, and even their choices of conversation all show that the thing about power struggles is that everyone ends up damaged. Fugard presents several brief displays of the power struggles that affect each character and in turn exposes to the reader that many forms of power are integrated into society so invisibly that we rarely see such struggles, and they are so much more than a black and white issue.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
Power makes her cruel and ruthless. The theme of power also appears in much understated, stronger ways in the novel. The struggle between the Dauntless initiates to reach the top of the rankings brings out the worst in many of them. Peter and his cronies tease and abuse Tris even though she is physically weaker than them. Peter stabs Edward in the eye in order to rise to the top. The tension over the rankings even drives gentle Al to violence and eventual suicide. The most powerful person is the one who has the most control over everyone else which most characters want. But Veronica Roth makes sure that readers know how dangerous power can be. As Mr. Prior warns Tris, a lust for power can lead men into dark and dangerous