“Do you know how devil tortures souls in hell?” Carl Jung’s uncle once asked him. “He keeps them waiting”
Waiting for Godot is a play where the characters undergo the same feeling. The characters Vladmir and Eastrogen wait for some Godot, who never arrives. It is a play with minimal characters and no action, plot or setting. You are left wating for something to happen in the play and it doesn’t happen.
You might end up regretting having wasted one good hour at something so silly and meaningless. But wait. This is exactly the feeling the play aims to communicate.
Waiting for Godot belongs to the Theatre of Absurd, a genre that is applied to works of art that have in common the sense that human condition is essentially and ineradicably absurd. It is the representation of meaninglessness of life where we are subjects to the sheer contingency of our world. We are in conatant wait for something which may or may not happen. such plays draw material from philosophical ideologies like Existentialism, Nihilism.
But who is Godot? How Vladmir and Eastrogen know him? How do they communicate with him? Does he really exist? These are questions that are left unresolved. Once the Director of the play Waiting for Godot asked Beckett who did he think Godot is? Beckett simply said “i would have shown it if i knew”. The answer is intriguing and so are all the interpretations that have come of it.
The play is meaningless, absurd, complex and a difficult read. Like Vladmir and Eastrogen you find yourself trapped in the plethora of possibilities, What could that mean? Why this and not that? Why don’t the two leave the place and go? You’ll often see yourself asking. But to look for meaning in Beckett’s absurd universe is to misunderstand it. It can solve and explain nothing, it only describes and experience. The play, like the absurd universe is not meant to be apprehended.
The best part of the play is its prose. Filled with monologues, cliches, double entendre, misunderstandings..you can have a good laugh. The language seems unwanted, unable to carry any sort of communication, it is simply there.
read it at your own risk. But before and after reading do care for a review.
28 Comments
hi mam
just vanished
after our first year …….. now not also any contact ……….. where are u mam
n NICe blog mam… gr8 work
I love this play!
Hmm, very cognitive post.
Is this theme good unough for the Digg?
How is the idea of “Nothing to be done” part of the human condition? It is absurd to wait for a response to the question of why we exist. However, we continue to wait.
Why don’t Estragon and Vladimir hang themselves from the tree? Although Beckett portrays life without meaning life as an experience with its “waiting” and “passing of time” is worth it. Thus, one must embrace this absurdity.
Reply: hello maria.
i think this is exactly how and why Existentialism attacks Descarte’s rationalism. if ‘essence’ preceeds ‘existence’ then why does life lead to absurdity. Vladmir and Estrgon ‘know too much’ …and they conclude that life is not worth living yet they go on living….it is this absurdity that is portrayed by Beckett.
Existentialism might seem, at first sight, a nihilistic approach but it frees us from the cloistered rationalistic view. it frees us from our essence and gives liberty to choose our own essence…we are not Paulo Coelho’s Santiago who is on a journey to find the hidden treasure, we are Veronica who has to free herself from the clutches of ‘angst’, ‘ennui’ and take the burden of choosing her own destiny, her own essence, and to make it to make life worth meaning….
Estragon and Vladmir will not hang themselves…because life is not a waiting room where some godot (essence) will free them from its absurdity. it is a destination where they must learn how to live it bearing the burden of choice. they fail to choose whether to go away, to wait, or to die…but they must choose.
Are Vladimir and Estragon like Sisyphus? Is embracing this absurdity what gives life its purpose? Although Sisyphus doesn’t choose his fate, his decision to endure the struggle gives him a purpose.
Reply: ya! i think they are a lot like sisyphus…it’s all about finding purpose, essence even if one gets it from embracing absurdity. this is the aspect that most intrigued me about existentialism. the discovery that life is ultimately meaningless leads to two conclusions- that life is not worth living( we should then commit suicide…..camus talks of suicide as a philosophical problem) or we continue living with its absurdity.
