Is 'The Dumb Waiter' a Successful Absurd Play? Risini Polwattage 12th Grade

The drama The Dumb Waiter was written by the well-known playwright Harold Pinter. This drama is considered as an absurd play. Absurd playwrights wrote plays in order to bring out the purposelessness and the meaninglessness of life of the 20th century man. Through the use of absurd situations, dark humor and surrealism these playwrights bring out the existential crisis faced by the society. This play revolves around two serial killers names Ben and Gus who are waiting in a basement until they get the command from their master to carry out their next mission.

In absurd plays the playwright clearly portrays the meaninglessness and the purposelessness in the life of man. This feature is clearly conveyed through the lives spent by Ben and Gus. Ben and Gus are two hit men staying in a basement. They have no idea where they are or what they are doing. Through the phrase ‘what town are we in’, ‘What time is it’, the reader is able to understand that these men have no idea about the environment they are living in. They are completely unaware about the outside circumstances and they are entrapped inside a basement without a view of the outside world.

Ben and Gus merely live to satiate the desires of their master Wilson. Wilson is above...