While the Absurd is frequently used to analyze Harold Pinters work, some aspects have been long overlooked in Pinter criticism - contemplation and affirmation. Many scholars note the menacing, dark, and sinister qualities of Pinters works, however there is a lack of alternative interpretations and very little attention has been paid to the affirmative aspects of his plays. This work remedies the lack by examining these aspects, in particular the characters focus on overcoming trying circumstances, their persistence in the pursuit of freedom, and their stoic but courageous attitudes toward a fate they cannot avoid. Using Martin Esslins invention - the Theatre of the Absurd - to examine Pinters works, Jane Wong Yeang Chui brings the complexities and intricacies of the plays to the forefront, provoking readers and audiences to reconsider and problematize more conventional studies of his plays.
