What Do I Read Next?
Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, written in 1914 but not translated into English until 1937, shares similarities with Pinter's play. The protagonist, Josef K., overwhelmed by an undefined sense of guilt, is led to his execution by courteous gentlemen who serve as angelic harbingers of death. Kafka, along with Beckett, significantly influenced Pinter, who adapted The Trial for the screen in 1993.
Pinter's extended one-act play, The Dumbwaiter, written around the same time as The Birthday Party, features characters that invite comparison. In this play, two hired assassins, Ben and Gus, await orders from a shadowy organization, akin to the one for which Goldberg and McCann work.
Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers," first published in 1927, introduces a chilling duo of killers who arrive at a small-town diner in search of their target. Much like Goldberg and McCann, they are disturbingly composed and meticulous in their behavior. Critics have observed their resemblance to Pinter's characters in both The Dumb Waiter and The Birthday Party.
John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger, produced in 1956, is a cornerstone of post-World War II Britain's Angry Theater movement. Its main character, Jimmy Porter, serves as an intriguing contrast to Stanley Webber. Both characters represent variations of the sensitive and angry young man trapped in a world devoid of hope and human dignity.
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