Existentialists ask is there a third way? there is a schism in their ways of approaching this question. some thinkers like Soren Kierkegaard believe that ‘hope’ can rescue one from absurdity. hope denies that life is meaningless by means of ‘blind faith’. wheras thinkers like Camus believe there is no way out but experience and acceptance.Rather than run away from the feeling of absurdity, either through suicide or hope, he wants to dwell with it and see if one can live with this feeling.
With this play we learn the true meaning within the concept of existentialism and how important is to discover our own identity and purpose in life. Many may question themselves: What is our place in life? Why we are here, and for what are we here? Is it for a second chance? Or is it for an opportunity to better ourselves? The truth is that, although it may seem senseless, by embracing the absurd, in other words by appreciating and valuing every aspect in life, for simple it may seem; we are learning and discovering the answer to this questions. For me, by embracing the absurdity, we are accepting our human condition, our flaws, our meaning. Life’s meaning falls on the concept of bettering ourselves everyday of our lives. Moreover, the concept of the absurd help us discover that life is an everyday opportunity; is a way of learning that by the concept of waiting we are learning how life is giving a chance to emend our errors. Furthermore, even though it may seem senseless to wait for “nothing”, this play makes us comprehend how that “nothingness” is nothing else than the struggle that is “life” and that the only way to go on triumphantly, is by overcoming those struggles in our own way. We are the owner of our decisions, and the drivers of our own destiny; we are the only ones capable to endure and overcome our problems. Humanity’s constant battle against ones struggle and the waiting for a better tomorrow, is how we can understand and learn our purpose in life. I encourage the readers to take advantage of this play, and take out the best from it, and the most of all, to take from it the way of accepting and embracing their true purpose in life.
Reply: Thanks for your remarks. the play certainly has layered meanings emerging from it….it is a reader’s play.
In the play, Vladimir and Estragon have nothing else to do, but wait for Godot. And that waiting for him is what makes them live, they need to wait. After the boy comes for the second time they could figure he is never coming, yet they continue to wait. It is absurd how the two can’t hang themselves because they need to wait, yet they want to suicide themselves because they cant keep waiting, they don’t want to live in that absurdity forever. By not knowing what will happen, they are trapped in the sense that they can’t go on because they need to wait. Their purpose is to wait, and they accept it, therefore they know their place in life, each day they will wait for Godot even if he never comes. They embrace the absurdity of waiting because they have nothing else going for them, their only choice is to wait for that something, someone which may never come…
In the play, much like in life, people are waiting for something that might never come and possible might not even exist. We spend our whole lives waiting and anticipating and sometimes we are not even aware of it. The absurdity of it all is that even if it is absolutely pointless to wait for something that may or may not come, waiting gives us something to look forward to. That ’something’ that everyone waits for gets us through life. If one has nothing to look forward to, then what’s the point in living? Nobody’s to judge what that something is to each individual. For example, one might wake up in the morning and think “I want to go to bed.” That desire to sleep will get you through the day. One must embrace that life might not have a point, that we might not have a purpose, but we ARE living and there is no other choice but to accept and embrace that fact. We are all waiting for Godot and we can only hope he’ll show up.
Reply: thanks for your insightful remarks. i liked your ‘desire for sleep that gets one through a day’ bit…this example very aptly shows meaninglessness of life. we all sure are waiting for our own Godots…
In the play “Waiting for Godot” we see two characters whose life revolves around uncertainty. Both Vladimir and Estragon live in perpetual wait for this figure that is represented by Godot. They spend their lives in the hopes that this individual will arrive, because of this they have put their lives on hold and their existence is therefore useless. Instead of looking for meaning in their life, they chose to lay back and allow life to pass them by. They assume a very passive role and hence, they fall into a vicious circle where they separate themselves from the real world and miss out on the great things life has to offer.
Reply: Vladmir and Estrogen have certainly taken a passive role..they are constantly in wait for something to happen to them…they will not make it happen to themselves. but this life of passivity itself has a meaning…as t.S.Eliot remarked in one of his plays/poems ” to do nothing is not a passive state. it is the highest activity the soul is capable of, the deliberate and sustained effort of the soul to suffer, in the sense of allow, all that God may will to effect on it”.
