Previous
Act 2, Scene 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Caretaker, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Deception
The Absurdity of Modern Society
Alienation and Family
Identity and Authenticity
The Limitations of Language
Summary
Analysis
Davies inserts a key into the door and enters the room. He closes the door behind him, muttering to himself as he turns the apparently broken light switch on and off, again and again, without any success. He moves awkwardly in the dark as he fumbles in his pocket for a match. He lights a match, but it goes out. Davies drops the matchbox on the floor, and the box is kicked out of his reach. Davies calls out to whomever is in the room, warning them that he has a knife. Suddenly, Davies hears the electrolux hum nearby, and he jumps backward, screaming in fear. The electrolux stops, and a figure leaps onto Aston’s bed.
Electrolux is an appliance manufacturer; here, it’s used as shorthand to refer to a vacuum cleaner. It seems as though someone (likely Mick) is trying to frighten Davies: they’ve disconnected the room’s lights in an effort to shock the unsuspecting Davies with the jarring and unexpected roar of the vacuum cleaner. The swiftness with which Davies resorts to threats of violence shows how rarely he uses effective communication to express himself, often turning straight to violence or threats of physical retaliation.
Themes
The figure unplugs the electrolux and screws in a lightbulb. The lights turn on as Davies jumps back against the wall, clutching his knife. He sees Mick standing on Aston’s bed. Mick insists that he was only doing some cleaning and asks Davies how the place looks. He explains that he and Aston take turns cleaning the room, though Mick doesn’t actually live there.
It’s clear that Mick was trying to frighten Davies with the electrolux, so his insistence that he was only cleaning is meant to make Davies feel ashamed and humiliated about his fear. This is yet another example of a character lying in order to make themselves feel in control—yet scaring and embarrassing Davies reads like a cruel, childish prank, and so Mick’s attempt at a power play actually makes him seem less powerful. Mick’s electrolux stunt also shows that he is similar to Davies: both men shun effective communication, choosing instead to antagonize each other with acts of cruelty or threats of violence. Their violence is especially striking when compared to the docile, passive Aston—though Aston, too, struggles to communicate effectively with others, speaking slowly and in a disjointed fashion. Mick appears to be spending a lot of time around the building despite not living there, which might imply that he is skeptical of Davies and wanting to keep an eye on him. Mick and Aston don’t seem to be all that close, then, Mick still feels obligated to look out for Aston—particularly after the arrival of Davies, who is an unknown, unkempt outsider.
Themes
Still flustered, Davies cautions Mick not to come near him. Mick apologizes for scaring Davies but insists that he had Davies’s comfort in mind, too, when he decided to clean the room. He also says he was thinking of lowering Davies’s rent until Davies is back on his feet again, though if Davies continues to be defensive and obstinate, he’ll take back the offer.
Mick continues to antagonize Davies, pretending that he was vacuuming for Davies’s benefit, when in fact he was really using the machine to frighten and intimidate Davies. Davies’s fear of the vacuum highlights the age difference between him and Mick: though Mick is in his thirties, Davies is an older man who is likely less accustomed to technology, so it makes sense that the vacuum cleaner would frighten him. The way Mick quickly changes the subject to a rambling diatribe about Davies’s supposed rent demonstrates the ineffectiveness of language: though Mick and Davies might start to converse, initiating what could be a path toward understanding, Mick puts an immediate stop to this when he refuses to follow through with this initial topic of conversation. In this way, language becomes yet another tool a character uses to feel powerful rather than a means of genuine connection.
Themes
Davies tells Mick that he minds his own business—though not if someone messes with him first—and cautions Mick not to push his buttons again. Mick sits down in a pile of some of the room’s junk and admits that he’s “impressed” by what Davies said about not being messed with. Davies asks Mick if Mick “knows what [Davies is] talking about,” and Mick confirms that the two men “understand one another.”
Mick appears to play along with Davies’s act, commending Davies for holding his ground. But given Mick’s unpredictability and skepticism toward Davies, it’s likely that his compliments are a further attempt to mess with Davies. In this way, Mick’s actions, not his language, are indicative of how he really feels.
Themes
Get the entire The Caretaker LitChart as a printable PDF.
Davies wonders aloud why Mick has been messing with him, since he hasn’t done anything to hurt Mick. Mick responds that the two of them just “got off on the wrong foot.” Davies agrees and joins Mick in sitting in the pile of junk. Mick offers Davies a sandwich. Davies is skeptical of the sandwich and brandishes his knife at Mick, but Mick, laying out the sandwich on a small case on the floor, insists that he only wants to help his brother’s friend.
Mick responds to Davies’s sincere question with the glib, cliched response that the two of them “got off on the wrong foot.” Mick’s use of this idiom makes him seem insincere and brings Davies’s attempt at authentic, productive communication to an instant halt. Further diminishing the utility of language is Mick’s decision to offer Davies a sandwich as a peace offering rather than apologizing with his words. Giving Davies the sandwich allows Mick to go through the motions of an apology without actually apologizing, which leaves it unclear whether he actually wants to make peace with Davies or whether the sandwich is yet another means of toying with him.
