Waiting for Godot

Hello, readers here my blog part of activity. This blog sumitted to Department of  English Maharaja KruashnKumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. 

Samuel Barclay Beckett:-

Samuel Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. A resident of Paris for most of his adult life, he wrote in both English and French. Beckett's work offers a bleak, tragicomic.

Waiting for Godot:-

Waiting for Godot is Samuel Beckett work . Waiting for Godot was a true innovation in drama and the Theatre of the Absurd's first theatrical success.

The play consists of conversation between Vladimir and Estragon , who are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but who never does.

Here some questions about thinking activity:-

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

The setting of the play " A country road,  A tree, Evening " and this painting both are the similar. In these both painting two persons are there.

But painting is imagination and country road in something real. This painting by Caspar David Friedrich and Beckett liked it, he found this painting in one art gallery. The title of this painting is "Longing" means wait. So this painting is important in play.

2. 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 2 on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves?

Tree is use of symbolically , Beckett use in Frist act tree in no leaves but second act tree in come leaves but frist act in some hope some happyness and second act in tragic act but tree in see leaves so Beckett seen in this play by use of tree Nature is opposite then human being.

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?

Evening falls into night and moon rises significance that the university is indifferent to us. Whatever happens in human life despair, anxiety, absurdity, nature's cycle goes on.

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 keep on destroying, nothing is permanent in the life.

5. The play begins with the dialogue " Nothing to be done" How does the theme of 'nothingness' recurs in the play?

The play begins with the dialogue " Nothing to be done" it is very retesting sentence if we apply it in our life then also it is right in our life goes on nothing on nothing to be done and yet we are living our life and nothingness is the main themes of the play so the Frist sentence we can understand.

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 bomb, 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)?


We can properly say that the play is negative , pessimistic or positive, but it has some remarkable points. It reflects the human desires that we constantly waiting for something who will save us, and free us from this cage of body. The play refers some biblical ideas and all the dialogues are deeply rooted from Bible.

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

The props like hat and boot are representing human's attraction towards mind or body. Hat symbolically represents the mind as Vladimir is with hat and he keep on thinking , same with luck, when he starts thinking then to stop him one has to remove his hat. While Estragon has hat but he didn't use it he is more concentrate on his boots which are not comforting to him.

In second act when he finds fit to him he is satisfy with it. It shows that how some people are constantly thinking and how some are constantly comforting their bodily needs. With this vast difference also both are at same place.

8. Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently handsthe whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?

Yes,as I saw the film I think the obedience of Luck is extremely irritating and nauseatic. When his master becomes blind he has the chance to run away but he didn't do that.

We also like Luck, we all have chance to free from slavery but we are acting like Lucky. It raises the question of existence. We are tied up with some kind of rope from which we don't want to free.

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

Not sure may be Godot is God or desire may be difference according to human beings may be Death, or Goal  and may be we are waiting objects all are Godot.

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 agree with the Esslin's point of view in 'A search for the self' that the subject and the main theme of the play is 'Waiting' not the Godot. We can see that in the play noting happen except the meaninglessness waiting. There is no one come and go, all the characters only waiting for someone but no one come.

11. Do you think 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 dialogue does not give ample time and space to 'think'? Or is it that the audio visuals help in better understanding of the play?

Reading and viewing both has its own way After viewing our ideas become clear but it also binds our imagination. While reading our imagination expanded, but some ideas left unclear in our mind.

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

Vladimir- Estragon killing time in questions and conversation whilewaiting
Vladimir and Estragon: The hat and the Boot. Pozzo - Lucky episode in both acts . Conversation of Vladimir with the boy .

I like a Vladimir - Estragon killing time in questions and conversation whilewaiting in both acts.

13. Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifferent Universe during screening of the Movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?

Yes , when Lucky and Pozzo enters it gives different effect of existence of Lucky. We can even tolerate the slavishness of Lucky. Pozzo treats Lucky as a slave, it raises the question on existential crises. How Lucky make himself slave for the piece of bones.

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?

In our innumerable list of desire, one is death also. Vladimir and Estragon also have that desire. We can say that they are fed up with waiting daily and trying to kill them selves, because it is not easy they don't do so. According to Existentialism suicide is not the solution. Existentialism says that even if there in no meaning in life but it doesn't mean that one should end their life. That is why Vladimir and Estragon thinks to do so but they don't.

15.  Or 16Can 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 2? Whichcountry stand for Godot? 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 Pizz to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland" ( Bert Lahrvwho played Estragon in Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?

Yes, we can interpret the political reading in which Vladimir stand for Russia, Pozzo stand for Italy, Lucky stand for England and Estragon stand for France. So we can connect this to the world war in which these all countries destroyed by Godot means Germany that is why Vladimir asked to the boy that is Godot breathing?

The boy replied yes. So we connect may be Godot with Germany means Hitler, Pozzo and Lucky master and slave in which we connect Pozzo with England and Lucky with Ireland.

17. The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have no change in Act 1 and Act 2 of the play. Even the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there is one major change. In Act 1 in reply to Boy's question Vladimir says:

"Boy: What am I to tell Me. 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 2 ? Is there any change in seeming similar situation and conversation? If so, what is it? What does in signify?


Yes, we can see the difference between first and second dialogue. In first act Vladimir use us( it means he thinking about both of them). While in second act Vladimir use me instead of us. So from those thing we analyses that when death will come we have to go alone.

Thank you for watching or reading...