Theme Of Waiting For Godot

In Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting for Godot, he begs the question: what is the purpose of life? Throughout the commotion of the play, Beckett addresses the age old debate: Does someone control man’s life or does man write his own destiny? Like Roland Barthes’ ideology Beckett wrote a play that proposed a question and failed to give a definitive answer; however, he delivered potential answers. By introducing characters that take different viewpoints in this debate Beckett never reveals the answer to his question but hints at possible answers. Beckett introduces characters such as Estragon, Vladimir, and Lucky to illustrate the different types of perspectives that man has taken in this debate. In Beckett’s tragicomedy he introduces Estragon

But when examined, Estragon’s words exemplify a majority of people who do not find peace in death but rather who fear it and in fact scurry from it like mice running from a lion. Not only is this exchange relevant to death and what lies past it, but it pertains to mankind in decision making. People remain comfortable and content thriving in their mediocrity for fear of what lies ahead. Oftentimes man cannot depart from his comfort zone for fear of failure when in actuality the comfort in mediocrity is a failure in itself. Another insight into the thoughts of Estragon is when he comments on the fact that Pozzo and Lucky “changed only [Vladimir and I] cannot.” In this example, Estragon encounters characters that have changed their views on life as well as their physical bodies. Pozzo a man who could once see and saw the world existentially, just as estragon, but he is now blind. Upon noticing this change, Estragon applies his knowledge to himself. The self-governing principle that Estragon is in charge of his own life is evident in

Vladimir appears to have the answers just as man attempts to make sense out of life, but is making life make sense the best course of action? Should mankind be the ones in charge or should men surrender to an invisible god or should man created their own destiny or should man attempt to adhere by the will of others? These questions are ones that Vladimir and Estragon attempt to answer in their ostensibly irrelevant existence or their lack of essence. Lucky can be viewed as a slur connecting Estragon’s A note and Vladimir’s E note. He is not the C note in-between, but the joining of the two notes into one sound. Lucky, a man of little words, shocks the audience when he gives the longest speech in the play, which at a glance makes no sense, but upon investigation Lucky could perhaps bestow the reader with the most profound ideology of the work. Among all the gibberish, Lucky expresses his thoughts: “Given the existence…of a personal God… outside of time … who loves us dearly… and suffers... with those who… are plunged in torment… for reasons unknown… as a result of the labors left unfinished.” Lucky simply answers the question Beckett, Roland Barthes, and countless other authors have attempted to resolve. The reason is unknown, the reason why literature is the question minus the answer is unknown, the reason people are fearful of death is unknown, the reason people are existentialist or essentialist is unknown. Through Lucky, Beckett teaches the reader that for