“Waiting for Godot”
Many people could say that the Tragicomedy “Waiting for Godot” written by Samuel Beckett, doesn’t have any purpose or even its dialogues don’t have any sense. But actually the play has a sense and a purpose that maybe is not implicit and as readers is difficult to discover at once. The play carries out with its intention because it calls our attention since its dialogues and its characters. Also as we know, readers are used to read texts that follow a structure and a specific pattern so as to cause impact, the author wanted to write the play in a non sense way in order to create something particularly different.
As it was mentioned before in the introduction, “Waiting for Godot” is a tragicomedy play. If we analyze the word Tragicomedy, it refers to tragedy and comedy, so we can infer that the play is a mixture of both styles. The characters present so many problems in the story that as readers we can consider it as funny or as a joke. Maybe because readers can think that it is unbelievable that the characters have to confront so many problems in such a short time.
To have a better understand of the play we must identify some essential information that respects on its author and the historical approach in which the play is developed. First of all, we must say that Samuel Beckett was, “an Irish writer, dramatist and poet. Beckett's work offers a bleak outlook on human culture, and both formally and philosophically became increasingly minimalist. Beckett is considered as a modernist writer, for other as a postmodernists writer and also one of the key writers in what Martin Esslin called "Theatre of the Absurd".”[1] We can infer that it wasn’t only his play called “Waiting for Godot” his different way of writing. Beckett as an author impose another way of writing and making plays very different from what people were used to read and watch in a play. Also is very interesting to know that the “Waiting for Godot” was written after the Second World War II in which people were very sensible and affected because of all the implications that a war brings. So we can observe that the play has two possible purposes, one could it be that it tries to show us how people were affected after war, desolated and very sensible. Also we can think that the author want to make people have a good time by laughing at their own problems in order to alleviate and relieve.[2]
“Waiting for Godot” can have a lot of different interpretations depending in the reader. In view of my catholic raising, I focus my reading on what Catholics called the purgatory. This is a none well defined place where Catholics believe that after we die we go to this special place to relieve ourselves of small and simple sins in order to go to heaven. Maybe for some readers this vision could be absurd and ridiculous but for many Catholics, the play shows how we think the purgatory would be. The play presents the situation of two men that are looking for Godot, they are very frustrated and they do not understand what is really happening with them and their own performance in the play.
We can identify many elements in the story that can help me to support my thesis of the play. Firstly, the play narrates the situation of two men that are looking for someone called “Godot”. Firstly, I must say that while I was reading the play I related the name “Godot” with “God” mainly because of the word but after I finish reading the play I could identify that it perfectly fits with my interpretation of the play.
We can also identify that Vladimir and Estragon are looking for Godot in unknown road where they do not even know if they have been there. The road presents characteristics very similar to the ones that the purgatory is shown by Catholics. Mainly because it is unknown and nobody have too much information and an explanation for it. Also because it is a place where they can identify there own acts and their own errors but they do not understand much why they are doing although they know that they have a purpose, meeting Godot.
At the beginning of the play, Estragon has a big difficult to take out his boots. As readers we can interpret this element as a heavy load that he had in his life that he is trying to get rid of in this special place because they are a nuisance for his path. Through all the play we can observe that Estragon and Vladimir are desolated and with a particular feeling of not knowing anything and not remember anything. For me as a reader this loose of memory is understandable because they have to get rid of their past. In there path to heaven they forget about whom they were before in their past life, now they are new persons in a new life without sins and reaching what ever catholic wants to.
To conclude, we must say that “Waiting for Godot” is a very interesting play for everyone who wants some answers written in another vision very different from reality. My point of view in relation with the play could be very different from the ones that other can have depending in their believes or even seen from a different perception of life. It is very important to read this play being aware of the different elements that it presents in order to captivate the readers and make us think more about its real meaning and purpose. The play make us part of it because it tries to make us also feel a little bit desolated because sometime it is very confusing and it does not have one clear way to read it. As readers we must be open minded and try to figure out more than one vision of things in order to be more critical thinkers.
