Point of View

Pinter chooses to confine the events of both plays to a single location: one-room, rundown apartments. In "The Caretaker," characters enter and exit at various times; in "The Dumbwaiter," the only two characters are always present. Both plays are inherently character-driven, and this severe focus provides a sort of "pressure-cooker" as Pinter allows tensions to simmer in the confined space.

In the play, "The Caretaker," the point of view of the story is presented through the main characters, Aston, Davies and Mick as well as by the unique dialogue of the playwright, Harold Pinter. Pinter uses the construction and sub-text of his dialog to establish the dominance or subordination of each character. Pinter's approach is powerful and effective. By the play's conclusion, what comes across to the audience is not the words of the characters, which in the main are not memorable, but rather the message...