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Table of Content
 Definition of Existentialism
 Founder of Existentialism
 Main characteristics of Existentialism
 Existentialism examples
 Introduction of “The Care Taker”
 Existentialism in “The Care Taker”
 References

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 Existentialism
 Definition
Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that
emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It began in the mid-to-late
19th Century, but reached its peak in mid-20th Century France. It is based on the
view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational
decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It focuses on the question
of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the
core of existence. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force,
the only way to counter this nothingness is by embracing existence.

Existentialism deals with human freedom. Existentialism itself is a revolt against

traditional philosophy; it has been labeled a philosophy but a definition is difficult
as its proponents have a marked difference in outlook. Existentialist thought
concerns itself with trying to understand fundamentals of the human condition and
its relation to the world around us. Basic questions include, 'what is it like to be a
human in the world?' and 'what is the nature of human freedom?

Existentialists refuse to belong to any school of thought, repudiating of

the adequacy of any body of beliefs or systems, claiming them to be superficial,
academic and remote from life. It is a reaction against traditional schools of
philosophy, such as Rationalism, British Empiricism and Positivism, that seek to
discover an ultimate order and universal meaning in metaphysical principles or in
the structure of the observed world.

 Founder of Existentialism

Kierkegaard was many things: philosopher, religious writer, satirist, psychologist,

journalist, literary critic and generally considered the ‘father’ of existentialism.
Being born (in Copenhagen) to a wealthy family enabled him to devote his life to
the pursuits of his intellectual interests as well as to distancing himself from the
‘everyday man’ of his times.

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  Characteristics of Existentialism
1. The primary virtue of existentialism is authenticity.
2. A central proposition of Existentialism is that existenceprecedes essence,
which means that the most important consideration for individuals is that
they are individuals rather than labels, roles, stereotypes or definitions.
3. Absurdism  is the idea that there is no meaning in the world beyond the
meaning we give it
4. Existential philosophers often focused more on what is subjective, such as
beliefs and religion.
5. Existential philosophers focus  on human states, feelings, and emotions,
such as freedom, pain, guilt, and regret, as opposed to analyzing objective
knowledge, language, or science.

 Existentialism Examples
The main idea of Existentialism is to do whatever you want to do. Means there is a
difference between ‘My World’ [Emotional] and ‘Your World’ [Logical].
Generally, our approach towards society remains like this that ‘My World is better
than Your World

 Introduction of “The Care Taker”

"The Caretaker" is a classic tragicomedy play by Harold Pinter. It was first

performed in 1960 and became Pinter’s first commercially successful production.
The play is a study of how power, allegiance and corrupted innocence affect a
lonely tramp and two brothers who he meets. It’s a typical three-act play and is
Pinter’s sixth work. Pinter’s renowned for the psychological depth and focus of
his plays which translates well into the theatre. For his contributions to
screenwriting, playwriting, and poetry, he received the 2005 Nobel Prize for
Literature. He’s one of the most influential playwrights of modern times.

 Existentialism in “The Care Taker”

Post-war era created a big deal of insecurities and fears and identity crisis with in a
common man. People did not have any control over reality. They were made to

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suffer from different psychological disorders. The Caretaker discusses the critical
condition of characters in the play and it deals with the human responses that are
basic to the all humanity and that express a darker aspect of man’s insecurity,
hypocrisy and aggressiveness.
The play Caretaker through different themes depicts the condition of common
man who is losing his grip over reality. From the beginning of the text writer has
shown that outside world has become violent for a common man. Man has no
refuge in this post-war world. Davies is cut off from the society and he is outcast.
He lives his life in dirt and nearly all dislike him. It is Aston who shows some kind
of kindness to Davies.  Davies always uses to talk ill about the Blacks, Browns and
Russians "All the Greeks had it, Poles, Greeks, Blacks, the lot of them, all them
aliens had it".  But he was beaten by an English man and Aston gives him refuge.
At that time he was hunted by the outside world but when he came into the Aston’s
room he gradually started becoming a hunter.
 Davies represents the outside violent world. The room, in which Aston takes him,
is like a womb and Davies is like an intruder who later on proves him to be a
destructive agent. Davies wants to take hold of reality by asserting his superiority
over Aston. While talking to Aston about his work he says about a man "He's not
my boss. He's nothing superior to me". He so many times tries to prove himself as
a man of respect “I said to him, I got my rights". He even tries to make alliances
with Mick to have a control over room, but Davies does not succeed.
We see a lack of communication and failure of language in this absurdist play.
There are so many language flaws in Davies speeches he says this while talking to
Aston" that was after the guvnor give me the bullet". There is a huge deal of
contradictions in his conversation and he also uses abusive language in his
discourse," those bastards at the monastery let me down again". Pauses are the
proof of failure of communication and silences shows lack of communication
which indicates their inner fears, uncertainty, and meaninglessness of life. The play
The Caretaker is full of pauses, Silences, and incomplete sentences. Every
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character is locked up in his own shell. We have to understand unsaid factors in the
absurdist writings.
Characters are not sincere with one another, and if they are sincere the other one is
deceiving them. Even Aston's closest relation, his mother, signs the documents
seeking permission to give him electric treatment. No one save him from the
severe treatment. Davies is beaten by his country man. Aston tells Davies about the
electric shock treatment which he got in hospital and Davies tries to get advantage
of Aston's mental condition. He also satirizes Aston's mental condition.
As a post-war play, its characters are suffering from a kind of Electro phobia.
Davies says," Don't tell me the lights gone now". The absence of light and
desperation in trying to turn on the lights creates a tension in Davies of being alone
in the darkness. He tries to light the matches but it goes out. Pinter creates a false
sense of security through matches which is soon faded. The match box falls and it
is kicked by an unknown person in the room, it increases his fears. We see the
climax of the scene when Electrolux vacuum machine's sound is heard in the dark.
It sounds like a monster that is attacking him. Here Pinter uses sounds and
darkness as Davies' biggest fears. He is afraid of the Electrolux because he is of old
generation and this machine is like an alien for him as he does not know how to
operate him.

The Caretaker is an absurdist play which is an example of existential dilemma.

Religion is like a discarded entity in this contemporary world which is a chaotic
place to live. In this era modern man's life tragedy is equal to that of a king. Post-
war world is world of uncertainty and absurdity where an ordinary man is not safe
and feels him insecure.

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 References
https://www.philosophybasics.com/movements_existentialism.html

https://iep.utm.edu/existent/

https://www.msmsol.com/2021/03/themes-in-play-caretaker-by-harold.html

https://reasonandmeaning.com/2017/12/11/the-basic-ideas-of-existentialism/