Just like Vladimir and Estragon, we too are in a constant wait for answers, even though we know that we may not know the answers ever. Even though we live in this uncertainty, we prefer, as Estragon and Vladimir, to wait for at least a sign to give us a purpose for this same wait,to give us a purpose in our lives. The absurdity is that the “wait” becomes the purpose of Estragon and Vladimir lives. How waiting for someone that they do not even know in the hope of changing their fate becomes the center of their world,in which they have nothing left. I see Vladimir and Estragon as the humanity that struggles to find a purpose in life, whatever it may be. In their case, they have nothing left to live for, so they search for at least one “excuse”, one purpose,to live day by day, just as humanity clings on to different aspects of their own lives to find purpose in them. I believe that Estragon and Vladimir due to the consequences of the war are brought to question their own existence. Now a days we really don’t question until we have nothing else to think of, or nothing else to hold on to to serve as a “distraction”. I understand their situation, and frankly, if I was surrounded and traumatized by a world in which their is no hope and nothing to cling on to, I would also find hope in the most absurd, even though it was a man I didn’t even know.
The belief of nothing to be done contributes to the human condition because it proves Camus’s theory of life being pointless. Eventhough life is without a fixed purpose, each individual has a choice of making their own purpose be known to others; thus, making it clear that our purpose is to defeat nothingness and become noticed. Moreover, Estragon and Vladimir’s plight to be recognized by Godot and wait for his ever so important presence symbolizes how humanity lets life pass us by and lose it to nothingness. Furthermore, we are the ones with the choice to define our lives and not let the absurdity of nothing put our lives on hold. Finally, by letting Estragon and Vladimir resign to their absurd reality, Beckett provides the reader with a choice of reformation or deception of life itself.
The essence of the play is all of the absurd behavior Estragon and Vladimir undergo while waiting for this enigmatic character called Godot. They do not know much about this character, what they do know is that they must wait for him. This is similiar to what humans do in life. Most humans, believe in Holy Entity and waiting all their lives for them. This is the most important aspect of their lives and if not their lives will be totally pointless. Furthermore, sometimes this waiting becomes so long that they begin loosing hope. Now the aspect of distraction comes to mind. The distractions, such as fighting and thinking about hanging themselves, is what keeps the main characters oriented and goal-focused. For this reason, all of the absurdities they did, did not seem so absurd because they had a purpose.
Waiting for Godot is certainly an existentialist play. Throughout the play, the characters ask questions such as “Why are we here?” and what is our purpose. Are we just stuck here waiting for something (Godot) that will never come? Or will he come?
I think that neither Vladimir nor Estragon decided to hand themselves because they had found the purpose in their life: to wait for GOdot. Even if it an absurd thing to wait for it is what kept them there and what motivates them to keep on living and not commit suicide. Once you find a reason to live and a purpose in your life it doesn’t matter how dumb people think that purpose is, you will pursue it blidindly. That is exactly what Vladimir and Estragon are doing.
In Waiting for Godot Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for something or someone known as Godot. To this day, the reader does not know who Godot really is and if it/he exists. But this does not deprive the main characters from the waiting everyday just to see and talk to him/it. The fact that they’re waiting for something that never comes can be related to the fact that we as human beings are always in a personal search, trying to find out who we really are, and most importantly, why are we here? This brings us to the theme of existentialism where we always ask the same questions: Why are we here? Is there something greater for me? Do we have a purpose in life? Are we waiting for something/someone? If we are, what is it and why? It is these questions that take us to the end. We may see the last of our days and never find out the answer to all these questions, just like Estragon and Vladimir would never have the opportunity to know who truly is Godot, but with all these questions and all these obstacles we face in our everyday life, we have to learn something, and that is to live day by day. We may face many difficulties in our lives but those are the hard moments, as well as the happy ones, that make us who we truly are and teach us that we can not stop our lives waiting for something; we have to go on, and if it means waiting, we will wait but with our head high and proud.
