Examples Of Existentialism In Waiting For Godot

2060 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: EXISTENTIALISM essay

The world of Existentialism is a result of the destruction of individualism and the deterioration of the human condition. As the characters display helplessness and a lack of identity, they are exposed to a universe that is far beyond their capabilities and understanding. Through their meaningless action, they go about their lives with no purpose. Although Waiting for Godot is not an existential piece because Samuel Beckett himself did not identify as an existentialist, the play contains traits of existentialism in the characters themselves, the reoccurring theme of waiting over time, and the overall hidden meaning and message behind the play. In this play, Samuel Beckett introduces two flat characters that do nothing more than exist in the …show more content…

The lack of individuality that both Vladimir and Estragon possess can also be related to their lack of memory. Vladimir has a stronger memory than Estragon and helps him by remembering for him, therefore helping establish his identity (“Analysis”). By remembering for Estragon, Vladimir also helps remind Estragon of his existence. Estragon cannot even remember a kick from Lucky the day before, therefore proving that he does not have a distinct past. (Valentine). Without a strong meaning or a purpose, Vladimir and Estragon go on to live a pointless existence in which their lives are full of despair and suffering. In their world full of repetition and suffering, it is necessary that they remember each other because no one else in the play remembers them. Pozzo proves that he does not remember who Vladimir and Estragon are in the line, “I don’t remember having met someone yesterday” (Valentine). This line also provides existentialist ideas such as a lack of individuality and a sense of helplessness by being subject to memory loss. It also shows that the existential trait of helplessness is found in all of the characters in the play. Perhaps Samuel Beckett included this message to show the readers how important it is for one to find purpose in his or her own

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Absurd Theatre

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    The plots were different. The dramatists believed that the human existence is absurd and they used comedy in their plays such as ,Beckett's Waiting for Godot,(1953) (Drabble3). Beckett has tackled political themes in his plays such as, Catastrophe (1982), and What Where (1983) which deals with torture and totalitarian. Beckett's plays are not intellectually understood. Besides, irony was used in his works and his plays are closed compositions. The characters from the beginning until the end remain the same without development. In the Absurd Theatre the writers selected strange names for their works in order to reflect their rejection of the norms and the conventional values (Innes428-31). As for the Naturalistic Theatre, it rejects the natural laws. The naturalists and the realists share the same idea that the issues of the middle and lower classes should be tackled in the literary works. The writers at that time focused on the influence of the economic and material environment (drabble

    Read More

  • Hopelessness in Albert Camus' The Plague and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Does Existentialism deny the existence of God? Can God possibly exist in a world full of madness and injustice? Albert Camus and Samuel Beckett address these questions in The Plague and Waiting for Godot. Though their thinking follows the ideals of existentialism, their conclusions are different.

    Read More

  • The Existential Hero: Hamlet

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    To be without value or meaning permits the violation of norm behavioral standards. Existentialism is championed in the responsibility and free will of man. The world is utterly “worthless, meaningless, empty, and hopeless, … to use a favorite Existentialism, absurd”(Ross 1). A man must become unconventional by supplying an authentic meaning to life. Shakespeare’s character Hamlet in the play Hamlet, explores these existential principles as he seeks truth and understanding after his father’s murder. He attempts to establish order in a chaotic world full of betrayal, spying, and death. This leads to Hamlet’s inevitable downfall and the death of those close to him. Hamlet rises as the existential hero in Shakespeare’s Hamlet through his confrontation with moral responsibilities and the purpose of life. The existential ideal gives structure and meaning to the action of Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Distortion in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Distortion presents exaggerated and absurd portraits of the human condition.  Distortion also equips an author with a plane of existence that provides an avenue for posing questions concerning the nature of thought, behavior, and existence.  Samuel Beckett distorts reality in his play Waiting For Godot; this literary effect enables him to question human life and a possible afterlife.

    Read More

  • Beckett's Endgame

    2799 Words  | 6 Pages

    While Beckett’s works are often defined by their existentialist themes, Endgame seems to offer no solution to the despair and melancholia of Hamm, Clov, Nagg, and Nell. The work is replete with overdetermination that confounds the efforts of critics and philosophers to construct a single, unified theme for the play. Beckett resisted any effort to reconcile the problems of his world, offer solutions, or quench any fears overtly. However, this surface level of understanding that aligns Beckett with the pessimism of the Modernist movement is ironically different from the symbolic understanding that Beckett promotes through his characters and the scene. Beckett’s work does not suggest total hopelessness, but rather that the fears of change, self-centeredness, and despair of Hamm and Clov contribute to their miserable existence. He opposes the Modernist attitude of focus on the subjective, internal state, and reveals the soul of the Modernist to be shallow and starving.

