Waiting for Godot Free Essays

Discuss the dramatic effects [meaning: plot, character, dialogue, language, stage directions]* of the passage [ refer to your photocopied text Start- pg 16. Estragon: (Violently. ) I’m hungry. We will write a custom essay sample on Waiting for Godot or any similar topic only for you Order Now / End pg 18. Estragon: Nothing to be done. (He proffers the remains of the carrot to Vladimir. ) Like to finish it? ] and how it reflects the concerns in Waiting for Godot. Waiting for Godot presents a bleak caricature of the human condition in order to examine more closely the key theme of existentialism. This short passage is symptomatic of the rest of the play, effectively condensing its concerns about human existence in several very poignant moments and metaphors. Central to the passage is the carrot, which acts as a physical and visual metaphor for life itself, and the disappointment that it brings. The fact that the carrot has a deeper meaning is not immediately evident. Initially, Beckett’s choice of food gives us an insight into his thematic concern. Carrots and turnips are a peasant’s food. They taste dull and insipid, and no one but the desperately poor would even contend to eat them day after day â€Å"make it last, that’s the last of them†. The initial dialogue (regarding the carrot) between Estragon and Vladimir further builds on our understanding, with Estragon’s weary question â€Å"Is that all there is? † finally revealing Beckett’s axiom; that hunger, hardship and (most importantly) disappointment are the unalterable laws of life. Beckett builds on this point by showing man’s eternal struggle to make something of his life via the stage directions given â€Å"Vladimir rummages†¦ e rummages again†. The word â€Å"rummages† suggests a blind fumbling, while â€Å"again† suggests repetition. When put together, and repeated several times in that scene, the physical search for a carrot, but finding only turnips â€Å"Give me a carrot. †¦ [Angrily. ] It’s a turnip! â€Å", is emblematic of the wider struggle that all humans face against hardship, but also against false hope. In particular, the curt stage directions given to Estragon [Angrily. ] suggest a sudden explosion of frustration the instant he realises he has bitten down on a turnip instead of a carrot. The intensity and immediacy of the raw emotion demonstrate the potency of disappointment that we experience because of false hope. The conversation that follows reinforces this. Interestingly enough, at the start the conversation raises our hopes that Vladimir will provide a more positive perspective â€Å"Funny, the more you eat, the worse it gets† is followed by â€Å"For me it’s just the opposite† and â€Å"in other words? â€Å". The intuitive opposite of â€Å"the more you eat, the worse it gets† is perhaps the more you eat, the better it gets. However, our expectations, much like Estragon’s earlier are let down when Vladimir wryly remarks â€Å"I get used to the muck as I go along†. All of this combined highlights Beckett’s position regarding Man’s existence, and how it is merely a continuous, unceasing Sisyphean struggle. Besides the carrot, the short reference to Godot is also significant because of the uncertainty that it induces, which is symptomatic of the uncertainty that envelopes our own existence. The conversation between Estragon and Vladimir is peppered with questions, some of which are answered in turn by another question â€Å"Did you reply† is followed by â€Å"†How’s the carrot†. This appears to be an attempt to divert attention away from uncomfortable areas, but by doing so creates a measure of uncertainty and confusion over the motivations for doing so. Vladimir’s overly innocent â€Å"Tied? † is sarcastically challenged by Estragon’s â€Å"ti-ed†. Estragon drags out the word in an attempt to deliberately over exaggerate it, mocking Vladimir. In this case, it almost appears as though Vladimir suffers from selective deafness, and creates further uncertainty as to his motives. When it finally becomes apparent that Vladimir was avoiding the question because he too was uncertain, it generates even more confusion among the audience. Vladimir’s own uncertainty is demonstrated in the way he categorically states â€Å"To Godot? Tied to Godot? What an idea! No question of it! [Pause] For the moment†. The pause before he adds a caveat to his originally (seemingly) unshakable belief shows the flimsiness of his own knowledge. Estragon’s follow up question â€Å"His name is Godot† further confuses the audience. If Estragon did not know who he was waiting for, then why wait in the first place? The confusion evoked by this scene is the intended effect Beckett desired. The confusion and uncertainty that characterises his dream-like dystopia is supposedly the same kind of uncertainty that we encounter in our own existence. Beckett then ends off on a heavy, cynical note, a slightly detached continuation from the carrot metaphor to drive home his final point that for all the disappointment and uncertainty that we face, there is â€Å"nothing to be done†. This phrase is unique for its