In The Dumb Waiter, Harold Pinter uses dialogue to present the characters' point of view. The play takes place in a fixed setting, the dark basement room, where the only thing to focus on are the dialogues between Gus and Ben and little on the environment. Although there is always a silence between these meaningless dialogues, the dialogues give the reader clues as to how society works in Gus and Ben's world, that authority and social class are an important part of their world. Dialogue helps illustrate the characters' personalities, expressions, and reactions in their world. The dialogue between Ben and Gus reveals that Ben is more concerned with ranking and more easily influenced by higher authority. Ben warns Gus not to be lazy about work and to change that habit when they have a conversation about their interests. Ben asks Gus if he has any interests when he sees Gus idle and complains about the upcoming work. Gus asks him what his interests are and Ben replies, “I have my woodwork.” I have my model boats. Have you ever seen me idle? I am never idle. I know how to spend my time, to its best advantage. And when a call comes, I'm ready” (Pinter 2065) This conversation shows how Ben has to finish his work and be busy all the time. He is afraid of higher authority. When his work is not completed, he risks being punished. His constant worry over a call reveals that he doesn't think much for himself; that he is too focused on getting a job and forgets about his time in the room. His interests seem to be exactly what the higher authority wants him to have, to be busy all the time, so that he follows their instructions, because when he is busy he will get tired and it is easy for the superior..... .middle of paper...and anything. This resembles the importance of a dictatorship where Gus's thoughts are under Wilson's control. Gus's dialogue is ignored and no one responds to him, including Ben. This implies that nothing is done in Gus's world through dialogue, where it is generally used as a form of communication and expression, which essentially disappears in Gus's world. The characters are more alive when there is dialogue, just as the story will become more interesting with Gus' world. characters. Here, dialogues are used to inform the reader about the importance of ranking and social class. The characters narrate how their experiences in their world shape their outlook and attitude toward their life situation, which helps the reader understand the characters' motivations and traits and helps connect the story, dialogue, and character. audience..