Seeing Myself in Waiting for Godot
Some people wondered why in high school my favorite book was Waiting for Godot, a drama described on the title page as “a two-act play in which nothing happens twice.” In fact, my liking a play that does not portray a series of connected incidents telling a story but instead presents a pattern of images showing bewildered people in an incomprehensible universe initially baffled me too, as my partiality was more felt than thought. But then I read a piece by the critic Martin Esslin, who articulated my feelings. He wrote in “The Search for the Self” that
throughout our lives we always wait for something, and Godot
simply represents the objective of our waiting—an event, a thing, a
person, death. It is in the act of waiting that we experience the
flow of time in its purest most evident form. (31)
I realized that I was seventeen in high school passively waiting for something amazing to happen to me just like Vladimir and Estragon. I also realized that experiencing time flowing by unproductively was not for me regardless of how “pure” that experience might be. At several points in the play, Estragon states that he wants to leave, but Vladimir always responds, “We can’t . . . we’re waiting for Godot” (8). Neither one knows why the wait nor who Godot is or looks like, and they both admit, when asked by Pozzo why they mistook him for Godot, that “we hardly know him at all” (20). Yet, they wait for him instead of looking within themselves for meaning in their lives. They even turn to close-at-hand sources about them to provide reasons for their wait: from inside a hat or a boot (8). But, as Lucky points out, the “reasons [are] unknown” and always will be (28). Therefore, their external search is pointless to give life meaning. Or put another way, Vladimir and Estragon wait endlessly for life to begin.
As simple as it is, I see myself in them, waiting for someone or something to bring me meaning, to guide me, to spark my life. The existentialist ideas behind much of Waiting for Godot cut to the quick, as I, too, struggle through life trying to achieve some sort of purposeful meaning (Bryce). Like everyone else, I am a victim of waiting and going nowhere fast. As embarrassing as it is to me now, in high school, I ached as I searched to fill an empty part of me with love or true friendship, and at last I found him! But rather than acting on what I felt for him, I sat there and waited, hoping that he would notice me, the perfect soul mate.
Jr, K. R., & Barber, C. E. (2011, August 29). Preventing falls in the elderly. Retrieved from http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/consumer/10242.html
Easton, S. D., Coohey, C., O'leary, P., Zhang, Y., & Hua, L. (2010). The Effect of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Psychosexual Functioning During Adulthook. J Fam Viol , 41-50.
In ‘Waiting for Godot’, we know little concerning the protagonists, indeed from their comments they appear to know little about themselves and seem bewildered and confused as to the extent of their existence. Their situation is obscure and Vladimir and Estragon spend the day (representative of their lives) waiting for the mysterious Godot, interacting with each other with quick and short speech.
While about 5 percent of adults over the age of 65 live in nursing facilities, they account for nearly 20 percent of fall-related deaths in this age group. Up to 20 percent of residents who fall sustain serious injuries that can lead to a decline in functional ability and mobility impairment. The Best Practice Guidelines consist of broad principles upon which standard procedures for individual health services can be based. The guidelines aim intended to assist service providers in developing and implementing standard policies and procedures in the area of falls prevention. Best practice guidelines can be successfully implemented only where there is adequate planning, resources, organizational and administrative support, as well as appropriate
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'...
Fall is sudden, unpredicted, unintentional occurrence resulting in-patient landing on ground or at lower level. Falls and fall related injuries incur cost for the patient as well as the health cares system. The fall has a significant impact in patient quality of life and usually fall has many reasons to happen. Thus, preventing falls among patients in healthcare settings requires a complex approach, and recognition, evaluation and prevention of patient falls are significant challenges. Falls are a common cause of injury and the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and trauma-related hospitalizations in the United States (Barton, 2009). Falls occur in all types of healthcare institutions and to all patient populations. Up to 12% of hospitalized patients fall at least once during their hospital stay (Kalisch, Tschannen, & Lee, 2012). It has been using different strategies in many hospitals to prevent or at least to decrease the incidence of fall. However, the number of falls in the hospitals increases at alarming rate in the nation. The hospitals try to implement more efficient intervention strategies, but the number fall increase instead of decrease. In fact, many interventions to prevent falls and fall-related injuries require organized support and effective implementation for specific at risk and vulnerable subpopulations, such as the frail elderly and those at risk for injury.
