Waiting For Godot

Waiting For Godot 

With reference of an online film screening conduced online on 8th June 2021, this blog contains the  worksheet and follow up of the play "Waiting for Godot" discussed in the class. Samuel Beckett was a modern playwright and was associated with the "Theatre of the Absurd". This play is originally written in French with the title En Attendant Godot.

                      Nothing happens, Nobody comes, Nobody goes, it's awful!"

The movie "Waiting for Godot" is directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. In this 2001 movie, Barry McGovern and Johnny Murphy played Vladimir and Estragon, whereas Lucky and Pozzo were performed by Alan Standford and Stephan Brennan, respectively.This blog studies some of the interesting discussions from Bucket’s  play “Waiting for Godot”.

Existentialism is a philosophical movement which embraces life with its full meaninglessness and absurdities. Above statement by Soren Kierkegaard who is considered as the first Existentialist prompts the same idea that Life is not a problem, but the problem is in our thinking that we see life as a problem. Life is a journey which can be experienced by living and experiencing every phase of life with full enthusiasm.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.   (Soren Kierkegaard)

After the dreadful realities of the Second World War people started seeing life which is full of emptiness, where nothing to do, nothing to embrace, nothing to live and nothing to experience. As a response to that there is a rise of Existentialism which emphasizes more on Individual Freedom and Choice. It urges human beings to pursue their own choice and create one's individual, unique world in this irrational universe.

Nothing happens, Nobody comes, Nobody goes, it's awful!"

The play can be read through various perspectives ranging from Theological point of view to Political Reading, Existential angst to Divine Perspective, similarities with Hindu philosophy to criticism on Christianity.

1) What connection do you see in the setting (A country road, A tree, Evening) of the play and these paintings?

The setting of the play is inspired by two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. The title of this painting is 'longing', here longing means deep desire for something. Waiting is connected with longing. In the painting two person see towards sunrise and sunset, it stand for bright hope and despair and in the play we find similar things.

One of the major difference between these two scenes is about the intention of the author. David Casper is fascinated towards Romanticism that's why his imagination ends in this painting by romanticizing nature with its sensitivity. While Beckett's purpose is totally contradictory. Who wants to show the meaninglessness of life through this barren tree.

2) The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of trees in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves - ?

ESTRAGON: What is it? 

VLADIMIR: I don't know. A willow. 

ESTRAGON: Where are the leaves? 

VLADIMIR: It must be dead. 

ESTRAGON: No more weeping. 

VLADIMIR: Or perhaps it's not the season. 

ESTRAGON: Looks to me more like a bush. 

VLADIMIR: A shrub. 

ESTRAGON: A bush.

If we see the Theological reference of the Tree then it can be said that it is a burning bush where our two major characters are waiting for God to come and give them salvation. Every day they wait for a character named Godot, but he never comes till the moon rises and only his message comes that he surely came tomorrow. So, Flourishment of leaves on the tree on the second day show a kind of hope that today he might come.

3) 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?

 Both the act we find that when night comes its reflection of there life how are absurd  they are waiting for something is not come so finally the night is reflection of there lost or something that they want to achieve but then not achieve or then not get success, And when the moon rises it reflects that there is one hope that The Dark night will be end with this beautiful moon and there life darkness is also and just like night will end and morning comes so the moon is reflection of hope in Dark night.

4) The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?

The director used debris in the setting. So, it can be the influence of the World war-2 in the material world. Therefore, we can say that the meaninglessness of material world that keep on destroying, nothing is permanent in the life.These settings  designed to detect image quality problems that may be caused by dirt, dust, or debris on the scanner read head.

5) The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?

"Waiting for Godot' does not tell a story; it explores a static situation. "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful." On a country road by a tree two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon are waiting." (Esslin)

"Nothing to be done" reflects the Existentialism. This theory shows that the life is meaningless, whatever you do it has no ultimate meaning. 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 he? unclear theme shows the nothingness of the play.Vladimir and Estragon both are doing nothing as such which is significant in life.  And Nothingness becomes the theme of the play. ' Nothingness'  is the central idea of the play.

6) Do you agree: “The play (Waiting for Godot), we agreed, was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. As I saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes, the philosophy is: 'No matter what— atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can't kill life." (E.G. Marshall who played Vladimir in the original Broadway production 1950s)?

Yes just because its representation of absurdity and philosophy an existentialism, that's why display is not negative or Pessimistic just because it's a reflection of hope that at the end of the life there is good thing happened up till and of the last breath we have to wait for something which give us success peace honour or some kind of social important anything which we are waiting for. play waiting for Godot is positive play in the sense of life is goes on we can not stop or kill the time. If we commit suicide or stop our breath it doesn't matter for life. We kill ourselves not the life, it must go on. So, we can say that life is meaningless though we have to live life, this lesson make us positive.