passivity. It passively accepts without challenging, quietly but willingly resigning oneself to one’s fate. Interestingly, â€Å"No use struggling† and â€Å"No use wriggling† initially provide a contrasting picture of action but is temp ered by the passivity of â€Å"one is what one is†. Furthermore, the use of the word â€Å"No use† again has an undertone of resignation. Amidst this tragic message about the human condition that Beckett tries to put forth, is also a mixture of humour. The carrot remains, now relegated to the role of a physical prop. The stage directions, â€Å"He proffers the carrot† and â€Å"Sucks on the end of it meditatively† provide an atmosphere of nonchalance that conflicts with the tension and seriousness of the message that is being delivered. This tension between humour and the sadness of the human condition is Beckett’s final message to the audience; that while the human condition is inherently sad, it is not monolithic. Humour does exist even in the bleakest of situations and times. Ultimately, this passage conveys successfully Beckett’s views on existence and the human condition. While his views are primarily bleak here, as with the rest of the play, it is also poignant, for the incorporation of humour into the bleak world of Estragon and Vladimir somehow makes their burden simultaneously heavier and lighter. Sheldon Lim 12A13 How to cite Waiting for Godot, Essay examples Waiting for Godot Free Essays â€Å"Waiting For Godot† is a play by Samuel Beckett in which the two main characters Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot. Both men talk like they know who he is but also agree that if they were to see Godot they wouldn’t recognize him. The play isn’t one that I like but I do like the message that I perceived. We will write a custom essay sample on Waiting for Godot or any similar topic only for you Order Now In my opinion the play is about finding what makes you, you; finding what you live for and finding God. â€Å"Waiting For Godot† takes place in a desolate area where the two men, Vladimir and Estragon wait near a tree. Vladimir, one of the main characters also goes by the nickname Didi given to him by Estragon. Didi seems to be more mature than his friend. Estragon or Gogo, has a poor memory and looks to Didi for help and protection. Pozzo is a blind man who passes by the two men but later doesn’t recall meeting them. Pozzo has a slave named Lucky, although he’s a slave he’s entertaining and smart. Later in the play he becomes ignorant. There is also a boy who comes each night to inform Didi and Gogo that Godot will not be coming but every night insists he hasn’t come the night before. Lastly, Godot who never appears in the play although he’s being waited for. Through out the play Vladimir and Estragon just wait by a tree for Godot, a few people pass through and although Godot fails to appear the men still wait in fear that they might miss him. This play is also a product of the Absurdist movement. The belief of the theater of the absurd is that without God human existence is meaningless. In these plays it’s mostly irrational and illogical communication. Man acts like a puppet, they have no meaning and are controlled by an invisible outside force. Godot is the outside force controlling what Vladimir and Estragon do because they sit and wait for him. There is no plot change and not much action in the play, it’s mostly conversation about random thoughts or actions. In my opinion I believe the play is boring, but the message portrayed is interesting. The reason the play is dull is because each character has no meaning. The whole play is basically conversation and nothing happens. Then again a lot of good messages come out of a whole lot of nothing. Didi and Gogo are simply two men and because they do not have Godot in their lives they are merely just two men. They have no meaning and the message in the play is that you have to find who you are, what you live for, and mostly that without God life has no meaning. In the play â€Å"Waiting For Godot†, Godot portrays God. Although you can not see God, it’s believed that he’s an invisible force or soul that is always there. In the theater of the absurd it says without God life is meaningless. In this play Godot or God never shows up, therefore a sign that God isn’t there and their lives were pointless and were being controlled by this false belief. If Godot would have been there Didi and Gogo’s waiting would have been for a reason. Samuel Beckett’s play â€Å"Waiting For Godot† is a product of the Absurdist movement. The two main characters are waiting the whole time for Godot also thought of as God. Vladimir and Estagon have no meaning in their lives because Godot never shows up. None of the characters know where they belong in life or who they really are because each character changes from on extreme to the other. Didi and Gogo are being controlled by the unknown which only proves how important believing in something is, although it can’t be seen. The main point and meaning in this play is that without God, mankind is nothing. How to cite Waiting for Godot, Papers