Existentialism In Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot

1974 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Waiting for godot analysis setting

Theatre of the absurd seemed to draw light to a new genre of literature in which messages were displayed and hidden through the absurdity of action. This world is a result of the destruction of individualism and the deterioration of the human condition. It contains some existential ideas in which the characters are helpless and the explanation of the universe is far beyond their reach. Through meaningless action, they go about their lives with no purpose at all. Although Samuel Beckett himself did not identify as an existentialist, his work in Waiting for Godot contains traits of existentialism through the characters themselves, the reoccurring theme of waiting over time, and the overall, hidden meaning of hope and waiting for a savior. …show more content…

Vladimir has a stronger memory than Estragon and helps him by remembering for him, therefore, helping establish his identity (“Analysis”). By remembering for Estragon, Vladimir also helps remind Estragon of his existence. Estragon cannot even remember a kick from Lucky the day before (Valentine). An existential theme that can be found in Waiting for Godot is the lack of individuality which is related to the lack of meaning in their lives. Without meaning or a purpose, Vladimir and Estragon go on to live a pointless existence in which their life is full of despair. In their world full of repetition and suffering, it is necessary that they remember each other because no one else in the play remembers them. Pozzo proves that he does not remember who Vladimir and Estragon are as displayed in the line “I don’t remember having met anyone yesterday” (Valentine). This line also proves that traces of existentialism from lack of meaning can be found in all characters in Waiting for Godot (“Is Samuel Beckett’s…”) Existentialist literature also displays hidden meanings by having the readers look deeper than what is on the surface at the subtle meanings. Perhaps Samuel Beckett included this message to show the readers how important it is for one to find purpose in their life instead of just living in the

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Absurd Theatre

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    The plots were different. The dramatists believed that the human existence is absurd and they used comedy in their plays such as ,Beckett's Waiting for Godot,(1953) (Drabble3). Beckett has tackled political themes in his plays such as, Catastrophe (1982), and What Where (1983) which deals with torture and totalitarian. Beckett's plays are not intellectually understood. Besides, irony was used in his works and his plays are closed compositions. The characters from the beginning until the end remain the same without development. In the Absurd Theatre the writers selected strange names for their works in order to reflect their rejection of the norms and the conventional values (Innes428-31). As for the Naturalistic Theatre, it rejects the natural laws. The naturalists and the realists share the same idea that the issues of the middle and lower classes should be tackled in the literary works. The writers at that time focused on the influence of the economic and material environment (drabble

    Read More

  • Comparing the Human Condition in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Waiting for Godot

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    In ‘Waiting for Godot’, we know little concerning the protagonists, indeed from their comments they appear to know little about themselves and seem bewildered and confused as to the extent of their existence.  Their situation is obscure and Vladimir and Estragon spend the day (representative of their lives) waiting for the mysterious Godot, interacting with each other with quick and short speech.

    Read More

  • Distortion in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Distortion presents exaggerated and absurd portraits of the human condition.  Distortion also equips an author with a plane of existence that provides an avenue for posing questions concerning the nature of thought, behavior, and existence.  Samuel Beckett distorts reality in his play Waiting For Godot; this literary effect enables him to question human life and a possible afterlife.

    Read More

  • Beckett's Endgame

    2799 Words  | 6 Pages

    While Beckett’s works are often defined by their existentialist themes, Endgame seems to offer no solution to the despair and melancholia of Hamm, Clov, Nagg, and Nell. The work is replete with overdetermination that confounds the efforts of critics and philosophers to construct a single, unified theme for the play. Beckett resisted any effort to reconcile the problems of his world, offer solutions, or quench any fears overtly. However, this surface level of understanding that aligns Beckett with the pessimism of the Modernist movement is ironically different from the symbolic understanding that Beckett promotes through his characters and the scene. Beckett’s work does not suggest total hopelessness, but rather that the fears of change, self-centeredness, and despair of Hamm and Clov contribute to their miserable existence. He opposes the Modernist attitude of focus on the subjective, internal state, and reveals the soul of the Modernist to be shallow and starving.

    Read More

  • Freedom to Choose in Waiting for Godot, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Iraq

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    abandoned the conventions of the classical play to concentrate on his important message to humanity. Using his pathetic characters, Estragon and Vladimir, Beckett illustrates the importance of human free will in a land ruled by science and technology. He understood the terrors of progress as he witnessed first hand the destruction caused by technologically-improved weapons working as a spy during WWII. In his tragicomedy, Estragon and Vladimir spend the entire time futilely waiting for Godot to arrive. They believe that this mysterious Godot will help them solve their problems and merely sit and wait for their solution to arrive. Beckett utilizes these characters to warn the reader of the dangers of depending on fate and others to improve one's existence. He supports this idea when Estragon blames his boots and not himself for the pain in his feet, and Vladimir responds, "There'...

