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| Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot: A Picture of Humanity at Large | |||||||
| Paper Id :
16284 Submission Date :
2022-07-10 Acceptance Date :
2022-07-18 Publication Date :
2022-07-25
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| Abstract |
Samuel Becketts play Waiting for Godot belongs to the “Theatre of the Absurd” and presents a complex view of life. The intricate layers of this play have given opportunities for questioning. This work shows the angst, agony and helplessness of human beings of the post-modern era. The playwright shows that human beings keep on waiting for a miracle in their life without any concrete reason behind their waiting. Beckett’s characters have no purpose in their life, and they wait for a significant change or revival. The wait seems pointless because the characters do not know what they are waiting for. The characters of this play represent the horrors and meaninglessness that the people felt after the second world war. The existential crisis destroyed the belief system of the greater part of society. Waiting for Godot has been interpreted in different ways by researchers and critics. Yet, certain aspects of the play remain unexplored, and further investigation may add another viewpoint which can contribute to understanding the potential of this complex work of art.
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| Keywords | Complex, Absurd, Post-modern, Miracle, Existential, Pointless, Meaninglessness. | ||||||
| Introduction |
The introduction includes the historical background, the concepts of modernity and modernism and the term the “Theatre of the Absurd.”
-Historical Background
The historical twentieth century witnessed the two world wars. The brutalities and fascist horrors of the First and the Second World Wars led to an understandable emotional hopelessness in different societies. The people found themselves in the grip of pessimism. This pessimism is apparent in the works of literature and art. The war events made an indelible impact on the minds of people and writers. That is why the post-war characters in literature are faced with the dilemma of not knowing what the future held. Essentially, the fear and uncertainty led to a crisis of ideas and thoughts, which later enabled the writers to situate themselves in the world they had trouble understanding. Various forms of art, such as poetry, fiction and painting, helped writers to process the self-evaluation journey they were on. John Horn states: “it was surprising to find just how widespread was the feeling among writers, artists and intellectuals that war, or the warlike cataclysm, was in the offing” (1997:21).
- Modernity and Modernism
Modernism refers to the early twentieth-century works of art. The writers and artists consciously drifted away from tradition by using new experimental ways of expression. These writers adopted the contemporary or modern way of articulating thoughts and feelings. The modern way of writing was the time for writers to revisit classical literature and myths to write literature about the present. The purpose was to incorporate and develop new writing styles and techniques to capture new ways of perceiving and interpreting events occasioned by new technological development. Modernism was also a result of pessimism in society caused by industrialization and the world war. To present an authentic picture of the changed scenario, the artistic works had to be written in a different manner to capture the life of the new urban and rural masses. The role of the individual had improved and changed, and the new modern art had to acquire social purposes. Modernist writers more or less adopted a change in language that acted as a mirror towards society. Ultimately, the writers explored new realities; they used irrationality as a source of knowledge and creativity. Moreover, in the post World War times, the writers tried to comprehend destruction by using themes of loss. The language and techniques they used to express senses of social instability, frailty and uncertainty moved to conform to the change in their environment.
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| Objective of study | The paper aims to show that Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot presents a picture of humanity at large. Any single point of view or philosophy can not interpret the play in its totality. As the title of the play indicates, ‘waiting’ is the central issue of the play. Throughout the play, there is waiting for a man named Godot, who never comes. However, the characters are optimistic that he may come. This waiting raises many complex questions like hopelessness, agony, meaninglessness, and frustration. Thus, the paper attempts to understand the intricate aspects and questions of the play. Moreover, it is an effort to know what kind of society existed at the time of Beckett. |
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| Review of Literature | 1.
