We’re waiting for Godot.
And the sentence is repeated in the course of the play like
a refrain. It is not clear in the play who or what Godot is. The tramps
themselves have only a vague idea of who Godot is. They wait for him in a state
of ignorance or helplessness. The play thus depicts waiting, ignorance and
boredom and all these things are directly experienced by us in life, wait is
essential – the offer of a job, the possibility of promotion, the return of a
long-lost friend, a love letter etc. Thus we discover a common ground between
ourselves and the two tramps who are waiting for Godot.
The play highlights the theme of habit, boredom and “the
suffering of being”. The play is a fable about a kind of life that has no
longer any point. Godot may stand for God. Or for a mythical human being or for
a meaning of life or for death but the play is a representation of stagnant
life. The heroes or anti-heroes are merely alive but a life without action and
purpose. In our world millions of people do not act but are acted. The tramps,
in spite of their inaction and pointlessness of their existence, still want to
go on. The million of people today do not give up living when their life
becomes pointless. Thus the plight of two tramps is no different than that of
an average man and that’s why people are able to respond to the play. It is not
without reason that Estragon suggests hanging as a remedy. Under the condition
in which we live, most of us have subconsciously thought of hanging ourselves.
The mood of despair is not limited but has become a general attitude of the
people.
Lucky and Pozzo represent master slave relationship through
centuries. The pathetic and miserable condition of Lucky represents the
exploited class of all ages and Pozzo the exploiter. Pozzo is a capitalist of
our times who suck the blood of the poor and then throw them away like the peel
of banana. But even then both the classes are interdependent upon each other.
The play is valid for all those who can assimilate the
general anguish into their particular experience and thus translate it into
their own terms. “Nothing to be done” is the main dilemma of our life. In spite
of having got marvelous progress in all fields of life, man is still in confusion
and perplexity of mind. His moral scruples prevent him doing something wrong
but at the same time his worldly lust incites him to do the same wrong. Beckett
makes us realize that man is the main cause of the sufferings of man. The
contrast between the relationships of the two pairs of characters becomes an
important clue for the understanding of the play and produces certain echoes in
us.
In nutshell we may say “Waiting for Godot” is a mirror in
which everyone can see his own face because Vladimir and Estragon’s problems of
everyman. We are all waiting for the reality of our existence. Everyday we turn
the page of our life with this hope that perhaps today the reality will out but
in the end we still remain unknown. That’s why the play touches the apex of
appreciation by an audience of prisoners at San Quentin in the USA because they
were confronted with their own experience of time, waiting, hope and despair.
Thus the play is a mirror of our times and there is enough in the play, which
can be called the echo of our own mind and heart.
Post a Comment
Amazingg :)
Precise and well described in simple words,heart touching 💓