    Read More

  • Importance Of Symbolism In Waiting For Godot

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Humans spend their lives searching and creating meaning to their lives, Beckett, however, takes a stand against this way of living in his novel ‘Waiting for Godot’. He questions this ideal of wasting our lives by searching for a reason for our existence when there is not one to find. In his play, he showcases this ideology through a simplistic and absence of setting and repetitious dialogue. Beckett’s ability to use these key features are imperative to his ability of conveying his message of human entrapment and existence.

    Read More

  • Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the moment that the curtain rises, Waiting for Godot assumes an unmistakably absurdist identity. On the surface, little about the plot of the play seems to suggest that the actions seen on stage could or would ever happen. At the very least, the process of waiting hardly seems like an ideal focus of an engaging and entertaining production. Yet it is precisely for this reason that Beckett’s tale of two men, whose only discernable goal in life is to wait for a man known simply as Godot, is able to connect with the audience’s emotions so effectivel...

    Read More

  • Time and Repetition in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life is made up of different routines and schedules that are followed by the ordinary human being daily. In ‘Waiting for Godot’, Samuel Beckett uses time and repetition consistently throughout the play to demonstrate how these routines and habits are key elements in the course of life itself. The three main devices Beckett uses are the illogical pass of time, the lack of a past or a future and the absurdity of repetition in both dialogue and actions within the main characters and their surroundings.

    Read More

  • Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot: A Critical Allegory of Religious Faith

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vladimir and Estragon live their lives around the anticipation they feel for Godot's arrival. Their strong eagerness to meet Godot creates the basis of their decision-making in life. Vladimir and Estragon are determined to meet Godot. They will not leave even when they become anxious to do something else. Godot gives them purpose. Without their belief in Godot, their every day actions would have no meaning because they would lead to nothing. Because they are waiting for Godot, they have motivation behind each thing they do. Vladimir and Estragon are united by their belief in Godot, thus they stay together to wait for him.

    Read More

  • Christianity in Waiting for Godot

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Irish-born French author Samuel Beckett was well known for his use of literary devices such as black comedy in his various literary works. Written during late 1948 and early 1949 and premiered as a play in 1953 as En attendant Godot, Beckett coupled these devices with minimalism and absurdity in order to create the tragicomedy known to English speakers as Waiting for Godot. True to its title, Waiting for Godot is the tale of a pair of best friends known as Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo) who are waiting for the character the audience comes to know as Godot to appear. Throughout Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett alludes to the monotheistic religion of Christianity through symbols, dialogue, and characters to reveal the heavy invisible influence of God in the daily life of man.

    Read More

  • Life And Death In Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Samuel Beckett Tragicomedy Waiting for Godot he begs the question of life and death. Throughout the commotion of the play Becket addresses the age old debate of the afterlife and if people willingly pass this life to enter into Gods kingdom or if God calls them. Beckett introduces characters such as Estragon, Vladimir, and Lucky to illustrate the different types of perspectives that man has taken on this debate.

    Read More

  • Lack of Closure in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

    2449 Words  | 5 Pages

    Beckett, Samuel. Waiting For Godot. 3rd ed. N.p.: CPI Group, 2006. Print. Vol. 1 of Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works. 4 vols

    Read More

  • Miscellaneous Critics on Waiting for Godot

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Although works of the theater of the absurd, particularly Beckett’s, are often comical, their underlying premises are wholly serious: the epistemological principle of uncertainty and the inability in the modern age to find a coherent system of meaning, order, or purpose by which to understand our existence and by which to live” (Hutchings 28).

    Read More

  • Sartre’s Existentialism in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...on. Vol. 34. Georgia State University, 2001. 39-53. H. W. Wilson Web. 22 Mar. 2004.

    Read More

  • Waiting For Godot Analysis

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, has no definite meaning or interpretation, the play acts as a statement of hopelessness regarding human existence. Debate surrounds the play because, due to its simplicity, almost any interpretation is valid. The main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are aging men who must wait for a person, being, or object named Godot, but this entity never appears to grace the men with this presence. Both characters essentially demonstrate how one must go through life when hope is nonexistent as they pointlessly attempt to entertain themselves with glum conversation in front of a solitary tree. The Theater of the Absurd, a prevalent movement associated with Waiting for Godot, serves as the basis for the message of hopelessness in his main characters. Samuel Beckett's iconic Waiting for Godot and his perception of the characteristics and influence of the Theater of the Absurd illustrate the pointlessness and hopelessness regarding existence. In the play, boredom is mistaken for hopelessness because the men have nothing to do, as they attempt to occupy themselves as, for some reason, they need to wait for Godot. No hope is present throughout the two-act play with little for Estragon and Vladimir to occupy their time while they, as the title indicates, wait for Godot.

    Read More

More about Existentialism In Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot

Open Document