DQ 12 - "Stephen Watt: Rereading Harold Pinter pgs 106-121" and "Mountain Language"
Hi, all
DQ 12 is on Stephen Watt: Rereading Harold Pinter pages 106-121, a critical text on Harold Pinter from his book Post/Modern Drama" and "Mountain Language" a play by Pinter, both in the Course Library. Ethan Vaughan will lead discussion. "Mountain Language" is very short, so please read both texts. Watt does a great job analyzing Pinter and will be important for our reading of No Man's Land, a two-act play by Pinter, later. Thanks for a good class today, looking forward to tomorrow and conferences.
DQ 12 is on Stephen Watt: Rereading Harold Pinter pages 106-121, a critical text on Harold Pinter from his book Post/Modern Drama" and "Mountain Language" a play by Pinter, both in the Course Library. Ethan Vaughan will lead discussion. "Mountain Language" is very short, so please read both texts. Watt does a great job analyzing Pinter and will be important for our reading of No Man's Land, a two-act play by Pinter, later. Thanks for a good class today, looking forward to tomorrow and conferences.
my first question after todays reading is; when pinter declared himself '' part of a tradition which undoubtably includes Joyce and Eliot'' , who are Joyce and Eliot, do they play a role in the rest of the paper, are they characters from other pieces of writing, or are they just random people.
ReplyDeletemy second question after this reading is a question we discussed in class already. what is post modernism I still can't seem to understand it, there are multiple confusing answers in this reading that didn't help much but did make me more confused then earlier.
In “Mountain Language” these women seemed to be lined up with prisoners, and are being yelled at by military personal. What did these Women specifically do to be forced into this lineup? Is it because their families are criminals of the state, or is it because they speak another language?
ReplyDeleteMy second question of the reading has to do with the part where the Sergeant finally says the woman can speak her own language. He seemed so persistent about the rules that they can’t speak their own language, but later decides it is fine. Is the guard just being merciful or is was he told that it is fine from someone else?
Daniella Alamo
ReplyDeleteMy first question is about the play "mountain language" by Pinter, what is the reasoning for the women not allowed to speak their native language? Why is it forbidden? and then why afterwards does the officer say that the elderly women has permission to speak it? What is the significance?
My second question is I know that the women are lined up to see their family members who are in jail, but why are they in jail? The author never says the reasoning for why they’ve been arrested for or for how long they’ve been arrested and if they will be freed.
Kylie Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
My first question is about "Mountain Language", is the reference to the apple in the middle a biblical reference because then guard says "forbidden!" three times so I assume it is unless it was just a coincidence.
My second question is what is this language used in "Mountain Language" and what's the symbolism of why they're speaking their own language and why doesn't the mother speak or respond. Does she not understand?
Isaac Bendus
ReplyDelete7/24/17
While reading Mountain Language by Harold Pinter it left me with one question. Why does the old woman choose not to speak to anybody in the room? She chooses not to speak to her daughter even after the officer says it is ok? Is she offended and protesting the rule in the first place? Or is it something else?
In reading Rereading Harold Pinter by Stephen Watt, he talks about how in Mountain Language by Harold Pinter, the novel is about the struggle between the colonization of man. Why do you think Pinter wrote about this? What importance did this have to Pinter?
Brieanna Graves
ReplyDelete7-24-17
My first question he states “in doing, hope not to irritate too much… Trussler refers.” Why do you feel the author of this piece felt the need to write about previous writings from Harold Printers?
The second question relates to the meaning of postmodernism. This word seems to be mentioned a lot throughout this text and is even in the header. Although, I am still unsure what the true meaning behind this term is. What time frame does this term relate to?
Parker Mealey
ReplyDelete7/24
1. After reading Pinter's mountain language, I realized that it seems very political in nature. The officer and the sergeant seem to have cornered these two helpless women, and are speaking to them in an almost abusive manner. My question is: is this play a representation of the current political climate that Pinter lived in?
2. Throughout "Mountain Language," there is a conflict of whether the women can speak their own language, the "Mountain Language." If they speak this language, they get in trouble, even though it seems as if that is the only language the older woman can speak. At the end of the play, the "rules have changed," and they are now allowed to speak the Mountain Language. Why?
