Waiting for Godot
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What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and paintings?
· 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 II on the barren tree -The tree has four or five leaves - ?
· 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?
· 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 play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?
· 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 bombs, 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)?
· How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?
· Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?
· Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or . . .
· “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?
· Do you think that 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 dialogues does not give ample time and space to ‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the play?
· Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
o Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting
o Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
o Converstion of Vladimir with the boy
· Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?
· 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?
Can 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 II?
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 Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?
Respected Sir,
here is my interpretations...
• Yes, Beckett, very intentionally, uses the painting as play’s setting. In the play there is ‘waiting’ for someone, for night. They are very much connected. The feelings and the attitude, he wants to show is seen in the painting and he carried it to his play’s setting.
• Tree has very symbolic meanings. One interpretation suggests that, it is symbol of cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. And further we can interpret that; they are waiting at the place where Christ was crucified for his second coming. Even in the play, Vladimir repeatedly says about myths of two thieves, it means he has hope for being saved.
• In another act, Beckett grows leaves. Perhaps it is symbol of life and hope. Another day, they come with hope that, today Mr. Godot will arrive. Other interpretation is they want to die at previous night but leaves indicate life. They should live, and hope for Mr. Godot. But the modern symbols may differ from this. It seems that there is no connection between nature and humans. (opposite to romantic poems.)
• They are waiting for Godot, but when boy comes and says that, Mr. Godot will not come today but tomorrow, now they don’t have to wait for him( at day). Many times in the play, Vladimir refers that, they have to wait for Mr. Godot, otherwise they will be punished, and if they wait, they will be saved. So, for them, waiting is compulsory, they can’t move. So, they are waiting for ending of a day. Raising moon means their ending of waiting and they can do as they want. (Even they can kill their selves!!)
• ‘Nothing to be done’ is recurrently shown in the play. Two characters don’t do anything, even their waiting is meaningless. Godot doesn’t come and they don’t move. Only passing time which is meaningless.
• Yes, it’s very true. Though the theme is nothingness but still it shows many things. Vladimir presents many philosophic, spiritual ideas and in his mind there is constant struggle about many ideas. So, the play has many things not only theme of “Nothingness”.
• I agree with E.G. Marshal, the play is not pessimistic. It is very hopeful and characters don’t die means they cannot escape from habit of living though they have no reason or aim to live.
• We can interpret hat as constructed mentality, Lucky needs hat to think. Our thoughts are not free from these constructed ideas. Changing Hat means changing ideas and thinking from others mentality. Perhaps Boot which hurts and not appropriate means we accept the ideas which feat well to us. Estragon cannot think high like Vladimir means these ideas are not feat him.
• Lucky’s behaviour is very irritating, and he is like an animal who doesn’t think.
• It can be interpreted many ways. Perhaps Godot means God. (Though the writer denies, because as he is atheist, it shows his internal, unconscious struggle about God and ideas about it.), other interpretation, as per my understanding, is Godot means searching or waiting for aim or reason to live because at the night when they are informed that Godot will not come, they tried to kill themselves. It may be finding meaning in this meaningless world and actions.
• When we are watching the play we have no time to think about individual dialogue which words have. But the performance can show which dialogues are much important with its tone, feeling, intention and acting. Even after finishing the play, it makes us thinking for long time.
• Vladimir –Estragon’s dialogues.
• I don’t still believe in this existentialism as they believes that everything, every action is meaningless. Because if everyone started believing like that, then it becomes ‘Waste land’ and world cannot moves. Then what about human existence??
• But in the play, I feel effect of these ideas in act two when Pozzo is going and he talks with Vladimir –last few dialogues of pozzo’s exit. And last scene when two characters stand meaninglessly because nothing they did throughout the day only thinking, at last standing emotionlessly, directionless…
• Because of their habit of living, they don’t die. And their all the meaningless activity, irrational waiting and thinking lead them to the idea of suicide.
• The political interpretation needs much knowledge of context, particular time and place, history and writer’s perspective, biographical study. Which I have not, so I cannot interpret it appropriately.
Thank You...
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