An unexpected reaction....

Now that you've finished reading this play, what is your reaction to it? Explain what you like about it and what you dislike. Be specific. Does it deserve the critical and popular reception that it has receive over the years? Why or why not?

After reading the first page of the play The Caretaker, I thought I wasn’t going to be another boring, uninteresting play. But to my disbelief, it wasn’t as boring as I expected it to be. I think that there is an important historical background that should be taken into consideration. Furthermore, the symbolism that Pinter uses through his characters and some of the objects within the room, were delicately chosen to suit the message Pinter was trying to convey to his readers.
Readers must understand that England had left World War II TRAUMATIZED! Prior to the war, it was a major world superpower, but it lost all its prestige, reputation, and influence after the war, especially after it lost India as a colony. And as one of the characteristics of an absurdist plays, Pinter tried to portray his characters as weak and inadequate. The dialog in his work is realistic, showing the utter shallowness of man.
The stage directions confused me a lot. The first page was flooded with intricate detail of the exact position and location of certain objects. It certainly gives the play a more real life aspect. I suppose it is very useful in the preparation of the exact play which will be acted out. But I remember after the first page, I had to call my friend in the other English class to understand what was going on. I thought L, C, and R were like a secret code that I could not break.
As for the plot line, it wasn’t that interesting. I guess Pinter was trying to depict a real life situation, so this is what he came up with: the story of three different, somehow-shallow men, each having their own personality and past, contributing to a huge theme. At least the point line was a bit less pointless than in The Bald Soprano. I’m not saying that The Bald Soprano didn’t have an important message, but in terms of the plot itself, it was a complete “non sequitur”.
Something interesting to note is who exactly is 'the caretaker'? Technically speaking, at face value, it is thought that Aston is the caretaker of Davies. But also, there is Mick, who is the caretaker of Aston and Davies who is supposedly going to be the caretaker of the house. So somehow there is like a chain of caretakers.
After all, it is an absurdist play. Anything is possible!