My views on "Waiting For Godot."..

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett.










1)What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?

The setting  is almost similar if we look at it from  audience side because both acts begins early in the morning and  close with the moon rising. So it’s all about searching himself that starts with every morning and it ends with dark night . The connection I find between the play and paintings is that,  We don’t know about exact location of a country road. What we know is that the action which unfolds there.   Same in life we do not remember the path that gives us something valuable but what we remember is the success that gives us pleasure of living a life.  A tree represents  nature and  as time passes it has some leaves on it, that shows  in nature no one can remain static one must go on moving as time passes.  As we can see in the  picture that time passes and an evening comes but the person remain there as it is with no change in himself.

2) The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree -The tree has four or five leaves.-?

The tree is only important thing that we find in the settings because there are some leaves sprouting on the tree in act two. And  If we try to see it from mythical point of view that shows regeneration or hope,  it also shows growth of life.  Or we can say that nature has its own cycle that never wait for anyone it goes on moving.  But  if we try to look at the things that how everything deteriorate from act 1 to act 2. in act 2 pozzo  going blind and lucky is dumb. Estragon and Vladimir has gone through deep suffering and uncertainty.  it gives us clear vision of human nature that we are still there at some point and can’t leave it easily whereas nature follows the cycle and moves on with it.

3) In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?

 In both acts evening falls into night and moon rises that shows deep philosophy on life that every day passes with some hope and , waiting and unfulfilled desire and every night comes that shows endless repetition of life.  Estragon look at the moon and says that moon is pale with weariness from watching this boring routine play out below. He just recognizes it because he finds some meaning of life that’s why he find it pale.

4) The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?

 Here, director uses the settings of  debris and wastage things and collapsed buildings that shows failure of materialistic world. That’s why he shows that debris in background that gives reminder to both of them that nothing is permanent at last. But what gives them pessimistic way to live is the hope and meaning that they find out of  that debris.  And that’s why they goes on waiting for Godot.

5) The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?

 the play begins with the dialogue, “nothing to be done” is appropriate here because the idea of nothingness we can see in every aspect of the play- in structure, settings, character, dialogue or some activities we find in the play that has no meaning at all though it suggest the nothingness of life. We can also see one dialogue that has some connection with it, “nobody comes…. nobody goes…. It’s awful…”  in the play we can see that both are waiting for Godot  but they are not sure whether he comes or not but they goes on waiting. We know that Life is unpredictable and full of uncertainty is there. But we go on living the life with hope that one day this will be happen but that day never comes. And at last we feel that nothing is done by us.  Though we achieve so many things in life but we all have one restless question is that ,what does it all mean after all .?  

6 ) Do you agree: “The play (Waiting for Godot), we agreed, was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. As I saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes, the philosophy is: 'No matter what— atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can't kill life." (E.G. Marshal who played Vladimir in original Broadway production 1950s)?

We can say waiting for Godot as a puzzling play.  Because it is not quite clear that the play is positive or negative or pessimistic play we can interpreted it in various way. That’s why  Backett himself did not throw much light on the meaning of the play. It depends on individual because there is something in the play for almost everybody. According to E.G.Marshal’s philosophy that we can end our physical suffering by killing ourselves but the question is that can we  kill the life or it’s cycle? No, we can’t because it is not static that’s why  life goes on and it doesn’t make any difference whether we are living or dead

7) How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?

Significance of props like ‘Hat’ and ‘Boot’ described in the play. That throughout the play Vladimir looks into hat so many times instead of looking into boot. Hat symbolizing rational thought process. Estragon who focuses on   boots more than hats is more earthly and grounded than Vladimir. The boot is represents the struggling of life. and taking off  boot shows  the try to come out from that struggles. So it’s all about struggles between  mind and body. That we can’t understand which one is right. Because hat fights with meaning of life and boot fights with struggles of life.

8) Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?

Yes, I think obedience of lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. When lucky knows that his master is blind though he gives his whip in his hand. When someone knows the reality and follows it blindly it calls addiction. And he can’t came out from that. But it happens in the world that disciple of saints follows them blindly when the reality reveals they can’t accept it easily and get rid out of it. but they goes on proving that there is no truth behind it. and we can’t realize them because until and unless they themselves not feel that what they are going into wrong path it is meaningless to show them a right path. We can find  that type of slavishness around us. So, one shall accept it as a part of life.

