Analysis and semiotics in Harold Pinter’s the

Homecoming

Hamed Jamal pour

English Literature (M.A)
jamalpour@gmail.com
one of the greatest researchers on classical issues specially hamlet. And Mr. Jamal pour got two PhD
admission from Berkeley university of California and university of Tokyo in Japan in the years
2006&2008.

As Hamed Jamal pour discussed in Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming"

one of the important themes is power. Many of the characters try to exert
power. Many of the characters try to exert power over others through
various means such as sexuality and intelligence. The use of violence
within the household is believed by the men to be the most important tool
of power. However, when Ruth, the only woman in the play, enters, she
appears to defeat the men's power, but not with violence. Her sexuality
and apparent intelligence become part of the way in which she takes
control of the house. Power itself is the ability to take control and exert
authority over others. Violence is a physical form of this. It usually takes
the form of a display of force and this could be an unjust or even
unlawful action. There could be a use of violent language or an element
of threatened violence. However, the degree of power this holds is
determined by the reaction of those threatened, or whether or not
anything comes of the threat.

Teddy introduces his wife, Ruth, into his childhood home that is a scene
of tense threats and reports of violence - both sexual and physical. As
soon as the play begins there is conflict between Lenny and his father,
Max. Having been insulted by Lenny, Max threatens him with his stick,
saying "Don't you talk to me like that. I'm warning you". However,
nothing comes of this threat. The only element of power that can be
inferred comes from the way in which Lenny makes no response. Perhaps
he has previous experience of Max's anger, or it could be that both parties
know that there is no point in pursuing the matter. The power that is
expected to come with a threat is non-existent in this household as the
threats are well-worn and always empty.

1
Max demands that Teddy and Ruth leave his house, yet by the end of the
play, he is sobbing and yearning for attention from Ruth. The insults and
derogatory terms used within the family are not so much an element of
power as a way of life. As there is no real mother figure within the
household, the men have lapsed into a way of life in which they can show
no affection to each other. Instead they insult each other in ways usually
reserved for women: "bitch" and "slag". A show of affection or even
respect can result in argument, "Stop calling me Dad", Max complains.
The men appear to hold power through unity. Although they fight, they
work together to devise plans for establishing Ruth as a prostitute. Teddy
excludes himself from the proceedings by refusing to contribute to the
kitty and is therefore excluded from the unity of power that the other men
now hold. It is unclear who the plans will benefit. By clubbing together in
this way, the men think that they have found a way to control Ruth how
they like. At this point however, they do not expect to be overpowered
once again by Ruth. Her sexual dominance and quick wits are the power
that ensures her demands of a three roomed flat and a personal maid.

Ruth undermines the strength of the group through her sexuality and alert
mind which both serve to overpower the rough plans and ideas of the
men. Her manner of questioning their actions and what they tell her
undermine their long held confidence in what they do as being right. Yet
the power of intelligence would appear to be small. Teddy is a teacher of
philosophy and is ultimately defeated by his family and returns to
America. He appears to be a fairly passive member of the family. His
attempts to persuade Ruth to retire for the night are fruitless and he has
no control over his wife's future. It could be inferred that Ruth is only
acting in this way in England as she has found a release from the boring
life of America. There she had three sons and was the wife of a university
lecturer. It could be that this visit sees Ruth released from the dull
domination of Teddy. This is not domination in the more physical form
that his brothers and father use. This is the assumption that Ruth has all
she needs or wants in life, without asking her. There is no way out for
Ruth until they come to England and her escape in to a world where she
can for once dominate in her own way becomes gradually apparent
through her resistance of Teddy's ideas. Despite his position as a teacher,
Teddy is unable to answer a question posed by Lenny. Ruth intervenes,
but her answer reveals little intellectual power; it is another reminder of
her sexual power. Her context for the question is her body and underwear,
rather than the table that Lenny used as his example. Although Teddy is
intelligent, he is defeated. Joey is ill-educated and gains power through
violence, but he is not undefeatable. Ruth's suggested intelligence

2
becomes a vehicle for her sexual power that distracts attention from
Teddy. Ruth's actions have defeated her husband as he makes no attempt
to stop what she is doing.

Jamal pour mentioned In a university course description, philosophy is

described as "a calling to anyone who wishes to take life reflectively and
thoughtfully, rather than just acting on prevailing assumptions, habits, and
prejudices." If this is genuinely Teddy's "calling", his intellect is
preventing him from gaining control of any situations by perhaps being
too reflective and too slow to act. It is Teddy's brothers and father who act
on "prevailing assumptions, habits and prejudices". Yet both the passive
philosophical and the more violent unphilosophical men are overpowered
by the forthright plain-thinking woman.

