Thinking Activity: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
This
blog is part of my academic activity.
Q ) What connection do you see in the setting
(“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?
This painting is drawn by
Caspar David Friedrich and from this painting, Beckett got the idea of the play
"Waiting for Godot". We can see two persons who are stand near one
tree and looking at sunrise and sunset, they are waiting and the cycle of
nature is changing as per season. wherein the play waiting for Godot similar
kind of setting. Two persons are waiting for someone and day and night are
continuously changing.
Q) The tree is the only important ‘thing’
in the setting. What is the importance of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett
grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five
leaves - ?
In 1st act it is used without leaves it's
showing despair and in 2nd act, the tree is presented to show hope. It's grown
up with a few leaves, it's showing that if you are waiting than something you
will get.
Beckett
grows calculated leaves, maybe he wants to give easily this idea and we can
note the deep meaning.
Q) In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon
rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when
actually they are waiting for Godot?
As per nature’s cycle, it's changing and
evening falls into night and moon rises but nobody can stop it and change it as
we want. We can just wait as Vladimir and Estragon. Whatever happens in human
life we can't change the situation, they are waiting with hope.
Q) The director feels the setting with some debris. Can
you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?
It was like life and debris showing the
situation after the second world war. Everything was destroyed and the
land was barren so it's creating a gloomy situation, it may not permanent but
we have to work not just wait and this work also like waiting but it is better.
Q) The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be
done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?
As we don't know about hell or heaven but we
trying to do not do sin because somehow we want to go in heaven for a better
life after death also and same this thing we can find in the play. This play
starts with this idea of nothingness. Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot
without knowing that he will come or not, is he exist or not, who is Godot?
They are waiting...
Q) How are the props like hat and boots
used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?
Estragon wears someone's boot so he was
uncomfortable but he has done the settlement with it and he adjusts with pain.
Q) Do you think that the obedience of
Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is
blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a
capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?
As per class discussion, some people like to
be servant whole life, we have taken one example of god's servant. Yes, the
obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. We are tie by rigid
and with a religious hidden rope that is not actually physically but mentally
and we don't want to do free ourselves from them like Lucky.
Q) Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of
desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or . . .
It depends on the people that he wants. Every
human has desire and they do anything to achieve, we are waiting for better and better.
Q) “The subject of the play is not Godot but
‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify
your answer?
I agree with his statement because throughout
our life we are waiting for something. Students waiting for the result than for
a competitive exam and again for results and then for a job. When he gets job
he wants increment and promotion so he works more and waiting for better and
more better. Most of the people are religious so after retirement, they are
waiting for death and they want to go in heaven, so they do adoration of god
and waiting so this is my justification as per human's life, So here “The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’.
Q) Do you think that plays like this can better be
‘read’ than ‘viewed’ as it requires a lot of thinking on the part of readers,
while viewing, the torrent of dialogues does not give ample time and space to
‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the
play?
Sir, you said many things to us as per text
so it was easy to see and understand the play. Directly maybe I'm not able to
understand whatever they were talking about. It is hard to understand and there
is nothing richness in setting or in the act so reading is better to
understand.
Q) Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and
conversations while waiting
Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
Conversation of Vladimir with the boy.
The conversation of Vladimir and Estragon
because they were waiting and doing Conversation to kill time so activities
were with many humorous dialogues.
Q) Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or
meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe
during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if
ever it was?
A character like Lucky and treatment of Pozzo
with Lucky, it creates a question for existential crisis or meaninglessness of
human existence. Some dialogues like 'Nobody comes, Nobody goes, It's awful.'
in other words, 'Somebody comes, somebody goes, yet nothing happens', it is
also raised a question and I feel the meaninglessness of human existence.
Q) Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’
themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea
of suicide in Existentialism?
As per religious view, suicide is a sin but
when we are stuck in a bad situation and we have not any hope at that time we
think to do suicide and yes here with the religious point of view they avoid
suicide.
Q) So far as Pozzo and Lucky [master and slave] are
concerned, we have to remember that Beckett was a disciple of Joyce and that
Joyce hated England. Beckett meant Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be
Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in Broadway production). Does
this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?
Lucky was happy with a piece of bones after the blindness of Pozzo Lucky was doing still work as a slave may be he doesn't want
to make free himself, As Ireland depends on England for many
purpose.
Q) The more the things change, the more it remains
similar. There seems to have no change in Act I and Act II of the play. Even
the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there
is one major change. In Act I, in reply to Boy;s question, Vladimir says:
"BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him
you saw us. (Pause.) You did see us, didn't you?
How does this conversation go in Act II? Is there any
change in seeming similar situation and conversation? If so, what is it? What
does it signify?
In first act Estragon was sleeping than also
Vladimir said to a boy, on that day visit you saw both of us. While in the
ending of second act Vladimir said to a boy that tell Godot you saw me. This
from "Us" to "Me" clearly signifies the selfishness of Vladimir.