 9) Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or  . . .

According to me Godot is life because we can’t leave it or live it properly.

10) “The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?

In the Martin Esslin’s essay A Search for the self he says that the subject of the play is not Godot but waiting. I do agree with his statement because throughout the life we are waiting for something. We know that future is unpredictable. So what? Can we give up to live a life? can we stop desiring something? Can we leave hope? No, we aren’t. Our life itself is unpredictable but we go on living to meet with its end, i.e death.  So we can say that internally we are waiting for libration of our soul. And externally we are waiting for the death. But the common thing in these both ways is “waiting”. One can’t free from it

 11) Do you think that plays like this can better be ‘read’ than ‘viewed’ as it requires a lot of thinking on the part of readers, while viewing, the torrent of dialogues does not give ample time and space to ‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the play?

 Yes, I think that audio-visual gives us better understanding of the play. It is also true that it doesn’t gives us ample time to think. We have to move fast with changing scene of the screen. But if we try to look at the reading of the text that also has some limitation that in some part we can’t imagine the actual scene or action or pause which is written in the text. but in screening of this play we can came across the things that why they take pause or what does the meaning of silence there in both the acts.

12) Which of the following sequence you liked the most:

1) Vladimir and  Estragon killing time in questions and conversation while waiting.

2) Pozzo- lucky episode in both acts.

3) Conversation of Vladimir with Boy.

Out of three sequences, I liked third one that is conversation of Vladimir with boy. Because Boy who says that he is the messenger of Godot. And from that conversation we can get an idea of the situation over there. Because when Vladimir asked something and the boy said “I was afraid”. Afraid of everyone, afraid of whip and roars. If the fear is also there then what is the meaning of libration….?And waiting ….? here. That confused Vladimir.

13) Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?

Yes I feel that effect of meaninglessness of human existence in this irrational universe during the screening of movie. When nights falls after each acts end and when conversation happens between Vladimir and the Boy.  I feel that everything is meaningless or gag that  what we are seeking outside.

14)Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?

The idea of suicide in existentialism is the only truly serious philosophical problem. that man finds the reason behind his own personal existence. We can’t find the meaning of life and that angst leads us towards suicide. For existentialist suicide is not absurd thing because they believes that they are the only one who responsible for his actions. Perhaps that’s why Vladimir and Estragon talks about hanging themselves but they can’t do so.

15) Can we do any political reading of the play if we see European nations represented by the 'names' of the characters (Vladimir - Russia; Estragon - France; Pozzo - Italy and Lucky - England)? What interpretation can be inferred from the play written just after World War II?

As we know that the play is written after world war –ii and Here, Beckett tries to put all countries together like Vladimir as Russia, Estragon as France, Pozzo as Italy and Lucky as England. The one country is missing i.e Germany represents Godot .  Pozzo describe as  the master of lucky . here we can compare Germany and Hitler’s Nazism. Fight between capitalism vs Marxism. All these things reminds us second  world war and it’s outcome.   

16) So far as Pozzo and Lucky [master and slave] are concerned, we have to remember that Beckett was a disciple of Joyce and that Joyce hated England. Beckett meant Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?

So far as pozzo and lucky are concerned we can remember the master slave relationship between them. It also shows capitalism vs Marxism and we can see lucky experiences much physical agitation in his speech when he got chance to speak. We can say that lucky’s consciousness moves from essentialism to existentialism.

17) The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have no change in Act I and Act II of the play. Even the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there is one major change. In Act I, in reply to Boy;s question,.

 Vladimir says:
BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?

VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . Tell him you saw us. (Pause.) You did see us, didn't you?How does this conversation go in Act II? Is there any change in seeming similar situation and conversation? If so, what is it? What does it signify?

 The more things change the more it remains similar. There seems to have no change in act 1 or 2 except one that Vladimir tells the boy that tell him that you saw us. That shows that in act one Vladimir is not that much tired from life but in act two he is tired from life, endless desire and hope or waiting that never comes to an end but what he tries to tell is that at least when time comes Godot will came to know that someone was waiting on that path on which he said that he will be come.