Pozzo and Lucky: Progression of Time

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Recommended: An Analysis of Samuel Beckett's

In the play Waiting for Godot written and translated by Samuel Beckett, readers follow along as characters, Didi, and Gogo, are seen waiting for someone by the name Godot, in which they never show, and time is very rarely mentioned in the play, besides thru very few encounters with Pozzo, and Lucky, and the mention of night and day. As the play progresses Didi and Gogo start to lose faith in what they're waiting for, and as Pozzo and Lucky grow old, they achieve less, and become more useless. Therefore in the play, Beckett uses the progression and development of Pozzo and lucky’s relationship as well as themselves in order to portray the lack of faith in humanity, and the lack of purpose for life.

Shortly after the beginning of Act 1, Didi and Gogo encounter Pozzo and Lucky for the first time. After a brief introduction Pozzo asks Didi and Gogo if they would like to see Lucky either dance or think. At first they are not sure if he actually knows how to do either, because all they see is the enslaved, depressed side of him with little to no knowledge. Readers as well perceive lucky as unable to do anything, however, Pozzo goes on to tell of what lucky used to do. “Vladimir. He thinks?/Pozzo. Certainly. Aloud. He even used to think very prettily once, I could listen to him for hours. Now… (he shudders). So much the worse for me” (Beckett 26). “Pozzo. He used to dance the farandole, the fling, the brawl, the jig, the fandango, and even the hornpipe. He capered. For Joy, now that’s the best he can do” (Beckett 27). In both sentences Beckett uses the word “used” which serves the purpose to signify an event that occurred in the past. Lucky was able to Dance and Think greatly, however over time he has lost these skills as ti...

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...ver find it, much like Didi and Gogo never find Godot which speaks for humanity and the lack of ability to find a conclusion. Samuel expresses his views of humanity and the lack thereof in faith, through the progression of Pozzo and Lucky’s physical beings but also their relationship, and uses the idea of time to portray change in humanity as they live on. This topic is key in understanding the story and seeing the role of two characters who almost appear to be red herrings, but play such a larger implication in explaining what humanity is doing wrong. We see how time changes humanity, and as time progresses, so do humans, changing their abilities and mindset, Which leads to a loss of motivation to achieve greatness, and our lives, like us become pointless.

Works Cited

Beckett, Samuel. The Complete Dramatic Works. London: Faber and Faber, 1990. Print.

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