films4lovers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
wafflezthebaka's review against another edition
3.5
Ratio + L + You’re Violent, You’re Erratic, You’re Unoredictable
utterlymydump's review
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
(Review from 2020)
I read this in like 30mins it’s damn boring but q easy to read except the Long ass chunks of text scattered across the book but anyway it’s so so so boring wtf I hate Davies my fav character is Actl Mick even tho he is a manipulative little bastard Aston is so ???? V hard time figuring him out hopefully my opinion changes As we study the book,,, at least it didn’t take 12hrs like Pride and Prejudice did zzz
I read this in like 30mins it’s damn boring but q easy to read except the Long ass chunks of text scattered across the book but anyway it’s so so so boring wtf I hate Davies my fav character is Actl Mick even tho he is a manipulative little bastard Aston is so ???? V hard time figuring him out hopefully my opinion changes As we study the book,,, at least it didn’t take 12hrs like Pride and Prejudice did zzz
bibliolojy's review against another edition
4.0
It is the highest level of brilliance— to speak so little and say so much.
drkshadow03's review against another edition
4.0
The play is about Aston who takes in an old man named Davies into his run-down house after Davies is fired from his job as a waiter and extricated from a fight with a Scotsman. We come to find out that Aston struggles to communicate with words and express himself after a stint in an asylum where electroshock therapy gave him brain damage. His younger brother, Mick, is the technical owner of the house and decides to give Davies a job as the caretaker after at first believing himself to be an intruder. Conflict develops between Aston and Davies over their daily living habits as Aston likes to keep the window open and wakes up Davies in the middle of the night if he makes too much noise. Tired of this treatment, Davies tries to drive a wedge between Aston and Mick, using his knowledge of Aston’s stint in the asylum as an insult against him, but ultimately it’s the brothers who side with each other, leaving Mick to beg not to be turned out of the house.
Who exactly is the caretaker in this play? Depending on how broadly you define this term, each character embodies the caretaker role. Aston is a caretaker for Davies by giving him a temporary home and attempting to take care of some of his needs such as giving him money to get tea or purchasing him shoes and other clothes. Aston reveals that he was in a sanitarium and received electro-shock therapy and is seemingly unable to begin of the projects to fix up the house. Mick offers Davies a job to be the caretaker of the house and his brother. Meanwhile Mick the brother seems to be the person both technically responsible for his brother and the upkeep of the house, but continually gives those responsibilities to someone else. There is an additional irony in that not only do they struggle to take care of the house or each other, but they aren’t good caretakers of themselves either. Often the characters perform actions that prove not to be in their best interest such as Aston taking in Davies, Davies not being appreciative of the shelter and assistance he has received, and Mick trying to defer responsibility for taking care of his brother and the house. Although there is no explicit Biblical allusion, the relationship between these men has echoes of the Biblical line: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Many plays use misunderstanding in dialogue for comical effect, but this play makes the difficulty of communication and developing intimacy with other people a major theme of the play itself. Before his stay in the Asylum, Aston tells us how he was constantly talking and exuberant in his communications with people at a local cafe in his attempt to connect with people. Although he seemingly could communicate back then, it is this very communication and attempt at a kind of connection with other people that leads them to suspect he is insane and gets him placed in an asylum; the electro-shock therapy gives him brain damage, leaving him slow to express his thoughts and feelings, and only with difficulty. Mick refuses to communicate his concerns with his brother, telling Davies that he must be the one to communicate things to his brother. Yet when Davies attempts to get Mick on his side against Aston this backfired and Mick takes the side of Aston. While Mick doesn’t directly communicate in a deep way with Aston, the small smile they share with each other at the end seems to symbolize an unspoken moment of intimacy.
Then there is Davies who habitually lies, has racist sentiments towards immigrants such as Greeks and Indians, and is unappreciative of the help he is getting when it becomes inconvenient or it’s not enough. Not only do we witness this during the events of the play, but we see his unappreciative nature when he tells other stories of people offering him food or help. He even tries to turn each brother against the other, but this fails and he ends up being asked to leave the house, which may have been his last chance at shelter and a job. The irony is the airs he puts about himself and his stereotypes about foreigners are a kind of projection in which he possesses many of the negative stereotypes he accuses them of possessing. Deep down both Aston and Davies each want to maintain their dignity as human beings.
