Understanding Power Dynamics Through Speech Act Theory from the Play Final Solutions Written by Mahesh Dattani

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani’s play Final Solutions highlights the ever-growing problem of Hindu versus Muslim rivalry in this play. The action of the play revolves around communal rivalry, gender discrimination and a dilemma of past and present. Hence, the present study focuses on the language used by the major and minor characters of the play. The power dynamics shown by the characters in this play through their utterances is the topic of discussion in this study. The dialogues where the characters perform some functions have been explored and analyzed by applying the theory of speech act as discussed by J. L. Austin and John Searle in their books. After analyzing particular dialogues on locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary speech acts the real intention of the characters is understood. It is observed that the characters reveal their authority, nostalgia, subversiveness, anger, frustration, prejudices, through speech acts.