BECKETT’S SPIRIT THROUGH WAITING FOR GODOT

Samuel Beckett has a pessimistic view of man’s existence. According to him, there is no purpose at all in man’s life, which is fully absurd. Indeed, after two world wars, in a world without religion, without belief, man is lost. That’s the reason why people wonder about a big essential question :

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE ?

Beckett is at his best to show the utter helplessness of human beings with Waiting for Godot.

Understanding Beckett

Beckett belongs to the category of those writers who are considered the members of the “Theatre of the Absurd” (with Ionesco, Genet …). His characters are the complete product of the philosophy of Absurdism. “The Absurd” refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any. Beckett describes a meaningless universe. All the efforts by human beings to find the meaning of life have dashed to the ground. This is exactly what Beckett’s characters have been doing and trying to convey throughout their lives. Agony of existence is the core problem of all Beckett’s characters and the ruthless life compels them to bear this agony and to admit this fact that there is no option for them.

 

Two tramps and their waiting

There is no adventure, no chaos, no catastrophe, no social or political upheaval in the play. Two tramps, Estragon and Vladimir, on a deserted country road are waiting for someone, named Godot. Both are the true portrait of every human being on the earth, who bear the agonies of existence. They are constrained to bear the agonies because they have born and they have to pay for it at any cost. They are waiting for Godot, who they think will be the source of their salvation, but he never comes. While waiting for him, how they pass their time, the play deals with it, so waiting is a recurring motif of the play.

We All Wait !

Every one of us experiences ‘waiting’ in his/her life : at the airport, at the railway station, in a bank,  etc. We are familiar with the pangs of waiting and we do different things to pass our time. These two tramps do the same. They talk, they walk, they play different games, they abuse and rebuke each other, even they try to attempt suicide to free themselves from the agonies of life but this remains just an abortive attempt.

Gradual Dilapidation of Characters

In Waiting for Godot, the gradual dilapidation of every character can be felt through different forms of depravity (mental, physical, spiritual). Estragon and Vladimir deprived of any physical grace and dignity, mentally disturbed are unable to recognize Pozzo and Lucky, when they appear again in the play. Now Pozzo is blind, the rope connects the two as before but the rope is much shorter now, enables Pozzo to follow Lucky more easily. Pozzo and Lucky physically disgusted are the symbol of master and slave. Here Beckett presents slavery in its worst form. Despite being in a worst form, Lucky the servant is still with his cruel master Pozzo. Every character is at the mercy of circumstances and is compelled to be alive.

The Concept of Nihilism

The concept of Nihilism is all pervading in Waiting for Godot. Nihilism refers to the rejection of all religious and moral principles. Nihilism promotes the state of believing in nothing, or of having no allegiances and no purposes.  Beckett has deliberately constructed a play where not only his characters, but also his audience wait for something that never happens. Just like Estragon and Vladimir, the audience waits during the play for some major event. All of this waiting for nothing, talking about nothing, and doing nothing contributes to a pervasive atmosphere of nihilism in the play.

In consequence, Beckets tries to convey us that our existences are hopelessly unfathomable. According to him, human life has no meaning and no purpose. Realizing this, humans will create distractions and diversions to provide the purpose and meaning that is inherently lacking in their lives.

Let us sing with Godot !!