Kylie Simmons
ReplyDelete7-24-17
After reading "Mountain Language" by Pinter, I am questioning the forbiddance of the women's language. Why was the language prohibited, what language was it, and did gender have anything to do with the reasoning behind not being able to speak their language?
"Rereading Harold Pinter" left me questioning why Harold Pinter wrote so much about misogyny. In "Mountain Language," I feel as if a large part of the forbiddance of speaking their own language had to do with them being women in only the presence of men. In "Rereading Harold Pinter," there is a whole section about his use of misogyny. Why did he write like this?
In the first section of “ The Mountain Language, “ the two women were asked their names by a sergeant and an officer. They’re asked several times, yet refuse to say their names. It isn't until the officer mentions they have not yet committed a crime that the young woman finally admits her name is Sara Johnson. Do you think the women weren’t stating their names in fear of being wrongfully convicted of a crime by an officer that abuses his power? Or they were just being stubborn?
ReplyDeleteIn the last section of “ The Mountain Language, “ the guard announces to the prisoner and the elderly woman that there’s been a change to the rules, and that they can now speak their native language. Why do you think they decided to change the rules so suddenly, when just before this scene they were hitting the elderly woman when she spoke her language and reinforcing that rule so strictly?
Ethan Vaughan 7/24
ReplyDelete1. In "Mountain Language" the officer says that every dog has a name that is given to them by their parents. This leads me to believe that the dog in this story is merely a symbol for someone else. Do you agree that the dog is a symbol or do you think they are merely speaking of a dog?
2. "Mountain Language" was written in 1965, during the Cold War. In the play the men are "enemies of the state' and the language that they speak has been outlawed. Could the mountain men be symbolizing communists that are seen as the enemy of the state and their language symbolizes communism?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the play Mountain Language, I had a question about the overall situation. Thought of how in n the United States where we don’t have one language but we except many and all languages. This place that the play is based in is very different. What kind of society are they in that would ban a language that people still speak?
At the end of the play, something unexpected happens. After the man drops to the floor and dies, the guard allows for her to speak her own language and not the required one. Why does the vuard open up the rules for her?
Keagan Giblin
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
In Harold Printer’s “Mountain Language” why does the officer of the prison explain that the language that the women speak is dead and that it is forbidden to speak it?
In Harold Printer’s “Mountain Language” the audience learns that the men in the prison are there because they are “enemies of the state”. What does this exactly mean? Did they brake a law or do they just not agree with the government control? It sounds like this play was set under a very communist or socialist government maybe in the future or during a war. Do you think this is true?
Lauren Fiorito
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
In “Mountain Language” I had a hard time understanding it completely so I have a few questions. Why would the officer say that the dog states his name before he bites? Does the dog represent something else? And why does Pinter make the people in the play keep repeating the same things over and over again but in different ways?
Another question I have about “Mountain Language” is why couldn’t they speak the native language and how did all of a sudden it become legal again? And what did the Sergeant go “out of his way” for that the people “fucked it up”?
DQ 12
ReplyDelete1. I had a difficult time following along with the story because I wasn't sure what each pause and silence signified and why the guards, sergeants, and officers were arguing. So my question would be what is the significants of all the pauses? Why don't the women respond to the men how they want them to?
2. My second question is, what is the mountain language? I was curious why they were not allowed to speak it if they didnt know anything other than that form of communication.
Carolyn Collins
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
At the end of Harold Pinter’s “Mountain Language”, the guard tells the elderly woman and the prisoner that the rules have changed and that they were allowed to speak in their own language. What made the rules change all of a sudden? Why did the elderly woman refuse to speak even after she was given permission? Even when the elderly woman’s son collapses on the floor she doesn’t say anything, which really confuses me. Earlier in the play, she spoke in her language when it was still forbidden, so why wouldn’t she speak to her son now that it was allowed? Also, why was the mountain language forbidden in the first place?