Sources
· http://www.uahdramaclass.blogspot.com/
· http://samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part1.html
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot
Many people could say that the Tragicomedy “Waiting for Godot” written by Samuel Beckett, doesn’t have any purpose or even its dialogues don’t have any sense. But actually the play has a sense and a purpose that maybe is not implicit and as readers is difficult to discover at once. The play carries out with its intention because it calls our attention since its dialogues and its characters. Also as we know, readers are used to read texts that follow a structure and a specific pattern so as to cause impact, the author wanted to write the play in a non sense way in order to create something particularly different.
As it was mentioned before in the introduction, “Waiting for Godot” is a tragicomedy play. If we analyze the word Tragicomedy, it refers to tragedy and comedy, so we can infer that the play is a mixture of both styles. The characters present so many problems in the story that as readers we can consider it as funny or as a joke. Maybe because readers can think that it is unbelievable that the characters have to confront so many problems in such a short time.
To have a better understand of the play we must identify some essential information that respects on its author and the historical approach in which the play is developed. First of all, we must say that Samuel Beckett was, “an Irish writer, dramatist and poet. Beckett's work offers a bleak outlook on human culture, and both formally and philosophically became increasingly minimalist. Beckett is considered as a modernist writer, for other as a postmodernists writer and also one of the key writers in what Martin Esslin called "Theatre of the Absurd".”[1] We can infer that it wasn’t only his play called “Waiting for Godot” his different way of writing. Beckett as an author impose another way of writing and making plays very different from what people were used to read and watch in a play. Also is very interesting to know that the “Waiting for Godot” was written after the Second World War II in which people were very sensible and affected because of all the implications that a war brings. So we can observe that the play has two possible purposes, one could it be that it tries to show us how people were affected after war, desolated and very sensible. Also we can think that the author want to make people have a good time by laughing at their own problems in order to alleviate and relieve.[2]
“Waiting for Godot” can have a lot of different interpretations depending in the reader. In view of my catholic raising, I focus my reading on what Catholics called the purgatory. This is a none well defined place where Catholics believe that after we die we go to this special place to relieve ourselves of small and simple sins in order to go to heaven. Maybe for some readers this vision could be absurd and ridiculous but for many Catholics, the play shows how we think the purgatory would be. The play presents the situation of two men that are looking for Godot, they are very frustrated and they do not understand what is really happening with them and their own performance in the play.
We can identify many elements in the story that can help me to support my thesis of the play. Firstly, the play narrates the situation of two men that are looking for someone called “Godot”. Firstly, I must say that while I was reading the play I related the name “Godot” with “God” mainly because of the word but after I finish reading the play I could identify that it perfectly fits with my interpretation of the play.
We can also identify that Vladimir and Estragon are looking for Godot in unknown road where they do not even know if they have been there. The road presents characteristics very similar to the ones that the purgatory is shown by Catholics. Mainly because it is unknown and nobody have too much information and an explanation for it. Also because it is a place where they can identify there own acts and their own errors but they do not understand much why they are doing although they know that they have a purpose, meeting Godot.
At the beginning of the play, Estragon has a big difficult to take out his boots. As readers we can interpret this element as a heavy load that he had in his life that he is trying to get rid of in this special place because they are a nuisance for his path. Through all the play we can observe that Estragon and Vladimir are desolated and with a particular feeling of not knowing anything and not remember anything. For me as a reader this loose of memory is understandable because they have to get rid of their past. In there path to heaven they forget about whom they were before in their past life, now they are new persons in a new life without sins and reaching what ever catholic wants to.
To conclude, we must say that “Waiting for Godot” is a very interesting play for everyone who wants some answers written in another vision very different from reality. My point of view in relation with the play could be very different from the ones that other can have depending in their believes or even seen from a different perception of life. It is very important to read this play being aware of the different elements that it presents in order to captivate the readers and make us think more about its real meaning and purpose. The play make us part of it because it tries to make us also feel a little bit desolated because sometime it is very confusing and it does not have one clear way to read it. As readers we must be open minded and try to figure out more than one vision of things in order to be more critical thinkers.
Sources
· http://www.uahdramaclass.blogspot.com/
· http://samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part1.html
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot
