Discourse Conflicts In Pinter's Plays

Harold Pinter's plays are famous for the vivid reproduction of everyday prattle and the mystery which endangers the closed rooms. Pinter's characters struggle for identity and dominance by taking advantage of language as a weapon. Language can change the relationships among people; Language can, at the same time, reconstruct the identity. The frequent pauses, silences and tautology display the psychology of the characters and make it possible for the audience to penetrate into the inner side of the characters.This thesis attempts to explore different discourse conflicts in Pinter's plays with an aim to discuss different stratagems between male and female characters, who endeavor to maintain and struggle for dominance and identity. Three of Pinter's plays are analyzed from the perspective of Discourse Analysis. By applying the theories of Conversational Analysis and Speech Act Theory, this thesis adopts a synthesized analysis of Pinter's works to explore discourse features of the dominant characters and the dominated characters.The thesis contains six chapters. Chapter one is introduction, in which the general condition of the current research of Pinter's language drama is briefly reviewed. The focus is the introduction of the categories of discourse conflicts in Pinter's plays. In chapter two, theoretic framework and sub-theories employed in the thesis are introduced in detail. The feasibility of applying Discourse Analysis to the analysis of Pinter's works is examined at the same time. In chapter three, The Dumb Waiter is discussed from the perspective of Conversational Analysis and Speech Act Theory with an aim to explore the male conflicts in Pinter's plays. Chapter four centers on male dominance over females with the discussion of The Room from the perspective of Conversational Analysis and Speech Act Theory. In chapter five, The Homecoming is discussed in an attempt to explore female dominance over male from the perspective of Conversational Analysis and Speech Act Theory. In chapter six, a conclusion of the study is drawn and limitations of the research and suggestions for further study are put forward.