Isabeau Cordes
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
1. When reading I was not able to figure exactly why the mountain language was banned. The guards were obviously very biased against the mountain people, and repeatedly said the language was banned, and dead. Is this meant to represent a certain historical event; why are they not allowed to speak their language?
2. I'm still a little unsure of the ideas of post-modernism, especially in the context of literature. In what ways are Pinter's writings, in particular "Mountain Language", influenced by post-modern ideas? Even after the reading I am somewhat confused.
Tyler Crane
ReplyDeleteJuly 24, 2017
In "Mountain Language", Pinter centers the theme of the play around language. I read on another source that the play originated in London during the late 1980`s. This made me wonder what the government situation was like in London during the time. Was language and other forms of communication repressed by the government. If so, is that what Pinter is alluding to?
Additionally, I read that Pinter lived in London during his early adolescent years, which was during World War Two. He must have had direct experiences of the war. Did growing up during WWII have an effect on his writing?
After reading "Mountain Language" it left me with a a bit of confusion. First of all, when they said they were speaking in mountain language, they were still speaking in english so that confused me slightly. I also was confused with why their own language was so forbidden. And why was the person a prisoner? What crime did he commit? My next question is at the end when they allowed the prisoner to speak to the elderly woman in the mountain language, why was she not responding? Was this because she had died?
ReplyDeleteOlivia Longshore
ReplyDelete1.In Stephen Watt’s “Rereading Harold Pinter” Watt mentions that Pinter is considered a popularly recognized as a modernist author. However, Watts argues this by saying he would like to “…reread Pinter…by way of different paradigms, ones composed fro the most part of postconstruictionist notions of postmodernity and of critical reflections on postmodernist aesthetics,” (90) meaning that he disagrees that Pinter’s writing reflects his era. What era/aesthetic do you think Pinter’s writing reflects?
2. In Pinter’s “Mountain Language” why are the young woman and elderly woman so reluctant to give their names? And why do they not respond to the officer and sergeants questions? is there significance in this?
In "Mountain Language" by Harold Pinter, there is a common theme of unwarranted authoritarianism. The guards are known to mistreat their prisoners, punishing them for breaking rules that have no meaning. I found that this play was written in 1988 making it relatively close to a modern day work. Was this play reflective of any kind of war or cultural shift in it's time? What was happening in this period that is comparable to the harshness displayed?
ReplyDeleteAnother question I had for "Mountain Language" was in regard to the elderly woman at the end of the play. As she doesn't answer the hooded man's question, the hooded man begins shaking uncontrollably. Is it safe to assume the elderly woman is dead? What does her death contribute to the overall theme presented throughout the play?
What is the context of "Mountain Language"? Where does it take place? What time period does it take place in? I watched a video of San Diego University students performing it and they were specking in a British and Scottish accents. Does it take place in England and the guards are British and the women and prisoner are Scottish. I know the Scotts have been oppressed by the British through out history. Is that what this play is about?
ReplyDeleteParts of the play sound like poetry, like the part where the young woman is speaking to the prisoner. Is it meant to be this way? Is this a crossover between a play and a poem?
Karina Amalbert
ReplyDeleteOnce again, like many other short stories/plays we have seen in the class, social injustice has been a reoccurring theme. In “Mountain Language” especially, the repercussions of being oppressed are intensely seen by the elder women not being able to speak at the end (although she was “allowed”) since she has a history of the officers “forbidding” her to speak thus leading to credible commitment problems. The main problem I see with this is how individuals could acquire such a need to dehumanize others over human characteristics such as language?
Another one of my questions dealt with when the Dobermann Pinscher bite the elder women’s hand. It seemed as the officer and the lady were on two different pages. When the officer was asking for the dog’s name as “Before they bite, they state their name” it seemed as though the officer was either relating the dog to the women or relating his guards to the dog? Either way what was the officers intentions?
July 24th, 2017
ReplyDeleteMy first question is about “Mountain Language” by Pinter. I don’t understand why the women are being yelled at. I also want to know why the women are in jail since Pinter never specifically says why they are. Since the women get in trouble when speaking a certain language, could that be the reason why they were put in the prison in the first place?