The positions of employment that the different characters hold do not

necessarily give any indication of their personality. As mentioned before,
as a philosophy teacher, Teddy is unable to even attempt to answer a
question posed by Lenny. As a pimp, Lenny exerts what power he wishes
over most women, but is easily overpowered by Ruth. Joey, a boxer and
self-confessed rapist, is unable to sleep with Ruth even after spending
two hours with her in the bedroom. "She's a tease!" exclaims Lenny.
Ruth's role as mother and wife is seemingly forgotten as she abandons
family life to establish herself as a prostitute for her husband's family.
While the retrospective stories and angle taken on the men reveal much
about them and their background, little is revealed for certain about Ruth.
She unveils certain aspects of her life through euphemisms such as being
"a photographic model for the body". Ruth holds the power of mystery
and intrigue over the men. Ruth's air of mystery is an element of what
allows her to control the men. As she is both a mother and a whore, she
satisfies the fantasy that is apparently desired by Lenny as he questions
his father about the night he was conceived. It is Lenny's view that many
people his age think about "the night they were made in the image of
those two people at it ". Ruth's position as a mother is shown through her
cooking abilities and the need for attention from her "children", the men.
Her position at the head of the family makes her powerful, but Ruth does
not gain her position through violence. In contrast, her movements are
more subtle and unpredictable.

The position that the late mother, Jessie, once held is filled by Ruth. As
with Jessie, Ruth is considered in both an abusive and an affectionate
way. Max initially refers to his daughter-in-law as a "tart", "a stinking
pox-ridden slut". He later says that she is "lovely and beautiful" and
craves her attention. Max refers to his late wife as a "bad bitch", but she

3
later becomes the "backbone to this family". Ruth unites the family and
Max remarks that "It's a long time since the whole family was together".
Ruth provides the centre that has been missing in the family and the men
focus around her. As Ruth is able to provide both emotional and sexual
care, she is desired by all the men. Her manipulative power and insight
into the required family structure enable her to take control of the family.
Since Jessie died, the rest of the family have been headed by Max as the
father figure, but Lenny only describes the set up as a "unit", not as a
family.

Teddy and Sam are different from the rest of the family. They are calmer
and more passive, but they both introduce a factor that causes disorder
within the family. Teddy returns from America with Ruth. She adapts
more readily than Teddy because she is able change her surroundings, and
possibly herself to an extent. It could be inferred that Teddy originally left
simply because he did not fit in with the rest of his family. Either unable
or unwilling to change, he could not put himself in a position whereby he
might be able to influence the others. Ruth appears to use a different part
of her personality to gain control over each of the men. However, whether
or not Ruth's new role is simply an old position brought to life again, is
unclear because Ruth reveals little about her past. Sam, like Teddy spends
time away from the house. Although he lives in the house, he is a
chauffeur and can spend a great deal of time taking customers from place
to place. He also escorted Max's wife, Jessie, while she was alive. It is a
secret he reveals about this "charming woman" that causes a moment of
disorder within the family. However, his collapse does not have the effect
on the family that one would expect, Teddy simply says "I was going to
ask him to drive me to London Airport". Sam's revelation about Jessie
and MacGregor is just dismissed by Max as a "diseased imagination".
The disclosure of his late wife's infidelity does nothing to Max as he
closes the deal with Ruth on the matter of her prostitution.

Neither Teddy or Sam are able to exert much power over the other
members of the family. Sam is a calm individual who is "an old grub", or
"a maggot" according to his brother, Max. However, the rapport between
Sam and his nephew, Teddy, reveals friendship and the fact that Teddy
was his mother's favourite. On receiving a letter from Teddy in America,
Sam was "very touched". The more sensitive natures of Teddy and Sam
are detrimental to their exertion of power. They are affected by the
behaviour of those around them. The other members of the family,
including Ruth seem to be able to act independently of one another,
taking little heed of threats or insults. In these situations insensitivity
increments power. The one incident where Teddy could be said to be

4
exerting a more vindictive form of power is when he takes Lenny's
cheese roll. This follows Ruth embracing and kissing both Joey and
Lenny and could be seen as a way of showing that he too can take
whatever he wants. It is perhaps the first time that Teddy has taken from
his family as they are now trying to take from him. However, Teddy's
well-mannered theft has little effect on Lenny, who just expected a "bit of
liberality of spirit" having returned after six years away.