    Read More

  • Freedom to Choose in Waiting for Godot, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Iraq

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    abandoned the conventions of the classical play to concentrate on his important message to humanity. Using his pathetic characters, Estragon and Vladimir, Beckett illustrates the importance of human free will in a land ruled by science and technology. He understood the terrors of progress as he witnessed first hand the destruction caused by technologically-improved weapons working as a spy during WWII. In his tragicomedy, Estragon and Vladimir spend the entire time futilely waiting for Godot to arrive. They believe that this mysterious Godot will help them solve their problems and merely sit and wait for their solution to arrive. Beckett utilizes these characters to warn the reader of the dangers of depending on fate and others to improve one's existence. He supports this idea when Estragon blames his boots and not himself for the pain in his feet, and Vladimir responds, "There'...

    Read More

  • Importance Of Symbolism In Waiting For Godot

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Humans spend their lives searching and creating meaning to their lives, Beckett, however, takes a stand against this way of living in his novel ‘Waiting for Godot’. He questions this ideal of wasting our lives by searching for a reason for our existence when there is no one to find. In his play, he showcases this ideology through a simplistic and absence of setting and repetitive dialogue. Beckett’s ability to use these key features is imperative to his ability to convey his message of human entrapment and existence. The play opens with very general stage directions “a country road, a tree, evening”.

    Read More

  • Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the moment that the curtain rises, Waiting for Godot assumes an unmistakably absurdist identity. On the surface, little about the plot of the play seems to suggest that the actions seen on stage could or would ever happen. At the very least, the process of waiting hardly seems like an ideal focus of an engaging and entertaining production. Yet it is precisely for this reason that Beckett’s tale of two men, whose only discernable goal in life is to wait for a man known simply as Godot, is able to connect with the audience’s emotions so effectivel...

    Read More

  • The Frontier of Existence in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Ionesco’s Rhinoceros

    2044 Words  | 5 Pages

    This essay will explore the frontier of existence in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Ionesco’s Rhinoceros

    Read More

  • Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot: A Critical Allegory of Religious Faith

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vladimir and Estragon live their lives around the anticipation they feel for Godot's arrival. Their strong eagerness to meet Godot creates the basis of their decision-making in life. Vladimir and Estragon are determined to meet Godot. They will not leave even when they become anxious to do something else. Godot gives them purpose. Without their belief in Godot, their every day actions would have no meaning because they would lead to nothing. Because they are waiting for Godot, they have motivation behind each thing they do. Vladimir and Estragon are united by their belief in Godot, thus they stay together to wait for him.

    Read More

  • Christianity in Waiting for Godot

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Irish-born French author Samuel Beckett was well known for his use of literary devices such as black comedy in his various literary works. Written during late 1948 and early 1949 and premiered as a play in 1953 as En attendant Godot, Beckett coupled these devices with minimalism and absurdity in order to create the tragicomedy known to English speakers as Waiting for Godot. True to its title, Waiting for Godot is the tale of a pair of best friends known as Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo) who are waiting for the character the audience comes to know as Godot to appear. Throughout Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett alludes to the monotheistic religion of Christianity through symbols, dialogue, and characters to reveal the heavy invisible influence of God in the daily life of man.

    Read More

  • Summary of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setting is the next day at the same time. Estragon's boots and Lucky's hat are still on the stage. Vladimir enters and starts to sing until Estragon shows up barefoot. Estragon is upset that Vladimir was singing and happy even though he was not there. Both admit that they feel better when alone but convince themselves they are happy when together. They are still waiting for Godot.

    Read More

  • Existentialism In Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Existentialism states that man is meaningless and that the world around him is has no meaning. This is the primary issue that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern constantly encounter throughout the entire story. The play starts with an existentialist idea when Guildenstern and Rosencrantz encounter the Tragedians.

    Read More

  • Sartre’s Existentialism in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...on. Vol. 34. Georgia State University, 2001. 39-53. H. W. Wilson Web. 22 Mar. 2004.

    Read More

  • Waiting For Godot Analysis

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, has no definite meaning or interpretation, the play acts as a statement of hopelessness regarding human existence. Debate surrounds the play because, due to its simplicity, almost any interpretation is valid. The main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are aging men who must wait for a person, being, or object named Godot, but this entity never appears to grace the men with this presence. Both characters essentially demonstrate how one must go through life when hope is nonexistent as they pointlessly attempt to entertain themselves with glum conversation in front of a solitary tree. The Theater of the Absurd, a prevalent movement associated with Waiting for Godot, serves as the basis for the message of hopelessness in his main characters. Samuel Beckett's iconic Waiting for Godot and his perception of the characteristics and influence of the Theater of the Absurd illustrate the pointlessness and hopelessness regarding existence. In the play, boredom is mistaken for hopelessness because the men have nothing to do, as they attempt to occupy themselves as, for some reason, they need to wait for Godot. No hope is present throughout the two-act play with little for Estragon and Vladimir to occupy their time while they, as the title indicates, wait for Godot.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Existentialism In Waiting For Godot

Open Document