Trace how violence and degradation become the major issues in the play, Saved, by Edward Bond.

Violence is a huge part of the play. Characters verbally abuse each other constantly, calling each other names and dismissing one another's feelings with a violent contempt. In the many verbal confrontations that we witness, we see that there is a physical aggression that is threatening to burst out. It does, when Mary pours the tea water on Harry's head towards the end of the play.

The play is also infamous for staging one of the most shocking scenes of violence in stage history. When Pam leaves her baby in the park with Fred and his friends, they begin to play with it in a violent way, eventually stoning it to death.

People experience degradation and are rejected time and time again in the play. First, Pam rejects Len after having sex with him once. Then, Fred rejects Pam, much to her chagrin. All the characters reject the baby, who ends up suffering a horrific death because no one is willing to take care of it. The play stages instance after instance of rejection, almost as if to suggest that rejection and a breakdown of connection are inevitable in life.