GradeSaver (TM) ClassicNotes: The Dumb Waiter by Cohen Madeline

Author:Cohen, Madeline [Cohen, Madeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GradeSaver LLC
Published: 2018-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

The Dumb Waiter Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Guns (Symbol)

Chekhov famously wrote, "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off." In The Dumb Waiter , Pinter plays with expectations by making guns important props in the play but never having a character fire one. In this way, guns symbolize the threat of violence that pervades society. The mere possibility of violence happening, whether on purpose or by mistake, builds the suspense and tension of the play. This is especially true of the moments when Ben and Gus clean, examine, and even point their guns; though these actions never result in the guns actually being fired, audience members must brace themselves for the violence that might occur. Guns are also powerful, masculine items, so the moments when Ben and Gus choose to interact with the guns could also be understood to symbolically represent them seeking control and assurance of their masculinity.

Matches (Symbol)

In The Dumb Waiter , matches symbolize powerlessness and absurdity. Shortly after the play begins, Gus pulls flattened cigarette and matchboxes out of his shoes, seeming surprised and baffled to find them there. This is the first sign that The Dumb Waiter will be a work of Theatre of the Absurd. Because the men have no matches, they are not able to make tea, which reminds them and the audience of their powerlessness and low social class.

Later in the play, an envelope is slid under the door of the room the men are waiting in. Upon opening it, Gus finds that the envelope contains twelve matches. This moment is absurd and ironic because the men expected a note of some sort, rather than matches. The moment is also mysterious in a way that reminds the men of their powerlessness: they have no way of finding out who delivered the matches, and it is unclear how someone would know they lacked matches in the first place.

The absurdity increases even further when Gus discovers there is no gas for the stove. Even with matches provided, the men still cannot make tea. While this realization again demonstrates Ben and Gus's low class by showing they are not able to meet their basic needs even with help, it is the reminder of their lack of knowledge and power in the situation that is greatly unsettling to Gus. Near the end of the play, Gus brings the matches back up, asking Ben repeatedly, "Why did he send us matches if he knew there was no gas?" (117.) Gus clearly has come to believe that the matches were purely symbolic: rather than meaning for the men to use them, Wilson provided the matches to demonstrate his complete knowledge and power, and to demonstrate Ben and Gus's lack thereof.

The Dumb Waiter (Symbol)

The titular dumb waiter represents lack of communication. Dumb waiters were first created so that gossip and conversation could not be spread after meals by living waiters. In The

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