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.
As in any debate though there is always an opposing side, which seems to toss out their opinions and facts as frequently as the rest. So many in today’s world view animal research as morally wrong and believe animals do have rights. Peter Singer, an author and philosophy professor, “argues that because animals have nervous systems and can suffer just as much as humans can, it is wrong for humans to use animals for research, food, or clothing” (Singer 17). Do animals have any rights? Is animal experimentation ethical? These are questions many struggle with day in and day out in the ongoing battle surrounding the controversial topic of animal research and testing, known as vivisection.
Time is ultimately quite important to the story in a metaphorical sense. The passing of time in ‘Waiting for Godot’ is both absurd and illogical. This absurdity is evident in many occasions that are spread out across the entire play. As the first act begins, the reader is told through stage directions that on stage there is “a country road, a tree” and that the time of the day is the “evening”. (Beckett 1). However more information is introduced to the reader when Vladimir states that the tree “must be dead” (Beckett 6). This means there was no sign of life whatsoever during Act I. In the play, the audience is told that the timeline between Act I and Act II is simply a day, however now the tree is described as having “four or five” leaves. Physically speaking, this is impossible considering the fact that the leaves couldn’t have possibly grown in a single day. Vladimir states that “things [had] changed around” the place since ‘yesterday’, since according to him they’d been there the day before. This is a clear use of absurd passing of time since the illogical and impossible changes that occurred between one act and the other a...
We live on a planet revolving around the sun, while there are at least about one septillion other stars in this universe. What is the significance of our existence in this infinite cosmos? What is the purpose of our lives? With the explosion of scientific knowledge and the WWII bombs in the modernity epoch, the insignificance of our lives was realized; Samuel Becket staged the futility of human existence in the play Waiting for Godot. He portrayed nothingness through the use of structure, language, dialogue, and setting. He further demonstrated that the lives of the two characters Vladimir and Estragon takes meaning when they wait for the ambiguous Godot. In order to be relieved from the crippling question of existence, they occupy themselves with meaningless activities. Due to the lack of a plot in Waiting for Godot, one can deduce that perhaps Beckett is referring to the futility of human existence in general.
Throughout the tragicomedy, the pair anxiously awaits the arrival of Godot. Vladimir and Estragon’s loyalty to Godot is evident within the first act of play. During a conversation between the two, Estragon asks Vladimir, “And if he doesn’t come?” to which Vladimir answers “We’ll come back tomorrow” and the go on to continue this dialogue: “Estragon: ‘And then the day after to-morrow.’/ Vladimir: ‘Possibly.’/ Estragon: ‘And so on.’/ Vladimir: ‘The point is—‘/ Estragon: ‘Until he comes’” (Beckett 10). In the New Testament of the Holy Bible, John 3:16 states that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (King James Version, John, 3.16). This biblical verse is used frequently in the Christian church to represent the idea of salvation. However, the Bible never gives an exact time frame on salvation, leading Christians to wait for God’s impend...
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into
Beckett purposefully establishes an ambiguous setting. He does not provide any indication of the point in time of the play and all the audience sees is the country road and a tree. 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.
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.
Once again Vladimir asks Estragon and Estragon forgets. Vladimir also notices that the tree has blossomed overnight. Vladimir is the only one to notice anything different from the day before. Vladimir is the only one with some memory, probably why they wait for Godot every day. Everyday Godot never shows up, so the constant cycle continues. It is the most useless cycle, but they still have a little hope. That one day Godot shows up and saves them. So Vladimir waits for Godot for as long as he can, but has no idea how long he has waited because he does not understand