Through his position as a pimp, Lenny has absolute power over his
prostitutes. Ruth asked how he knew that his victim was diseased, he
simply answers "I decided she was". His story of how he assaulted a
woman down by the docks shows how his violent nature overpowered the
woman. Lenny had ultimate control of the situation. The only reason that
Lenny did not kill the girl was "all the bother... getting rid of the corpse
and all that". There also appears to have been no police intervention, as
before. In this way, Lenny's violence has been his most important means
of exerting power and the non-critical reaction of his relatives only does
nothing to stop his behaviour.
However, in relaying the story to Ruth, Lenny hopes to show his power.
This is defeated as Ruth has been made aware of Lenny's capacity to be
brutal, but she then openly challenges him after another story of violence.
Lenny's report of how he assaulted an old lady becomes all the more
horrific as it is surrounded by ordinary events. He gives the old lady "A
short arm jab to the belly", then he "jumped on a bus outside". The
subject is then abruptly changed as Lenny offers to move the ashtray. His
violent nature has again been the most important element of power is
defeating his primary victim. Yet after these two stories, Ruth still has the
power to challenge Lenny's suggestions. Her power is not violence, but
another form of physical power. She overpowers Lenny through her
sexuality and her quiet self-assured nature saying, "If you take the glass
... I'll take you".

Joey's position as a boxer implies that he is physically strong. The rape

that he and Lenny commit is evidence of his physical strength. They "told
the ... two escorts ... to go away" and then they "got the girls out of the
car". There is no evidence of consent in the actions. Joey's physical
power, his violence, is undermined by his lack of intelligence. He cannot
even tell his own story without omitting what Lenny considers to be "the
best bit". The report of the rapes has little effect on the family. The story
merges into a discussion about Joey's sexual activities with Ruth as if the
rapes had never happened. The effect on the two girls can only be
inferred. They were obviously overpowered in the first instant. There also
appears to have been no involvement with the police, so in this way,

5
Lenny and Joey's sexual and physical power has led to them being able to
control their own situations, although later it appears to prove little to
their own family.

While the men of the family believe violence to be the way in which to
hold power and gain respect, this changes when Ruth enters their lives.
Her exertion of sexual power overpowers them as they have been
deprived of a central mother and sexual figure since Jessie died. The
prostitution and rapes that are spoken of are a way of satisfying sexual
urges and this gives the men control. For Max, his power comes from
insulting others and holding the position of Father. Sam and Teddy are
similar passive figures who stand apart from the sexual, physical tension
and power that the household consists of. The power of intelligence is
small as it plays no part in plans for prostitution. It is Ruth's cunning,
rather than her conventional intelligence that enables her to work her own
requirements into the deal she makes with the family. Ultimately,
violence is a useful source for bragging, but is easily overpowered by
Ruth's frank sexual nature and her position as a central mother and whore
figure. It is Ruth's position as a "desired sexual object" that allows Ruth
to triumph.

Hamed Jamal pour

English Literature (M.A)
+9809126756043
jamalpour@gmail.com

Analysis of "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe

A long analysis of "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

2. In “speaking for those who have no means of speaking”, Dawe has

succeeded in writing poetry that has universal appeal.

In “Homecoming”, poet Bruce Dawe uses vivid visual and aural poetic
techniques to construct his attitudes towards war. He creates a specifically
Australian cultural context where soldiers have been fighting in a war in
Vietnam, and the dead bodies flown home. However the poem has

6
universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity accorded to
Precious lives reduced to body bags are common attitudes towards
soldiers in all historical conflicts. Although Dawe makes several
references to the Vietnam War, the sense of moral outrage at the futile,
dehumanising aspects of war is a universal theme. He also speaks on
behalf of the mute, dead soldiers who have no way of expressing their
suffering and loss of hope. By “speaking for those who have no means of
speaking”, Dawe ultimately exposes the brutal hopelessness of soldiers
caught up in foreign conflicts and the shocking impact on families.

The title “Homecoming” is used effectively to contrast the traditional

universal implications of the word with the shocking reality of dead
soldiers flown home from Vietnam to grieving families. The word
“homecoming” usually implies a celebration or Heroic reception for a
great achievement, with a return to roots and family. It would further
invoke a sense of anticipation for the return of a loved one whom has a
real identity and a place in the hearts of those awaiting his arrival.
However, the title operates ironically because the “homecoming”
described in the poem is related to death, mourning and loss and the
arrival of a nameless body is quite different from the heartfelt joy
extended to a loved one. By establishing Irony through the globally
understood ritual of homecoming celebration, Dawe generates universal
appeal.
Through the use of Repetition, Dawe establishes the inhuman, machine-
like processing of human bodies, a ghastly reality common to all conflicts
that use innocent soldiers as cannon fodder. These soldiers will never
have an opportunity to voice their protests or their sense of loss, hence
Dawe offers a shocking expose of the futility of war and is able to voice
his concerns of those who cannot articulate their views. Repeated use of
the pronoun “they’re”, hints at the impersonal relationship between the
bodies and their handlers. Repetition of the suffix
“-ing” in “bringing”, “zipping”, “picking”, “tagging”, and “giving”,
describing the actions of the body processors, establishes irony. These
verbs imply life and vitality, in stark contrast to the limp, lifeless, cold
body that they handle each day. Repetition is used effectively to highlight
the shocking brutality that has manifested in all wars throughout history.

