Waiting for Godot





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Respected Sir,
Here is my interpretation of the given task for waiting for Godot.

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

   1)     Samuel Beckett was inspired from the painting of Casper David Friedrich. The setting of the play is “A country road. A tree. Evening”. This setting is inspired from two paintings by Casper David Friedrich “Longing”.. In the play Waiting for Godot scene is a 'country road, a tree and evening'. It is symbolical one. In both “country side” symbolizes the “homelessness” and “sun” symbolizes the “hope”.

    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 - ? 



   2)   We can see tree in both the acts. In first act we can see that tree is all dead which is the symbol of “Nothingness” and loss of faith and hope, Vladimir and Estragon who were waiting for Godot, they lost their hope that he will come and meet them. But in second act we can see that there are some leafs on the tree which symbolizes some hope and “something” rather than nothingness. In second act we can say that still they both have some hope that one day Godot will come and meet them.

    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?


   3)   'Coming of night and moon rises'… here we can say that the night and moon is the symbol of the passing of time and hope for next day for them as they were waiting for Godot. Next morning and the sun gives them hope for Godot that he will come one day.

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

   4)   Dictionary meaning of Debris is “scattered pieces of rubbish or remains” Through the debris director wants to shows the fragmentations of life and nothingness of life. Here we can also say that through debris he wants to show the effect of World War 2.

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

   5)    The play starts with the dialogue “Nothing can be done” which shows the nothingness of the life and absurdity in life. If we will talk about play then the characters of the play Vladimir and Estragon they want to go back but they cannot because they both want to meet Godot. And in the end of the both of the acts they said “shall we go back?” this shows the absurdity of the life.

               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. Marshal who played Vladimir in original Broadway production 1950s)?

   6)   Yes, I agree with the positivity of the play because in this play we can see that Vladimir and Estragon who were waiting for Godot, they knew that he will not come and meet them. But still they are waiting for him. And the tree in the play also shows positivity that in first act we can see that the tree was all dead without leaf but in second act we can see that there are some leafs on the tree which shows some positivity.

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

7)    Hat and boots are the symbols which we can see in this play that hat represents carelessness of the person towards society and hat represents the responsibility and intellectual thinking of a person towards society.

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?


   8)   Yes, at first sight, it is seems that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. Writer ascribes the slavery of Lucky to his Master. Just see his entry in the play.  The treatments of Lucky directly connected to animal - Horse.   When Lucky enters into the play, it heard like Horse is coming.  How one can to be the slave of others? When Pozzo is blind, Lucky is not able to walk himself without command of his master. Though he has chance to run way from such slavery, he happily accept his slavery and totally dependent on his master.
    
     Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or  . . .

    9)   It is very difficult to say that there is no any particular meaning of ‘Godot’. Here in the play word ‘waiting’ it describes Hope and Desire. There is nothing remains in the life; everything may end on one day. The main theme of the play is “waiting”. Here we can say that “Godot” is God, Death and desire also because if we see with spiritual perspective then Godot is God because god will also not come and still people are waiting for him. If we see with the perspective of “Death” then we can say that death is the reality of the life which everyone has to face. If we see with the perspective of “Goal” then we can say that meeting Godot is the main goal of Vladimir and Estragon.

 “  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?

   10)                       Yes, I agree that the subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting because if Godot will come then what will happen? Both the character throughout the play waiting for something may be death, God, success but nobody comes their waiting represent the title of the play, so their waiting is endless. 

 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?

   11)  Reading of the play is more perfect than the viewing because the dialogues are goes on telling one by one that’s why we don’t have enough time to think so. Even the dialogue of Vladimir represents the deep philosophical than the dialogue of Estrogen. 

   Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
o   Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting 
  Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
o   Converstion of Vladimir with the boy


   12)                       The sequence I like most Pozzo lucky episode in both the acts because of slave master relationship between them and lucky follows Pozzo like sheepel kind of mentality to follow everything.

           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?

   13)                       This play shows the absurdity of life and meaninglessness of life. Everybody have anything in their life for what they are waiting for but didn’t get that thing. Existentialism is also talk about suicide and the idea of suicide comes from the absurdity and meaninglessness of life, but they didn’t do that because on one or the other hand they have accepted their absurdity of life.
          
    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?

   14)                       In this ides that they hanging themselves and commit suicide, but they could not because fear of god in doing this they might commit sin it is their belief so again this thing and idea of suicide dealing with existentialism.

  • 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?

   15)                        Waiting for Godot was written after World War II and this play represents the master slave relationship between Pozzo and Lucky and also represents the situation of England after World War II.
.

  • 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?


       16)                       Act- 1
    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?
    Act – 2
    BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
    VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw me and that. . (He hesitates) . . . that you saw me. (Pause. Vladimir advances, the Boy recoils. Vladimir halts, the Boy halts. With sudden violence.) You're sure you saw me; you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me!

    Here with this statement we can say that in act 1 Vladimir tells boy that “you are sure that you saw us” but in act 2 he tells boy that “you are sure that you saw me”. This represents that how they were together in act but in act 2 Vladimir was individual. And in act 1 Vladimir talked nicely and politely  with boy but in act 2 we can see that how he was behaving rudely with that boy and talked with him in very harsh voice.



    Thank You.

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