IS THE PROTAGONIST BEING VICTIMIZED IN HAROLD PINETR’S "THE BIRTHDAY PARTY?" (Pages 01-06) by Fr. Kuriakose. V. C. in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Harold Pinter’s early plays are absurdist plays with considering the fragmented nature of the characters who attempt to create an identity for themselves by making a choice. Pinter does not think of himself as a technical innovator for he feels that what is going on his plays is realism even though it is not realism. But his plays show a naturalistic approach. In his play The Birthday Party the protagonist Stanley’s plight as the brutal demands of the adult world which forced to leave the secured family home or as the oppressive conformism of political or religious ideologies or as the inevitable pain of death or birth in the existence or as the after effect of failure in relationships of family and society. This play thus points out all of these and similar readings. Because Pinter’s dramatic structures never impose any specificity in its interpretations. It is the feature of active invading forces that reduces the resistance of latent desires and potentials. An unchecked authority scorns at weakness and equates individuality to treachery. The ability to recognize such structures in operation in our interpersonal relationships, in our society’s infrastructure and in our country’s political discourses provides us with a forum for ethical and moral consideration. Keywords: Absurd, Victimization, Oppressive conformism, Scorn, Forum