Thinking activity :- Waiting for Godot

Abstract:-

Waiting for Godot (1952) is a conventional and remarkable play that is written by Irish author Samuel Beckett. The play Waiting for Godot is part of theater of absurd and it is written during modernism. This research is divided into three different sections and conclusion. Firstly the introduction for this research is given and the twentieth century drama, theater of the absurd, and the summary of the play. Also in an independent section we show other people’s work on the play Waiting for Godot. Later on we clarified the Biblical and Quranic symbols in Waiting for Godot and shows the comparison of the symbols in the holy books Quran and Bible in Waiting for Godot. Eventually, conclusion will be drawn as the final outcome of the study.

Waiting' is too much  irritating for anybody. We  all are waiting for our ultimate truth and that  is the Death only. We all are doing something so that we  can pass the time and reach our final destination which is already decided. But we can't accept it easily.

'Waiting For Godot' is a poignant play about a ceaseless waiting, about repetition, the meaninglessness , the absurdity of waiting .  Samuel Beckett gives the philosophy of life using absurdity in this play. Ordinary reader can't understand the meaning , the real depth of this play only very few are able to understand what Beckett tries to say in this play.

 Writer Samuel Beckett inspired from the painting ‘Longing’ which is drawn by Casper David Friedrich. In this painting we find the setting ( A country road ,tree and Evening).This painting shows  longings of our life. As waiting remains through out the play. Both are endless . A country road describes that Show must go on. Tree is the symbol of hope .And only this waiting and longing is support our life.

Writer Samuel Beckett uses  "Tree" in setting of the play and also as the symbol. In first Tree is a barren tree .  And in second play tree is grown up with four or five leaves. The barren tree shows the 'Hopelessness' of Valdimir and Estragon.  In Act-1 nothing happens and the same things are repeated in Act-2. But the minor change is that now Tree has four or five leaves on it  which suggest the 'Hope of Tomorrow'. Valdimir looks at the tree and notice that and says that...."Yesterday evening all bare and black . Now it has leaves on it."  Symbols represents that the things are constantly changed in life also. All things are going to change through time and all days are not same .It constantly changed into gloomy or happiness . So, Tree represents both  the sides of life - and have hope for tomorrow. Hope is endless and hope is the only thing through which human being is alive today. Hope never going to die. Hope supports us to avoid the meaninglessness of life .

  In the both Acts Evening turns into Night and during this time ' Nothing to be done.' This expression is the central idea of the play.  Both Valdimir and Estragon are waiting throughout the time but ...

           

                         " Nothing happens , nobody comes , nobody goes, it's awful."

Uncertainty of the lives are somehow afraid of us and the same way both characters are  also suffering from it. Let's see some dialogues of the play which is important to explain the importance of moon light in t e play :

Estragon : Wait! I sometimes wonder if we wouldn't have been better off alone, each one for himself. We weren't made for the same road.

Valdimir : It's not certain.

Estragon : No, nothing is certain.

As we know that  the play has some effect of  Second World War and therefore somehow we see the insecurity of the life .sometimes it seems like that time is moving very slow and sometime it is very fast and the same way Day quickly turns into night. In the play Evening turns into night. Light always not gives the  positive attitude in life. Somehow night is connected to Death. And Valdimir said that ' Will Night never comes?' means they have questions that whether they get salvation or not from the life.

The director feels the setting with some debris with appropriateness.  Through the debris director wants to shows the fragmentations of life and nothingness of life. Final truth is the death only. All things are broken down . Nothing sustain  for on the earth. One has to die , things has to break down . Through the debris Director shows that it is futile attempt to last forever or being immortal.

  Essence  never changes and in the play also the essence of nothingness not changes throughout the whole play. It remains in each actions.  " Nothing to be done " is the expression of the play reveals the absurdity of the life. Vladimir and Estragon both are doing nothing as such which is significant in life.  And Nothingness becomes the theme of the play. ' Nothingness' is the central idea of the play.

With the help of historical background, we can read this play with colonial and post colonial aspect. As we know that Irish  people are suffering from slavery of English. Lucky himself can't free from this idea. Master - Slave relationship fully described here. After the blindness of his master ( Pozzo) Lucky can't be free because he doesn't want. So, Ireland always be slave of England and we read this with colonial perspective.  Master - Pozzo don't like to give the answers to others. With Furiousness Pozzo says that...." Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It's abominable! When! Whhen! One day , is that not enough for you , one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day , the same second , is that not enough for you? " None of My Business" . Thus , we read  also the 'White Man's Burden' in this play.