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www.the-criterion.com The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 Aston tries hard to be the part of society. He does help Davies who in one way represents society. He is an abnormal but behaves like a normal and very cooperative human being with Davies. On the contrary, Davies who is a normal human being , behaves abnormally. By helping Davies symbolically he wants to be the part of society. However the society in the form of Davies treats him as mad and abnormal human being. Davies declares Aston does not understand anything. One really feels extremely upset that Aston is rejected in the society and that he has to continue his life in isolation. Aston’s helping nature results into nothing but in frustration. The term isolation is different from solitude. The isolation is normally forced on human beings. It becomes a punishment for the isolated person. Solitude is something that is willingly accepted. The solitude can be creative. It can provide peace of mind. The isolation of a human being may result into frustration. Harold Pinter tries to say that the human beings are destined to be isolated and lonely. Therefore his characters prefer to live in isolation. His characters fail to improve proper communication with others. Davies is completely isolated, whereas Aston has a brother who gives his support at the end. Mick says: “Aston can do it up, he can decorate it, he can do what he likes with it. I am not bothered. I thought I was doing a Favour , letting him live here. He’s got his own ideas . Let him have them. I am going to chuck it in.”( 1982: 74) Pinter through his play, The Caretaker suggests that the isolation is inevitable companion of life. Davies’s isolation is result of selfishness and lack of proper attitude. Aston’s isolation is the result of his too much trust on others in society. Aston’s isolation is not the fault of him but of the society. Works Cited: Stephen, G.M. Harold Pinter: The Caretaker. London: Longman 1981. Hern, Patricia. Harold Pinter: The Caretaker. London: Methuen London Ltd. 1982. Pinter, Harold. Various Voices: Prose, Poetry, Politics. 1948-1998. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. 1998. Naismith, Bill. Harold Pinter. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. 2000. Vol. II. Issue. III 164 September 2011 4
www.the-criterion.com The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 The Zeitgeist of the Second World War Society in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient M. Preetha The contemporary world is filled with the echoes of chaos and disruptions effectuated by the process of colonisation. The dismayed social and economic conditions of the colonised countries embody the savagery of the colonisers who posed threat to the serenity of the world by exercising their power and money to dominate the colonial subjects. The capitalist ideologies of exploration and ascendency over the unexplored parts of the world served as impetus to the warring between the nations. The late 19 th and the early 20 th centuries witnessed the wide scale explorations of the European countries in America, Africa, and Asia. They assailed most parts of the world for material and economic pursuits. They expanded their empires in the belief that a bigger empire would credit them with more power. The tensions that aroused as a result of the competition between different countries ensued in the world wars. The world wars distorted the lives of millions of people. The advancements in the field of science and technology that was initially aimed at uplifting the existing condition of man were deployed for destructive purposes. The atomic bombs corroded the entire world with its massive destructive power. The life expectancy of people also minimised to a considerable level owing to the dangers of the world. The horrendous events of war made life more dubious, disruptive and tenuous. Moreover, the imperialistic policy of the colonised countries destablised the cultural condition of the colonised countries. The intermingling of people from various countries during the process of colonisation has led to the multicultural atmosphere in the colonised countries. The hybrid nature of the people along with the detestable living conditions of the world epitomises the decline of the entire civilisation. In the novel The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje foregrounds the repercussions of Second World War on the life of the people in the postmodern world. He exposes the somber pictures of the post World war horror by exposing the ravages brought about by the colonial aggression. He evinces that the evanescence of the delicate feelings of love and affection dehumanised the life of the human beings. The life in the aftermath of world war was very unstable and horrendous. They were haunted by the impending sense of dangers around them. The random violence that occurred during the war threatened the peaceful existence of the people even after the end of the war. Ondaatje avouches that the colonisers’ prospect of civilising the colonised countries was in reality aimed at expanding their sphere of influence. They believed that by charting the geographical terrain of the unknown lands that had been in existence from times immemorial, they become the discoverers of the land, “[t]he ends of the earth are never the points on a map that colonists push against. . . the first step by a white man across a great river, the first sight (by a white eye) of a mountain that has been there forever” (150-151). They exploited the natural resources of the countries for their materialistic benefits. The financial and military despotism of the colonisers helped them in claiming power over the third world countries of the world. They espoused the concepts like trade and power, money and war as the guidelines during the period of colonisation. Ondaatje avers that the Western world had averted the interest towards the desert for hundreds of years. He remarks that the period between 425 B.C. to the nineteenth century was completely devoid of any explorations except for the few rivers seekers of the nineteenth Vol. II. Issue. III 165 September 2011
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