In Waiting for Godot we see the importance of the term existentialism. We see that the play’s action is based on the waiting of this unknown character Godot. This character is not described and no explanation what so ever for why is it so important for Vladimir and Estragon meet with this anonymous man. Both characters Vladimir and Estragon play this role of pass time or waiting even though it is presented as something absurd; it is this absurdity that makes the character reconcile for what is important and that is to live. For this reason they don’t commit suicide because both of them have found a reason to live and making that accomplishment leads them to their patience for waiting for Godot. This play portrays to the reader the importance of ones role in life and that we are in this world for some kind of reason and we must accomplish it even by the most absurd things.
In this play we can see the absurdity in some of life aspects through the two main characters Didi and Gogo. The two characters are, like the title of the book implies, waiting for Godot, a man they don’t even know that they think will come and solve their problems. But, How do you wait for someone you don’t know? How do you expect a someone that you dont even know to help you in hard post-war times?
This is part of the absurdity of life. Many people expect something, they wait for something or someone in their live to come out of the blue and change their lives. This blind faith is kind of abusurd, but it give many people a purpose, hope, and something to look forward to, which changes a person’s emotional state. This hope can be religion, or in someone, or even just a kind gesture in their live. Yet without this absurdity in life, life would not be wat it is today.
Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the
universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd), because no such meaning exists, at
least in relation to humanity. The word “absurd” in this context does not mean
“logically impossible”, but rather “humanly impossible”. I is important for us to
understand this so that we as humans do not comsume ourselves and just simply enjoy life.
In Waiting for Godot we see the absurdity of the two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who are constantly waiting for a man who they have never met who will “solve” their problems but in reality this person might never come, they might be waiting forever. What’s the purpose? Why do they wait? In life people are constantly waiting for something, anything, even though it might never come and possible might not even exist. We wait because we need something to believe in, something to look forward to, we all need hope. All of us are constantly waiting for answers, answers to anything, to everything even though we might never know them. This is part of the absurdity of life; many people expect something, they wait for something or someone to appear and solve all of their problems and make their lives perfect. Just like in religion, they trust blindly, they have faith that a higher being cares for them and will inevitably help them in their lives. This blind faith is kind of absurd; how do we know god exists? Why should he help us? When, if ever, will he appear? But just like Vladimir and Estragon we wait, we need this faith; we need this glimmer of hope that gives us a purpose and something to look forward to. Even though we live with this doubt and uncertainty we wait for at least a sign to give us a purpose for this same wait, to give us a purpose in our lives. Vladimir and Estragon can very well represent all of us, the humanity that struggles to find a purpose in life no matter how absurd it may seem. This waiting, this searching for answers that we may never receive, this faith that gives us hope and that gives us a purpose in life is beautifully absurd.
The play “Waiting for Godot” explores with the themes and complexities of existentialism. What I like about the play is that it is left open for interpretation to the audience. The characters of Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for something that Godot has and this will bring change to their lives. This is the idea that existentialism presents. These two characters are waiting for a difference in their lives and they realize life’s purpose. They will keep to their decision of waiting for Godot because they see it as their purpose.
In this play, Estragon and Vladimir are left in a vicious cycle that is not willing to spit them out. Vladimir and Estragon are kept waiting for a man that will never come but that somehow everyday that passes by that Godot does not appear, makes their hopes that he will come grow. This in itself is part of the human condition that the characters find themselves in. These men in Waiting for Godot are not struggling to live life to its fullest, they are struggling to survive or better yet they are struggling to exist. This is because instead of leaving the area where supposedly Godot would encounter them and make something of their time, Vladimir and Estragon keep faith that Godot will come (even if he never does). This in particular is what makes the human condition so absurd.
“Waiting for Godot” is a clear example of the influence of Existentialism in relatively recent or contemporary pieces of literature. In “Waiting for Godot” there is an easily discernable strain of influence that can be traced to Soren Kierkegaard’s ideas of Existentialism. Morality that exists within a plane where there is a superior entity or being. Estragon and Vladimir’s actions are subjected to the presence, or rather the absence, of Godot. The figure of Godot is also a figure that can represent hopelessness. He/She/It represents the loss of hope that is inherent in all thwarted human activities. Loss of hope is only natural in Vladimir and Estragon’s activities. Howvever, even if they had lost all hope of meeting Godot, there would always be the certainty of death.