7) How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolic significance of these props?

Samuel Beckett used many symbols in this play in which Hat and Boot are interesting symbols. We can say that hat represented the intellectual, mental ability and thinking and boot represent lower and physical appearance.Hat represent the intellectuality , when boot represent the some physical or outside world Dzire, when Hat represent mentally or thinking philosophical touch that person who remember history and then facing so much problem just because he know the things which happened or what next come that's why so in that way we can interpret at that hat represent intellectuality and boots represent outside world Desire.

8) 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 for slavishness is unbelievable?

Lucky is more knowledgeable and intelligent than his master. He is also seen as a spiritual side of life. But still he didn't even make a single step to set him free, which sometimes became irritating. So, Mentally Lucky is totally blind towards his master. He can be seen as like blind follower of his master without any rational thinking that what damage his master is doing in his independent life. 

Even in Act 2 his Master became blind, but still he is fully obedient and honest with his master. This can be analyzed more appropriately if we see psychologically. Lucky's mind is trained in such a way that now he can't even think against his master. So, Rope became a very interesting symbol around which he is tied by his Master which didn't allow him to pursue his freedom.

9) Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or  . . .

Godot is an object of desire. Desire is an endless vicious chain that ultimately leads us nowhere. If we observe a toddler playing with toys, we come to know that as soon as it looks at the better toy than it carries, it will leave that toy and will crave, run and cry for the better toy. This desire perhaps comes from the binary comparison that is hardwired in our mind. For grown ups, this desire is perhaps money, material wealth, luxuries, physical fulfilment, emotional acceptance, public recognition and fame, and what not. . . Goals and success are also sprouted from desire. Passion is also nothing but desire. Desire can be compared as fire also, which never gets extinguished.

10) “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?

Yes I think the play like this can be better understandable if it wil be read first than viewed. Reading of the play helps to understand the things in the better way. The play has small dialogue but each and every word has its own importance. In movie you can't find time to think deeply upon it. So reading will be better before viewing the play.

11) 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?

According to me the reading and viewing both can be beneficial and required of the play. Because if you only watch the movie then it can be bore. Because it has the continous dialogues and less action. For the understanding of the deeper philosophy one has to read the play. Only reading also makes you boring because you will not be able to imagine Vladimir and Estragon and their useless action. We have to done both the things in the class which enriched our understanding of the play.For many, reading a play is more preferable than to watch it. But, plays are actually performed in the mind of the playwright. Then it gets penned on the paper. So basically its a matter of performance. Theatrical performance makes the written play more lively and meaningful. So far as Waiting for Godot is concerned.

12) Which of the following sequence you liked the most:

Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting

Vladimir and Estragon: The Hat and the Boot

Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts

Conversion of Vladimir with the boy

The part which I like the most in the movie is the conversation between Vladimir and the boy at the end of both acts. Because it gives a complete exposure to the character of Vladimir who asked a number of questions to the boy regarding Godot and how Godot treats him and he also tries to know the behavioral and humanistic patterns of Invisible Godot. Which shows Vladimir's quest to search about Godot.

13) 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?

yes, we feel the effect of Existetial crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe when Vladimir asked to the boy about Godot and he asked that Godot will come today or not? That time boy replied that Godot will come tomorrow but Godot never come throughout the play so we can find the meaningless waiting for Godot. And other meaninglessness we find in the character of Lucky that when his master go blind though he doing slavery like sheeple. Hemce, we can say that life is meaningless for Lucky because they even don't think about freedom.

14) 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?

We can find the suicide is an art in existentialism. We watched one of the video it talks about the philosophical suicide but in the play Vladimir is a strong believer of Christianity and suicide is the sin in Christianity and we also can say that Estragon and Vladimir avoid suicide because they have hope for Godot.In existentialism suicide is best art ever done. After happens everything, there is a need of national thinking, that is suicide. It is a favourite solution when feeling of absurdity came in life. Vladimir and Estragon ' s Waiting is significant of their steadfast hope and faith. They thought about suicide but not commit , because of hope of salvation that Godot will come.

15) Can we do any political reading of the play if we see European nations represented by the 'names' of the characters (Vladimir - Russia; Estragon - France; Pozzo - Italy and Lucky - England)? What interpretation can be inferred from the play written just after World War II? Which country stands for 'Godot'?

Waiting for Godot is written after the second world war. So, War effects can be clearly noticed here. Some characters also represent some countries on the basis that we can do Political reading of play.

16) 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 a Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?

The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have been 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?

17) 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:

The play followed the notion that the  more the things change, the more it remains similar. Both acts are almost similar in their waiting, settings, in their conversation and in the thematic concern.

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