Viewes on Play Waiting For Godot
Samuel
Beckett was an Irish playwright, poet and novelist best known for his play
‘Waiting for Godot’. Strongly influenced by fellow Irish writer, James Joyce,
Beckett is sometimes considered the last of the Modernists. Though the play
commonly interpreted within the context of the theatre of absurd,
existentialist literature, it is also Christian allegory and also interpreted
with religious interpretations.
Here
we can discuss that nothingness in Waiting for Godot it shows some deep meaning
in life in different way. ‘Waiting for Godot’ gives a message that while doing
nothing there is something. “Nothing is also better than something” A person
who always has desire for any achievement till birth to death his list of
desire will never come to end. In the same way for Godot there is ‘waiting’
which has no any end or meaning.
The
setting of the play is influenced by a mode of nothingness. A desolate country
road, a ditch, and a leafless tree make up the barren, otherworldly landscape,
which bears a surplus of symbolism. The landscape is a symbol of a barren and
fruitless civilization or life. There is nothing to be done and there appears
to be no place better to depart. The tree, usually a symbol of life with its blossoms
and fruit or its suggestion of spring, is apparently dead and lifeless. But it
is also the place to which they believe this Godot has asked them to come. The
setting of the play reminds us the postwar condition of the world which brought
about uncertainties, despair, and new challenges to the all of mankind.
Tree
is the Symbol that used in literature . it gave very symbolic meaning, in the
second act leaves are sprouting means leaves as a “hope” for Vladimir and
Estragon for them hope for Godot will come. It represents cycle of nature and it shows
hope also. these leaves inspired both tramps.
Actually in this play many action that
repeated , while it comes second time , it presents different meaning . In both
Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. ‘Coming of night and moon’, it’s
the very common, simple thing which is naturalized process. Means ones night is
there means, day will come. And a new day means new Start, new hope. Both acts
end when night fall and moon rise; the situation is same in both act but it
also have symbolic meaning that night represent death; another meaning is that
like moon their waiting never end.
This play leads towards thinking on so
many things . This play though it has not action, is multi-layered play. Here
‘nothing’ itself is ‘something’. here debris signified that life is divided into various fragments and it
has different meanings. search for little things . it is describes the
absurdity of life , which presented very well in this play .
Act-
1
Evening
time
Estrogon
sitting on a low mound, is trying to take off his boot, he pulls as it with
both hands , paintings. he gave up, exhausted rest tries again , as before
Enter
Vladimir
Estrogon:
Nothing to be done .
Beckett
presents what human not do or what not thinking. it is all about search for
self . Godot is Death , sound like Death . without Death we can’t achieve God.
nothingness in Waiting for Godot it shows some deep meaning in life in
different way. ‘Waiting for Godot’ gives a message that while doing nothing
there is something. “Nothing is also better than something”.
A person who always has desire for any
achievement till birth to death his list of desire will never come to end. In
the same way for Godot there is ‘waiting’ which has no any end or meaning. The
theme of Nothingness is also present here, all characters, struggles with their
existence. They do many absurd things; they are waiting for something also, but
at last thing remains as it is. Nothing happens as such. Doing nothing there is
something .
Here
we interact that one who is busy with his boots and other one is busy on
thinking. it show their identity what they are . The hats and boots are playing vital role in
this play. Here it is presented symbolically. The symbol of boot presented with
the character of Estrogen that shows the lower order thinking as he has also had
less memory. His thinking does not represent any logical dialogues throughout
the play. Boots here may relate with the body and it shows the material thing.
Hat also play vital role in the play.
It is related with the character of Vladimir, the hat also shows the higher
order thinking and logical connection. In the play we may observe that there
also the mind power of the answer of Vladimir. It shows the spirituality of the
life.
It
is all about Master slave relationship . Yes Lucky’s obedience is extremely
irritating; we can’t understand that how he is so obedient, what is the meaning
behind that for Lucky we can say that his behavior is unbearable, Lucky and
Pozzo’s characters shows us relationship between master and slave but it is
extreme level of slavery what Lucky represent.
My
opinion goes with Death . I’m believe that our ultimate goal is life .we do all
the things for what purpose , for whom , and why . at the end nothing can comes
with us . Death is Godot that everyone achieved at end of life , it is goal .
above all words describes the same meaning leading towards to the Death.
.Here the subject of this play is not Godot but
waiting because the activity of both characters shows nothingness. Waiting that
signified Hope . No any rising action in
the play, no any climax in the play. Only the story goes on moving with the
illogical activities of them. They only are killing the time. according to me
waiting is the central things .
In
the play many times while viewing the
movie I feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human
existence in the irrational and indifference Universe. When, Vladimir and
Estragon were talking to each other and when Estragon asks to leave, Vladimir
reminds him that they are actually waiting for Godot. And doing meaningless
things. their discussion is endless, and it goes with waiting . it is also
appeals for meaning of the life . ‘ search for self ’
Man
is simply is not that he simply what he conceive himself to be , but he is what
he wills , and he is conceives himself after already existing . as he wills to
be after that leap towards existence . man is nothing else but what he makes of
himself . That is the first Principle of
existentialism .
They
look at the tree and contemplate hanging themselves . Estragon takes off his belt but it breaks when they
pull on it . vladimir says that they
will hang themselves tomorrow unless Godot comes to solve them . They decide to
go but again do not go .
Master
slave relationship of Pozzo and Lucky it leads to the political reading of the
play . one thing that is nothingness- the nothingness of the human life. But
here ‘nothingness’ points its finger toward ‘everything’ , everything that
modern people face physically and psychologically after two World Wars.
Whereas
in the tradition play we see a concentrated single action motivates the whole
play, here in the case of Waiting for Godot everything is fuelled by the sense
of ‘nothingness’. In fact, here nothing creates everything.
At
last conclude with it that - A new day will come with new desire that something
fruitful will come for somebody in life. One or two ways it may be God, a
fruitful desire will come for somebody who is eagerly waiting that has no any
end.