I think the best part of the play is that Godot never arrives. It gives it an essence of what life is really like, finding something to do before that thing or person we are waiting for arrives. Most people wait for death; we all know we are going to die, yet some people focus their lives on how to prevent it, which is impossible, as others focus their lives on living their lives to the fullest, not worrying about how long they have to live. In “Waiting for Godot” we see how Vladimir and Estragon are simply waiting for something that never arrives, and in doing so, find other ways to entertain themselves. I think it’s important that Godot never arrives, even the author says he didn’t mean for him to arrive; this is because in that eternal wait for Godot, the two characters discover different elements of life, they endure their friendship, and they continue living in that wait. What would happen if Godot did arrive? Then what would they have? That hope for Godot is the only thing that keeps them going on with their lives, if not they would’ve probly gone on with commiting suicide, or maybe not. The play truly portrays the absurdness of the everyday life. I like how the author of the blog says that Vladimir and Estragon are faced with different choices. It is exactly what life is all about, choices. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it’s up to us to decide what we are going to do with them. That hope in Vladimir and Estragon that Godot will arrive is what makes them choose to live and go on looking for something to do. It’s like Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.” Without something to live for, there is no life. I’m not saying that you have to take part in religion, I’m saying that everyone will always have some goal and purpose in life, and reaching that or those goals is what keeps us going on from day-to day.
Life in the universe can be perceived or viewed as a never ending cycle in which we are born and then we die. When we put life on this plane we can appreciate the absurdity that Samuel Beckett is trying to portray in his play. The absurdity of waiting for life to be something more than what it is. This meaning that we try to give to life is useless because your life is nothing, and will never be nothing more than the same life of the person beside you. Life, just like time and space, can not be altered by us consciously, only the external forces of the universe which we will never get to see (Godot) can do that.
Hi everyone! I’m new to tinarathore.wordpress.com.
Hope I can be regular here!
Reply: hello. looking forward to your comments. thank you.
Like many exsistential authors of his generation, including Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett presents to us a peculiar and original scenario between Estragon and Vladimir who wait helplessly for Godot. What drives them? That is uncertain, making the whole plot of the play absurd. Beckett criticizes humanity’s futile quest to search for rationality and meaning in an irrational and hopeless world; thus sustaining his philosophical view that all people are “equally absurd”.
In “Waiting for Godot” one of the main themes that Samuel Beckett presents is the theme of waiting and how does that relate to the absurd. In the story we have the main two characters which are Estragon and Vladimir who troughout the hole play they wait for Godot, who never arrives. This may represent something absurd, but in reality what the author is trying to criticize how some people cling to faith when in reality they don’t know if it truly exist. The same way that happens with Godot. The author also criticize what people do to entretain themself so that time passes by. Another theme presented in this play was the fact of being in the edge of lossing the faith in that Godot was coming as people do sometimes with thier faith. So basically when you read the play you may think that this is absurd and has no meaning reading it, but when you start to analyze it you see that these things happen in real life.
After reading this article, I just feel that I need more information on the topic. Can you suggest some more resources ?
During my reading of “Waiting For Godot”,I found myself thinking what the heck are these guys doing, just waiting for a man that they cannot remember what he looks like, or even if they actually met him. But soon I realized, hey, we all at some point or another wait for something to happen. Even if it is absurd to wait for days at a time for someone who did not even promise to help, doesn’t everyone at some point in their lives wait for something to happen? Vladimir and Estragon are two homeless men, who have nothing, and are waiting for a man that might give them something to do, or might offer his help to them. So yes, this waiting that the two men are doing might be crazy and unnerving, but for someone who has nothing, what else can they do? Wait, wait forever if they have to, for their help to arrive, for their calling to be announced, and their purpose revealed to them.