Thinking Activity: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Thinking Activity: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

This blog is part of my academic activity. 

To see tasks click here.

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.