Correct option is B
Explanation:
In Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, it is Goldberg who introduces the idea of having a birthday party for Stanley Webber during their visit to the boarding house. Goldberg’s suggestion, seemingly celebratory, adds to the manipulative and menacing atmosphere. The party becomes a surreal and threatening event, symbolizing the erosion of Stanley's identity.
Goldberg’s suggestion appears to be kind on the surface but serves as a tool to unsettle Stanley.
The party itself is laced with tension, underlying threats, and absurdity, aligning with Pinter's themes of power and existential dread.
Information Booster:
The Birthday Party (1957):
Genre: Theatre of the Absurd with a focus on "Pinteresque" themes of menace and ambiguity.
Setting: A shabby boarding house, symbolizing isolation and entrapment.
Themes:
Power struggles: Goldberg and McCann dominate Stanley.
Ambiguity: The characters’ motives and pasts remain unclear.
Fear and paranoia: The ordinary is juxtaposed with the sinister.
Role of the "Birthday Party":
Goldberg's idea of a birthday party serves as a facade, masking the darker intentions behind their visit.
It heightens the surreal atmosphere and contributes to Stanley’s mental breakdown.
Harold Pinter's three-act drama, The Birthday Party, was made in 1958 and released in 1959. Pinter's signature "comedy of menace," in which a character is abruptly threatened by the nebulous horrors prevalent in the outer world, was established in his first full-length play. The entire action takes place in a run-down rooming house, where Stanley, a slothful young boarder, is startled out of his delusion of security by the appearance of two enigmatic men who then "punish" him for unidentified misdeeds. Stanley's landlady throws a birthday party, but it quickly devolves into a violent and terrifying spectacle. Pinter's use of dialogue, which includes numerous pauses, fragmented talks, and non sequiturs, supports his humorous portrayal of paranoia and solitude.
Additional Knowledge:
Meg: While Meg plays a central role as the naive and affectionate landlady.
Lulu: A visitor drawn into the chaos.
McCann: Goldberg’s associate, who assists in psychological intimidation.