Waiting for Godot by Samuel Backett

WAITING FOR GODOT

-         Samuel Backett

                             The play is set in a strange, unspecified time, and does not take place in the context of any historical events, but many have seen the widespread suffering and disillusionment caused by World War II in the background of the play's pessimistic, nihilistic conception of the world.

                             Waiting for Godot is a play in two acts. Act I begins on a country road by a tree. It is evening. Estragon, an old man, is sitting on a low mound trying to remove his boot. Vladimir, another old man, joins him. They begin to chat. They have apparently known each other for years. Once perhaps respectable, they are now homeless, debilitated, and often suicidal. They wonder out loud why they did not kill themselves years ago; they consider the possibility of doing it today. They are waiting for someone they call “Godot”. While they wait, they share conversation, food, and memories.

                   Two other elderly men, Pozzo and Lucky, arrive on the scene. It is clear that Pozzo is the master, and Lucky is the slave. Upon command, the slave dances and thinks out loud for the entertainment of the others, until he is forcibly silenced. After Lucky and Pozzo depart, a boy arrives. He tells Estragon and Vladimir that Godot will not be there today, but will be there tomorrow. He leaves, and they continue to wait.

                   The second act is almost the same as the first. The tree has sprouted leaves, Estragon and Vladimir chat while they wait for Godot, and Pozzo and Lucky arrive again. This time, Pozzo is blind and helpless, and Lucky is mute.

                   After some interaction, Pozzo and Lucky leave, and the boy arrive. He has the same message as before. Godot will be there tomorrow. Estragon and Vladimir are left to wait as before. Vladimir and Estragon contemplate suicide, but have no rope (they think to hang themselves from the barren tree, since it’s the only prop around that could lend itself to such an endeavor). The men resolve to leave, since its nightfall and they no longer have to wait for Godot, but neither man moves and the curtain falls.
                   The play ends, but we think everyone knows what happens next. And after that. And after that.

                   Waiting for Godot is part of the Theater of the Absurd. This implies that it is meant to be irrational. Absurd theater does away with the concepts of drama, chronological plot, logical language, themes, and recognizable settings. There is also a split between the intellect and the body within the work. Thus Vladimir represents the intellect and Estragon the body, both of whom cannot exist without the other.