Importance Of Symbolism In Waiting For Godot

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 not one to find. In his play, he showcases this ideology through a simplistic and absence of setting and repetitious dialogue. Beckett’s ability to use these key features are imperative to his ability of conveying his message of human entrapment and existence. The play opens up with very general stage directions “a country road, A tree, evening”. Beckett purposefully establishes an ambiguous setting. He does not provide any indication of the point in time of the play and all the

This creates uncertainty for the audience and mirrors the uncertainty that Estragon and Vladimir will face while they wait for Godot. Even with this simplistic setting, he adds depth to the setting through the willow tree. The willow tree is one of the only parts of the play that changes from act 1 to act 2. In act 1 the willow tree is barren and without leaves, but in act 2 the tree is flourishing with leaves. This shows how the willow tree is meant to symbolize rebirth and renewal. For instance, throughout the play, Estragon and Vladimir talk about how they should hang themselves from the willow tree. They usually talk about this right at the end of the day, but they are never able to go through the suicide. This shows Beckett’s belief on our entrapment in our cycle of life. He uses the willow tree to symbolize how even though Estragon and Vladimir’s struggle seems endless that there is a way for them to escape from this terribly monotonous cycle of life. The tree changes from day to day, but Estragon and Vladimir stay the same. The tree is this renewal of life at the start of every day, but Estragon and Vladimir fail to capture this and fall into the