The study titled ‘Essence or Existence: Existentialist Reading of Samuel
Beckett´s Waiting for Godot’ by Aliakbar Pormouzeh is concerned with the
philosophy of Christian existentialism of Sartre and Kierkegaard. However, both
philosophies are used as a tool by the author to examine the two main
characters of the play, Vladimir and Estragon, to establish if one ought to
perceive them as existentialists or essentialists (2019:24). In the
introduction, the author discusses the background of the play of Beckett. It
positions Waiting for Godot as an existentialist play because of the
characters’ lack of rational insight into the world and the absurdity within
the play. 2.
The paper titled "Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot: A Postmodernist Study"
by Pouria Torkamaneh and Noorbakhsh Hooti also deals with the play using a
different frame of reference. The paper begins by introducing post-modernism,
where the author positions modernism and post-modernism in the philosophy of
history. Moreover, it explains the international movement of post-modernism in
the aftermath of the Two World Wars, which led to the questioning of
rationality and validity (2011: 40).
3.
The paper titled "Waiting for Godot: A Disparate Text" by Javed
Akhter revolves around the different facets and meanings in Samuel Beckett´s
play. It focuses on the multiple occurrences of conflicting and contradictory
meanings within the text. The aim of his paper is to find out how the
significant gaps, silences, and absences of the play reflect the presence of
the late modernist bourgeois ideology (2015: 3). |
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| Main Text |
Textual
Analysis Waiting for
Godot is an
intricate, complex and puzzling play. It offers a variety of interpretations
and meanings. The critics, scholars and audiences have approached it
differently and interpreted it in various ways. Yet, it offers multiple
opportunities to the researchers and scholars to interpret and reinterpret it.
This multiplicity of meanings is to be further discussed for an in-depth
understanding of the play. The textual analysis, thus, will help us to
comprehend various themes and issues of the play Waiting for Godot. It
would also support the view that the play is a picture of humanity at large. Like other
absurd plays, Waiting for Godot is a picture of the pointlessness of human life. According
to this approach, the play is a fable about a kind of life that no longer has
any point. The playwright wishes to say that there is no connection between
human beings and the world around them. The two heroes and anti-heroes of the
play seem to be alive, but in a real sense, they are dead. They feel uprooted
and keep on waiting for Godot, who may come to their rescue. They are symbols
of the modern men who have begun increasingly to feel that they live in a world
in which they do not or cannot act but are simply acted upon. The two tramps
are informed that Mr. Godot, with whom they believe they have an appointment
can not come but he will surely come tomorrow. This makes them to leave the
place but they do not move. At the end of Act 1 Estragon asks Vladimir ‘shall
we go?’ Vladimir answers ‘let’s go.’ but they do not leave the place. Estragon
and Vladimir are dimly aware of the lack of action in their lives and of the
pointlessness of their existence. However, they still wish to go on living. In
today's world, people do not give up living despite life's pointlessness and
meaninglessness. In the words T.Z. Lavine: “all of us live in anxiety and
despair. This is the universal human condition”(1984). Like the two trams of
the play, the human beings of the modern world have nothing to do in their
life. There is no beginning, middle and end for them in the drama of lie.