Word choice in “Homecoming” further underpins the poem’s universal

appeal where Dawe foregrounds the lack of identity and indiscriminate
slaughter of young men in the Vietnam War. References to green bodies
in “green plastic bags”, shows the lack of individuality. Soldiers are being
categorised as “curly-heads, kinky-hairs, crew-cuts, balding non-coms”, a
detached and anonymous image, establishing the idea that class, race or

7
background is no favour in war, further reinforcing the loss of identity. It
is shocking that “they’re giving them names” since a name is one of the
few identifying features left on the plethora of otherwise anonymous,
mutilated bodies, “the mash, the splendour”. The separation of soldiers
and their identity is a worldwide concept, successfully illustrated through
word choice.

Dawe uses vivid visual imagery to emphasise the emotional damage

caused to friends a family through the loss of a loved one, a deep
suffering that is often left unrecorded in the annals of history. “Telegrams
tremble like leaves from a wintering tree” and “the spider swings in his
bitter geometry”, exemplify the arbitrary grief that affects those who
receive notices. Personification of the telegrams shows them as
“trembling” under the burden of the news they must deliver, ending any
hope for families wishing their loved ones shall return alive. The relation
of telegrams to leaves falling from a “wintering tree” is a powerful image,
providing the reader with some idea of the immense number of dead
soldiers. Dawe further suggests that a “wide web” joins all countries, with
none able to escape the “spider grief” associated with war. By exposing
the destructive and dehumanising aspects of war, Dawe appeals to the
masses, removing it from its falsely glorified position.

Through the further use of imagery, Dawe succeeds in writing poetry that
has universal appeal by underscoring the savage nature of war. The
Simile “whining like hounds” emphasizes the destructive characteristics
of war, also depicting dogs as sympathetic feelers of human emotion. For
these dead soldiers, there is no big parade and music, only “the howl of
their homecoming”. The world famous twenty-one gun salute is also
mocked, “mute salute”, further establishing the worldwide notion of dogs
as mans best friend, who unfortunately cannot voice their grief in words.
Although these men have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up their
lives, the fact that they get no recognition for this act except from their
dogs, emphasizes the global concept of war as dehumanising.

The setting Dawe describes in “Homecoming” is characteristically

Australian but the issues related to the horrors and futility of war are
universal in their implication regardless of the cultural context.
References to the “knuckled hills” and “desert emptiness” of the
Australian landscape underscores the irony of the “homecoming” since
soldiers are unable to appreciate or comprehend the unique beauty of
their land. Personification further foregrounds the human qualities
ascribed to hill and the landscape, whereas the soldiers are ironically
devoid of all life and humanity. The “desert emptiness” not only refers to

8
the vastness of the Australian interior, but also to the empty futility of
war. With the aid of imagery, Dawe establishes the pointlessness of war,
in that of all the men who have ever died in battles shall never see their
homelands again.

The final line of the poem creates the idea of Paradox, further endorsing
the notion of senseless life loss, a universal theme. “They’re bringing
them home now, to late” because the chance to save their lives has now
past. However, it is also “too early” since all these soldiers are too young,
leaving behind an unfulfilled life. Unfortunately these soldiers will also
never receive the true recognition they deserve for their efforts that would
have been given at the end of the war. By using the technique of paradox,
Dawe makes a final attempt at clarifying international misconception of
war as beneficial.

Bruce Dawe successfully establishes the uselessness of war is his poem

“Homecoming”. He can be said to be “speaking for those who have no
means of speaking” in the way he presents the attitudes of the silent, dead
soldiers being flown home from Vietnam. With the aid of aural and visual
poetic techniques he arouses sympathy, carefully manipulating the
audience to reflect upon his own views towards war. In this way, Dawe
has created a poem that is uniquely Australian, presenting issues of global
concern and generating universal appeal.

Hamed Jamal pour

English Literature (M.A)
+9809126756043
jamalpour@gmail.com
Bibliography

Dawe, B. (2000). Homecoming. In Bernard, V. (Ed.), Sometimes

Gladness (p. 95). South Melbourne: Pearson Education Australia.
Smith, G. (1997). An appreciation of “Homecoming” by Bruce Dawe.
[WWW document]. URL
http://home.pacific.net.au/~greg.hub/lifecycle.html
Salmon, K. (2000). Poetry of Bruce Dawe. [WWW document]. URL
http://www.ozseek.com.au/English2UGen/PracticePapers/00301a.shtml.