Themes
Davies hesitates, explaining that he wouldn’t exactly call himself Aston’s friend, which results in Mick accusing Davies of finding Aston “unfriendly.” Davies clarifies that what he meant was that he and Aston aren’t all that close. He then puts his knife back in his pocket and takes half of the sandwich. Again, Mick insinuates that Davies has just called Aston unfriendly, and tries to clarify, again, insisting that he just “can’t exactly…make [Aston] out.” Mick doesn’t respond to this.
Mick further demonstrates his volatile personality with his sudden, extreme response to Davies’s casual remark about not being close with Aston. This again hints that Mick feels an ingrained sense of loyalty toward his brother despite their distant relationship. This scene also illustrates the counterproductive effects of Davies and Mick’s language: when Davies attempts to talk to Mick, Mick becomes irate. When Davies conveys his meanings physically, however (such as when he puts his knife back in his pocket and accepting the sandwich), Mick seems to settle down and become more agreeable. This again suggests that language doesn’t always convey the truth, and that actions tend to be more straightforward in their meaning.
Themes
As the men eat their sandwiches, Mick asks Davies for advice, calling Davies “a man of the world.” Mick admits that he’s anxious about Aston, who “doesn’t like to work.” Davies says he’s met people like Aston before. Mick continues, explaining how he wants to ensure that his older brother makes something of himself, yet Aston refuses to commit to any job, even the “little job” he’s supposed to be doing for Mick in the flat. Davies says it’s “funny” that Aston doesn’t like to work, which causes Mick to become defensive of his brother, accusing Davies of being “hypercritical.”
Mick seems to be buttering up Davies when he calls him “a man of the world,” flattering Davies to make him more agreeable. Mick’s strategy seems to work, as Davies immediately agrees with Mick’s complaint about Aston’s poor work ethic. Davies’s remark is deceptive and ironic, of course, given Davies’s own lack of work ethic. This scene is significant, as it gives the reader some context about Mick and Aston’s distant relationship. Mick is worried about the fact that Aston can’t or won’t be productive, and given that productivity seems to be how people’s worth is determined in the society of the play, it seems that Mick is afraid of his brother being devalued and cast aside. Indeed, Mick’s anger at Davies’s “hypercritical” remark about Aston being “funny” shows that despite the brothers’ strained relationship, Mick does care about Aston and feels some kind of familial obligation to protect him against outsiders like Davies.
Themes
Mick walks back and forth before asking Davies if he’d like to stay in the flat and be the caretaker, explaining that he’d like a “capable” man like Davies to keep track of the place. He asks Davies if he’s “been in the services.” Davies pauses before answering that, yes, he’s “spent half [his] life” in the service. Mick elaborates, asking if Davies served “in the colonies,” which Davies confirms, going so far as to claim that he “was one of the first over there.” Mick is now convinced that Davies is exactly the kind of caretaker he’s looking for.
Mick and Aston have both asked Davies to be the building’s caretaker. It seems as though Davies has managed to deceive both brothers into believing he is more capable and willing to work than he really is, though the characters’ lack of communication and connection with one another makes it impossible to determine whether they’re being sincere. For all the reader knows, Mick’s invitation for Davies to be the caretaker could be another attempt to mess with Davies, or else a means of delegating the responsibility of looking after Aston and the building to someone else. Davies’s agreeable, affirmative responses to Mick’s questions show how he constructs his identity at the suggestions of others. He’s far from “capable,” and it’s highly unlikely he has a past military career, but he insists that he does because he wants Mick’s respect and to be treated as an insider. This suggests that rather than being something ingrained or fixed, a person’s sense of self can be formed by outside influences and other people’s opinions.
Themes
Davies agrees to do “a bit of caretaking.” Mick insists that Davies provide references. Davies claims that he has many references, though he’ll have to go to Sidcup to retrieve them and his papers. He explains that he would have gone down to Sidcup today, were it not for the bad weather. He then asks Mick if Mick will get him “a good pair of shoes,” without which it won’t be possible for him to go to Sidcup—or anywhere else, for that matter. As Davies eats his last bite of sandwich, Mick nonverbally agrees to Davies’s request for new shoes, and the stage fades to black.
Davies accepts Mick’s offer, though he restates the two hurdles that stand in the way of his going to Sidcup to retrieve his documents: his lack of shoes and the unsuitable weather. It’s more likely that Davies lacks the references Mick demands of him or doesn’t want to retrieve his identification papers in Sidcup because he doesn’t want Mick to know his true identity. (Perhaps there is something compromising about his identity, such as his birthplace or nationality, which would turn him into an outsider in Mick’s eyes.) In order to avoid dealing with the issues that retrieving his documents might create, Davies makes up excuses to put off the journey to Sidcup. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Davies’s journey to Sidcup will likely never happen not because of external circumstances, but because of Davies’s own aimlessness and self-defeat.
Themes
