Mountain Language

by Harold Pinter

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Meaninglessness

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Pinter masterfully illustrates the play's main theme of futility through its complex structure. Within the strange prison setting, nothing makes sense. The prisoners, insultingly labeled as "s——houses" and "enemies of the state," are held for unspecified offenses. The story suggests they are imprisoned because they are part of a group called the "mountain people" who speak a forbidden language. When officials realize that Charley, Sara’s husband, is not a mountain person, they acknowledge he was wrongly categorized but still do not question his alleged guilt.

The play presents an existential viewpoint on the nature of human life, challenging the conventional belief that humans are logical beings in an understandable world. The characters constantly question the prison's regulations, searching for a logical order, but are consistently thwarted because the system lacks logic, truth, and value. Faced with this absence of meaning, they feel isolated and despondent.

Pinter emphasizes this sense of futility by highlighting the gap between language and meaning. Sara repeatedly attempts to communicate with the prison officials to convince them to treat her and the others with dignity and to reunite her with her husband. However, her efforts at conversation always turn into meaningless babble. For example, when she tries to get help for an elderly woman injured by a dog bite, the officer and sergeant engage in an absurd discussion about the dog's name and provide no aid.

Social Protest

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Pinter crafts scenes such as the one with the dog as a means of social protest. Through his character development and narrative structure, he presents a strong critique of authoritarian regimes. Pinter has mentioned that the struggles of the Kurds as a minority in Turkey influenced the play (as observed by Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph). However, by using Anglo names like "Sara Johnson" and "Charley," along with an undefined setting, he implies a more general denunciation of any government that oppresses its citizens.

Censorship

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A key tactic employed by prison authorities to suppress the characters in the play is censorship. By banning the "mountain language," which they call "dead," they aim to erase the characters' cultural identity and harshly penalize anyone who uses it. This censorship deprives the characters of their individuality and prevents them from communicating with each other, ultimately dismantling their community connections.

Sexual Abuse

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When the authorities recognize that Sara isn't a mountain woman and thus cannot be controlled through her social status, they seek alternative ways to assert power over her. The sergeant brands her as a ‘‘f—— intellectual’’ and proceeds to abuse her to demonstrate his dominance. Upon her admission that she doesn't know the mountain language, he touches her inappropriately and taunts, ‘‘What language do you speak with your a——,’’ thereby undermining her position within the prison hierarchy. Subsequently, he informs the officer that Sara is sinful, stating that she ‘‘bounces with it.’’

Resistance

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Sara challenges the officials' authority by questioning them and remaining silent. She insists on action for the elderly woman bitten by the guard dog and demands her right to visit her husband. When faced with the officials' absurd and repetitive questions, like, "What is the dog’s name?" she chooses silence, avoiding futile dialogue. However, by the end of the play, the oppressive system has crushed her spirit. Although she finally gets to see her husband, she cannot halt his torture through logical argument. As a result, she consents to prostituting herself to secure his safety.

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