Page 327 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 29: The Birthday Party: Characterization and Theme

Unit 29: The Birthday Party: Characterization and Theme Notes

CONTENTS

Objectives
Introduction

29.1 Characterization

29.1.1 Meg and Petey Boles
29.1.2 Goldberg and McCann

29.1.3 Stanley Webber
29.1.4 Lulu

29.2 Themes
29.3 Summary

29.4 Keywords

29.5 Review Questions
29.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Enumerate all the characters in the play;
• Discuss the criticism of each character;
• Elucidate that the play Birthday Party is full of disjointed information;
• Illustrate that with the hosting of the birthday party, the play reaches its climax of menace.

Introduction

Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
Characterization of a play is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization.
Most plays are a series of actions and manners and therefore there is no surprise that the characters
in The Birthday Party are defined by their behaviour. The Meg Boles’s good nature is shown in her
behaviour with their tenant Stanley calling him boy and mothering him. She fills a void in her life
by turning the Boles’s boarding house tenant into a kind of surrogate child. The characters of the
play have their own significance by their behaviour. This unit illustrates the characterization of the
play The Birthday Party and analyse their behaviour. The themes depicted in the play have also
been illustrated here.

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