Hence, according to this interpretation, the play creates a picture of the
pointlessness of human life. Next, the play
represents waiting, ignorance and boredom in life. In this world, people go on
waiting for something or the other. They wait for a job, a friend, a love
letter, a reunion with a divorced wife, riches, and so on. An indefinite
waiting of Vladimir and Estragon without any substantial result, thus,
symbolizes the millions of human beings who wait for something or the other
without achieving it. It shows that the play has general validity. However, the
trial of waiting is not the only issue of the play. The two tramps do not know
who Godot is. Moreover, they are not sure that they are waiting at the right place
or on the right day. The following dialogue shows their state of mind: Estragon: Charming spot. [He turns, advances to
front, halts facing auditorium.] Inspiring
prospects. [He turns to Vladimir.] Let’s go. Vladimir: We can’t. Estragon: Why not? Vladimir: We are waiting for Godot. Estragon: [Despairingly] Ah! [Pause.] You
are sure it was here? (p.6) The two tramps
lack the essential wisdom, and, thus, they are immature and ignorant. Being
ignorant, they cannot act. In this way, the tramps evoke in us a sense of a
confusing situation which we do not comprehend and over which we have no
command. All that they do is to strive for ways to pass the time in a crisis in
which they find themselves. They narrate stories, sing melodies, play verbal
games, and engage in physical exercises. However, all these actions are mere
stop-gaps functioning only to pass the time. Here then, we have the very
essence of boredom. Vladimír and Estragon have moved towards total nihilism,
though they have not fully achieved it. They are in a mental state, position
and place where nothing happens and time stands still. If Godot arrives, a new
reality may be introduced into their existence, whereas if they leave, they
will miss him. Their waiting, therefore, contains an aspect of vague hope. Another
interpretation says that the play depicts the meaninglessness of life. The way
the two tramps follow to pass the time is expressive of the boredom and
triviality of human actions and existence. Estragon and Vladimir counter each
other, question, abuse each other, and become reconciled without any serious
purpose or intention. All these devices are adopted to make their waiting for
Godot less painful. Surprisingly, Estragon takes off his boots and shakes them,
expecting something to fall out of them, but nothing happens. Vladimir does the
same action with his hat but in vain. This utter lack of meaning drives
Estragon and Vladimir to the thought of suicide, but the world of this play is
one in which no meaningful action is permitted; therefore, even suicide is not
within their reach. Waiting for
Godot also shows that
suffering is an inseparable part of the human condition. Vladimir and Estragon
suffer intensely and perpetually. Vladimir cannot even laugh without suffering
unbearable pain. Estragon's life also becomes a kind of torture for him. He
does not get peace and comfort in his life. Both Estragon and Vladimir have
nowhere to rest their head. More than this, Estragon is beaten daily by some
gang of ruffians without provocation from his side. They have nothing to be
reminded of except the days when they did not look so messy that they could go
up the Eiffel Tower and jump to their deaths from there: Vladimir: Hand in hand from the top of the Eiffel Tower,
among the first. We were presentable in those Days.
Now it is too late. They wouldn’t even let us up (p.2).
The climax
occurs when all the four characters fall to the ground upon one another,
creating an amorphous mass from which Vladimir's voice emerges, saying:
"We are men !" |
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| Conclusion |
Thus, the play has multiple layers of meanings and themes. Waiting for Godot provides infinite possibilities to the scholars for interpretation. The play presents mans tragic condition in the post-war world; simultaneously, it has a timeless validity and universality. Moreover, it is an existentialist play and questions the very existence of human beings on this planet. The four characters, namely Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo and Lucky, add up to a picture of humanity at large. The play is, more than anything else, about the efforts of human beings to find their way in this mysterious world. It shows that life is meaningless, and people can get comfort only by setting up a wall of hopes and pretence between themselves and despair. Godot is a symbol of hope in the play and suggests that there is some point to existence. It does not matter who Godot is because the play is not about Godot but the waiting for him. In this sense, the play deals with humanity at large because human beings feel that someone will come to save them from frustration and hopelessness. |
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| References | 1.Akhter, J. (2015)."Waiting for Godot: A disparate text." International Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities 5.2.
2.Beckett, S. (2008). Waiting for Godot. United Kingdom: Faber & Faber, Limited.
3.Esslin, M. (1960). “The Theatre of the Absurd.” The Tulane Drama Review, vol. 4, no. 4, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1124873.
4.Horn, J., Winter, J. & Kennedy, P. (1997). State, Society and Mobilization in Europe During the First World War. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
5.Hooti, N., and Pouria T. (2011). "Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot: A
Postmodernist Study." English Language and Literature Studies 1.1 (2011): 40.
6.Lavine, T.Z. (1984). From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest. United States: Bantam Books, A Division of Random House Publishing Group.
7.Pormouzeh, A. (2019). Essence or Existence: Existentialist Reading of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. MS thesis. Khatam University. |
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