The three character seem stuck in a loop of inaction. Davies keeps claiming he will head down to Sidcup to get his papers because he is under an assumed identity, but he continually finds excuses not to go. Aston keeps claiming he will build a shed and then will finally be able to finish the other projects in the house, but he never gets started. Mick dreams of making improvements to the house, but except for his abortive attempt to take on Davies as caretaker and let his brother make these improvements that Mick recognizes his brother probably will never do, he never really does anything to improve the place. Everyone keeps the deferring the action, their goal, to later, which in all likelihood is never. There is a desire for change that can never Ben achieved and ends up being futile.
Who exactly is the caretaker in this play? Depending on how broadly you define this term, each character embodies the caretaker role. Aston is a caretaker for Davies by giving him a temporary home and attempting to take care of some of his needs such as giving him money to get tea or purchasing him shoes and other clothes. Aston reveals that he was in a sanitarium and received electro-shock therapy and is seemingly unable to begin of the projects to fix up the house. Mick offers Davies a job to be the caretaker of the house and his brother. Meanwhile Mick the brother seems to be the person both technically responsible for his brother and the upkeep of the house, but continually gives those responsibilities to someone else. There is an additional irony in that not only do they struggle to take care of the house or each other, but they aren’t good caretakers of themselves either. Often the characters perform actions that prove not to be in their best interest such as Aston taking in Davies, Davies not being appreciative of the shelter and assistance he has received, and Mick trying to defer responsibility for taking care of his brother and the house. Although there is no explicit Biblical allusion, the relationship between these men has echoes of the Biblical line: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Many plays use misunderstanding in dialogue for comical effect, but this play makes the difficulty of communication and developing intimacy with other people a major theme of the play itself. Before his stay in the Asylum, Aston tells us how he was constantly talking and exuberant in his communications with people at a local cafe in his attempt to connect with people. Although he seemingly could communicate back then, it is this very communication and attempt at a kind of connection with other people that leads them to suspect he is insane and gets him placed in an asylum; the electro-shock therapy gives him brain damage, leaving him slow to express his thoughts and feelings, and only with difficulty. Mick refuses to communicate his concerns with his brother, telling Davies that he must be the one to communicate things to his brother. Yet when Davies attempts to get Mick on his side against Aston this backfired and Mick takes the side of Aston. While Mick doesn’t directly communicate in a deep way with Aston, the small smile they share with each other at the end seems to symbolize an unspoken moment of intimacy.
Then there is Davies who habitually lies, has racist sentiments towards immigrants such as Greeks and Indians, and is unappreciative of the help he is getting when it becomes inconvenient or it’s not enough. Not only do we witness this during the events of the play, but we see his unappreciative nature when he tells other stories of people offering him food or help. He even tries to turn each brother against the other, but this fails and he ends up being asked to leave the house, which may have been his last chance at shelter and a job. The irony is the airs he puts about himself and his stereotypes about foreigners are a kind of projection in which he possesses many of the negative stereotypes he accuses them of possessing. Deep down both Aston and Davies each want to maintain their dignity as human beings.
The three character seem stuck in a loop of inaction. Davies keeps claiming he will head down to Sidcup to get his papers because he is under an assumed identity, but he continually finds excuses not to go. Aston keeps claiming he will build a shed and then will finally be able to finish the other projects in the house, but he never gets started. Mick dreams of making improvements to the house, but except for his abortive attempt to take on Davies as caretaker and let his brother make these improvements that Mick recognizes his brother probably will never do, he never really does anything to improve the place. Everyone keeps the deferring the action, their goal, to later, which in all likelihood is never. There is a desire for change that can never Ben achieved and ends up being futile.
mariatsichrini's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ridaakhtar_'s review against another edition
2.0
"I think that we communicate only too well, in our silence, in what is unsaid, and that what takes place in a continual evasion, desperate rearguard attempts to keep ourselves to ourselves."
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter