Thinking Activity: Waiting For Godot

This Blog-post is a response of thinking Activity on Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, given by our Professor Dr.Dilip Barad Sir. To know more about this task, CLICK HERE.

About the Author: Samuel Beckett(1906-1989) was an Irish novelist,playwright, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His play 'En attendant Godot' originally written in French language translated by him self under the title,'Waiting for Godot' in english language and there is subtitle ' a tragicomedy in two play'  in English language only. To know more about Beckett,CLICK THIS IMAGE GIVEN BELLOW.   

Coming of night and moon:

Generally, the symbol of rising sun as for hope and falling night as something that near to end, This archetypes we can read in literature. But here, Beckett used night and coming of moon as hope.However, in this play the falling of night symbolized as the end of the day and hoping of tomorrow.Although, the subject of the play is waiting. Here Vladimir and Estragon both are waiting for Godot.Coming of night and moon is also considered as nothingness in both's life. Ultimately their deep desire that someone who will come and stay them with him, in resulting is not complete. For their's hope is at the end it will be nothing in their life.It symbolized for them as hope, but the hidden meaning is that we waiting for the next so and so thing and it will be complete our desire and hope, but we actually not doing anything in our life. Sometimes, nothingness is necessary to do. 

The Contours of debris in the setting of the play:

The setting of the play is on debris area. There is no change in the play about the place. Whole plot is centralized in debris area. In their lives they just waiting for someone or Godot. The wastage of things shows that their lives like waste. There is nothing to do or nothing to create something new in their lives with the waste. So, perhaps they waiting for Second coming, of Jesus Christ, or god's prophet who will come and save them from their wastage life.  

“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."  This statement was given by E.G.Marshall. who played as Vladimir in The John Golden Theatre. Yes, it is quite appropriate statement given by Marshall. Each dialogue has it deep meaning which present the absurd life. However, it seems like pessimistic at one sight because the absurdity and existentialism theories are presented in micro level but on the other side it is also present nothingness and meaninglessness in the life. Life is the same which we all have, the matter is that how we shaped our-self in the life. Tat's why may be Marshall said that we can not kill the life, we can kill our-self through philosophical suicide and physical suicide also which theory is given by Albert Camus. 

Lucky' Character:

Lucky is the slave of his master Pozzo. He blindly follow all instruction given by his master. Even if, he walked among his master in tilted position. On the first sight we have some sympathy for the poor Lucky but his slavishness is quite irritating while again and again he acts like too much. The question is that why he not speak against his master? Even his master was blind in he had the chance to escape from his slavishness and he would live free life with freedom, but he didn't escape.His Slave-Morality is very unbelievable.  

The play we saw in our class was released in 2001, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The play has quite micro meaning of existentialism, absurdity and deep philosophy of life with quite appropriate comic scenes like the was Vladimir and Estragon played with Hat and some funny dialogue also. But at certain time, viewers might be board from silent between characters, especially when Vladimir thinks or his Contemplates of certain things. They killing time by questioning and conversation.However, the film is adapted from original translated English text. But the flow of language and continuity of dialogues,repetition of same dialogues even the silence remain sometimes but not between the flow of dialogues. It remain little bit long time, and this visual effects has the language of understand the philosophy or certain things. Audio-Visual helps us to understand the work in short of time.While we not understand that why the repetition is necessary. I would like to thanking our professor Dr. Dilip Barad Sir who explain us certain thing in some important scene. 

Conversation of Vladimir with the Boy - the messenger of Mr. Godot:

I like the most about the sequence of the conversation of Vladimir with the Boy - the messenger of Mr. Godot. This sequence has certain questions like, Is this Boy is Illusion of Vladimir? As we can see about Vladimir that he can't sleep and thinks a lot and we didn't see it that Estragon see the boy. Only Vladimir can see the boy while on the particular time, Estragon was sleeping. The Boy mentioned about his brother and that he mind goats and his brother minds sheep.Which is connected with mythical reference of Gospel of Matthew is first chapter of New Statement. .Here Beckett described the neutrality.Second reading is about politics, right and left wings. Second question is that, Why the Boy not answered certain questions asked by Vladimir? Some questions asked by Vladimir, the boy not answered him, he remain silence and Vladimir again asked that did you hear me? is also significance that like he asked to the god that he hear me or not because it was quite long time they waiting for him.

 

VLADIMIR: You're not unhappy? (The Boy hesitates.) Do you hear me? 

BOY: Yes Sir. 

VLADIMIR: Well? 

BOY: I don't know, Sir. 

VLADIMIR: You don't know if you're unhappy or not? 

BOY: No Sir. 

The conversation is quite interesting know about Vladimir's character that he thinks very deep. We can also see that Vladimir has sharpness to ask the questions quickly. Another scenes also interesting to see like Pozzo and Lucky's acts, Vladimir and Estragon's conversation and questioning to killing time, the game of hat, moon rising scene, two leaf scene, Lucky's speech, Estragon's shoes and his loss of memories.