My second question is also about “Mountain Language”, I know you said something in class how Pinter uses the word “pause” a lot and after reading it and saw how much he used it, I don’t understand why he does. I did read that it maybe means “power” but that doesn’t really make sense to me.
My first question is in Mountain language is the guard supposed to be not human or merely incredibly ignorant/stupid because he acts and talks like he has no sense what so ever saying things like dogs state their name before they bite it s formal procedure is this supposed to hit t the world they live in where what people do is heavily dictated by strict rules and procedures?
ReplyDeleteIn the last line the woman speaks as she is dying is she referring to heaven when she says home and talking about when he dies or is being literal talking about when he gets out of prison?
In "Mountain Language" by Harold Pinter, the beginning to me seems to have some significance. Why does the sergeant repeatedly ask for the two women's names if he just gets shut down every time by the officer? There must be a reason behind it.
ReplyDeleteMy second question, also related to "Mountain Language", what is the guard referring to when he keeps jabbing the older women saying that she cant speak her "mountain language" at the prison? Isn't she just speaking normal english? Or does she have a certain accent that the guard considers "mountain language".
Stephen Watt compared Harold Pinter to a lot of writers. she also compared one for the road to Mountain Language. Based off of the information provided by Stephen Watt, Harold Pinter wrote about postmodern drama a lot. would you classify Harold Pinter as an angry young man?
ReplyDeleteon the bottom of page 118, in the reading by Stephen Watt, she brings out the idea of misogyny. A lot critics speak on the writers around this time as being misogynistic, as I read Mountain Language i didn't really see misogyny until Stephen Watt explained her reasoning. Do you think Harold Pinter was a misogynist, or displayed misogyny in Mountain Language?
Both of my questions pertain to "Mountain Language," first why is it so important to know the dobermann pinscher's name? They keep repeatedly asking to know the dogs name which is strange. He says a dog always says his name before he bites, he says his name and then he bites the sergeant stated. Why do they make this such a big deal about the dog's name?
ReplyDeleteMy next question about "Mountain Language," is why can't they speak in their own language? It really confused me because when reading I couldn't tell it was a different language. In the beginning it was such a huge deal to not speak in the mountain language, the guard repeatedly told them so, but towards the end the rules change... Why did this all happen so quickly, they jumped from one extreme to the next and it didn't phase them at all?
At first I was confused in Mountain Language when Pinter was talking about the dogs and how they state their name before biting saying that it is a regular procedure before they bite and then I found out that he wasn't talking about dogs at all. Why do you think Pinter so casually uses the word dogs to describe other people?
ReplyDeleteAlso in Mountain Language the Sergeant goes on to call the mountain people and all the men they are waiting to see shithouses and say that they are lower than them. Why do they say this and have to be harsh if it is obvious that they are lower classed than the officer and sergeant from the beginning of the play
Alexandra Liggett
ReplyDelete7/24/17
1) While reading "Mountain Language", I noticed there was a lot of repetition, specifically by the guards. Pinter obviously did it to show who is enforcing the rules/who is in charge, but is there more significance to it? Also, why is this play so vulgar? It seems unnecessary.
2) At the end of the play, the guard tells the elderly woman she's allowed to speak her language but she never acknowledges him. Even when the prisoner (her son) tells her she can now speak freely, she doesn't. Why is this? Is this her way of somehow defying the Capitol?
Evan Smyser
ReplyDelete7/24/27
The Young Woman character in Harold Pinter's play, "Mountain Language" gave me the feeling as if she was lying while answering the questions she was being asked. Did you guys get the same feeling? Also, did this same scenario grab your attention? Was this a good rhetorical strategy to use in order to build suspense?
After finishing "Mountain Language" I wonder why Pinter decided to make the Guards ethnocentric and deny the others to "speak their own language" even though it still seemed like english. What do you guys think?
DeleteJulia Weisberg
ReplyDelete7/24/17
The first question I have is about "Mountain Language" because when I first read the play I was confused by it. Was Pinter trying to make it a extremely political play or when he started writing did the play just end up that way?
The second question I have is why were they speaking English when they were talking about their "mountain language"? This part was really confusing and let me thinking about what point Pinter was making by doing this?