Harold Pinter's works challenge traditional views of language and communication, asking audiences to reconsider the hierarchical relationship between speech/silence, presence/absence and the role of each opposition. in the struggle for power and dominance, whether in the context of class or gender structure. Is silence the absence of speech, which is actually present in vocal speech? In his essay “Language”, Martin Heidegger writes: “We always speak, even when we do not utter a single word”, silence is not nothingness, a lack or an absence; he speaks and communicates – which leads to Pinter’s “two silences” theory. The two categories of silence are: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay, one where no words are spoken. The other when perhaps a torrent of language is used. This speech speaks of a language locked beneath… The speech we hear is an indication of what we do not hear. It is a necessary avoidance… When true silence falls, we are still left with an echo but are closer to nudity. In this case, vocalized speech becomes an escape, an interruption, a repetition; a sign always referring to something else, postponing the presence of our true intention, with the hope of leading us astray – this is silence. What is true silence? Pinter disagrees with his work as a “failure to communicate” – silence interpreted as an alienated and broken void – “I think we communicate only too well, in our silence, in that which does not is not said… Communication is too alarming… To reveal to others the poverty in us is too frightening a possibility”; true silence is like an open and gaping wound. The tongue is both a weapon and a shield in a battle of dominance and submission; there is an attack, a withdrawal, an escape and an unanswered question – culminating in a silence of rejection or bewilderment. In Homecoming (1965), the battle takes place between the mental and the physical, including the power struggle between men and women. Questions of power and control begin early in the first act between Max and Lenny, father and son; presenting the overwhelming physical inclinations of the family. Max asks Lenny, “What did you do with the scissors?” ”, and there is no response, just a silence of rejection and dismissal. Max reveals that he wants to delete something from the diary, then Lenny finally responds: "I'm reading the diary" – a short declarative statement, saying more than his words reveal. The paper could be any object, and the scissors too; the surface of the dialogue is absurd. Behind the language lies a very instinctive territorial power struggle for the role of the alpha male. The situation escalates, Max shouts: “Do you hear what I’m saying? Am I talking to you? ", and quietly, in contrast to Max's anxiety, Lenny calmly asks, "Why don't you shut up, you idiot? ". Max's next tirade is interrupted only by a dismissive insult: "Plug it in, will you, you bastard, I'm trying to read the paper", and ends with Lenny's sarcasm: "Oh, Dad, You're not going to use your stickiness on me, are you? (521). Max sits hunched, retreating into silence, as Lenny wins, perhaps not the first time. The episode between Max and Lenny sets the tone for the introduction of Teddy and Ruth. When Teddy and Ruth enter the house, they start a small argument parallel to that between Max and Lenny, about who will go to bed and when. Teddy first tells Ruth that she should, 1994. 517-551.