THE DEFECTIVE IMAGE OF MAN IN MODERN DRAMA A CRITICAL STUDY OF SELECTED PLAYS OF SAMUEL BE-CKETT AND HAROLD PINTER

Abstract

Modern drama in general is directly influenced and modulated by the moral and conceptual atmosphere of the period which was shaping the victimized image of man. World War I had definitely left unforgettable scene of

suffering and brutality of men who were involved in the military operations. The reflection of this suffering on drama was not yet developed so as to clearly reflect the desire of writers and dramatists to depict the crisis of men in general. World war II also contributed a lot to pushing men away from their classical stereotypes as dedicated husbands since it led them from home and family. However, the high rate of unemployment as one result of the aftermath of the war had increasingly destroyed the image of man. Roughly speaking, the problems and difficulties of the twentieth century caused depression and frustration among men. This caused the problem of nerves which is clearly related to the house-bound condition of many families. There are ample grounds for assuming that men find their position in society to be• more frustrating and less rewarding than do men in the pre-war period. As a result of the state of the society in the twentieth-century after the two world wars, people felt that they were governed by forces they could not understand or even identify. Literature in general and drama in particular have shown