Diaconu Bianca-Maria 20th Century British Literature: Modernism &

Postmodernism
2nd year, group 8

Course Instructor: Lecturer Eliana Ionoaia

The misleading state of everlasting waiting

It is the peculiar richness of a play like Waiting for Godot that it opens vistas on so
many different perspectives. It is open to philosophical, religious, and psychological
interpretations, yet above all it is a poem on time, evanescence, and the mysteriousness of
existence, the paradox of change and stability, necessity and absurdity. (Martin Esslin, The
Theatre of the Absurd)

Samuel Beckett’s dazzling yet very intriguing tragicomedy Waiting for Godot is a
brilliant illustration of the Theatre of the Absurd, bringing to the fore ideas such as life is
pointless, our existence in this universe is absurd and illogical, the social system is a big lie.
There is a stress on the concept of life, a game devoid of meaning and in which all players are
condemned to be „bored to death” (Beckett, 73). However, the theme of this essay is
connected with the state of waiting present throughout the entire play, a state in which the 2
main characters seem to be stuck forever. They are constantly waiting for something to
happen, waiting for an event that would drive away boredom and would reintroduce them into
the continuous carousel of human existence. Therefore, they live a fleeting, absurd existence,
lacking rationality and drowning in nothingness. Estragon and Vladimir seem to have lost the
will to live with a purpose, reaching a state where all social and spiritual wishes, needs, and
aspirations are gone and replaced by a broadly underlined pessimism: “Nothing to be done”.
This essay aims to prove that each of us is responsible for the circumstances in which we live
and we must involve ourselves in shaping our trace in this universe because nothing comes
out of just waiting for your life to happen without even lifting a finger. This essay will
illustrate how tricky and misleading waiting can be which altogether with a pessimistic
perspective upon life and the resignation to a futile one function as a perfect mechanism of
human destruction.

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There are several consequences one must face for simply accepting a meaningless life
instead of trying as hard as possible to make your way through it; as individuals endowed
with reason and emotions, we are capable of reflecting upon our spiritual and material status,
we are capable of understanding our needs and therefore, to create ourselves a comfortable
environment to live in. The dynamics of the entire universe, the continuous changes of nature,
the bustle of the cities and the peacefulness of villages, and the profound feelings of joy and
hope are the unseen factors, the vital components of this game called life that keep us moving,
that prevent us from being stuck in that latent stage of waiting. Samuel Beckett makes it
crystal clear through his 2 main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, that the lack of aspirations
and desire to truly live only leads to a miserable existence, that these two have lost touch with
every factor that would keep them at the surface. Estragon and Vladimir are constantly
embracing pessimism, a fact shown by means of the line: “Nothing to be done” which is
inserted multiple times, becoming a major motif of the play: “VLADIMIR: It’s not the same
thing. Nothing to be done.” (Beckett, 4), “VLADIMIR: The essential doesn’t change.
ESTRAGON: Nothing to be done” (15) “POZZO: It’s a disgrace. But there you are.
ESTRAGON: Nothing we can do about it” (18). Ishara Hansani Withanage states in her work
entitled Waiting for Nothing; an Analysis of “Waiting for Godot” that “The essence of their
behavior reflects the common situation in the human condition, and men’s despair at being
unable to find a meaning for his existence” which means that the folly of seeking a purpose
while having a miserable life can have as a result losing yourself and your rationality:
“VLADIMIR:Nothing is certain when you’re about” (7), “ESTRAGON: But what Saturday?
And is it Saturday? Is it not rather Sunday? Or Monday? Or Friday?” (8). Estragon and
Vladimir are wasting precious time while waiting for Godot, a character also wrapped in
uncertainty and mystery, and they become “living puppets in the world of the absurd”
(Withanage, 7).

Another character that Samuel Beckett shapes with extreme attention and cautiousness
is the counterpart of this state of waiting, it represents the instrument by means of which
Estragon and Vladimir measure their empty days, that is time. Time in this play is as
important as the two tramps, in the sense that it can be felt through their lines as another
independent character. Time influences the two protagonists, being highly relevant in their
perspectives as it brings them hope for a more interesting and vivid day, but it also entraps
them further in waiting for Godot, providing them with the illusion of countless tomorrow’s
in which Godot might appear. By bringing to the fore this 3 rd character, Samuel Beckett tried

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to illustrate how the 2 characters are no longer paying attention to the past, losing their
memory of everything: “ESTRAGON: You're sure it was this evening? VLADIMIR: What?
ESTRAGON: That we were to wait. VLADIMIR: He said Saturday. (Pause.) I think.”
(Beckett 8), “ESTRAGON: I'm unhappy. VLADIMIR: Not really! Since when?
ESTRAGON: I'd forgotten. VLADIMIR: Extraordinary the tricks that memory plays!” (41)
but nor to their present. They’re only paying attention to an uncertain event that is unsure to
happen in the future, no longer enjoying the gift of simply living in the present, of being
happy now and here. This also links to the main idea of this essay, that if we forget to live in
the present, being deeply engaged in living according to our own free will, living according to
our expectations and fighting for our needs, then no one will do that for us, and we’ll end up
losing piece by piece of ourselves, of our own identity, our memories and our desires, and the
final product will resemble the leafless tree. The path of simply waiting for an awful period in
your life to pass is leading to a trickier labyrinth from where it’s too hard to get out. Today
one waits for a better coffee, tomorrow for a better friend, and will end up waiting for a better
life without doing efforts for it. This is exactly the type of trap in which the 2 tramps are
caught, they have deviated considerably from one of the best advice in life: “Leave no stone
unturned”.

The deeper meanings of the play are to be discovered if we also pay heed to the few
scenic decors. Provided that the play isn’t rich in details regarding the background of the story
or regarding the meaning of Godot, Samuel Beckett manages to illustrate the above-
mentioned major ideas of the play by means of these few scenic objects. There is a massive
symbolism behind those apparently insignificant objects and only the artistic genius can
achieve such a performance. First and foremost, the leafless tree carries a lot of significance,
denoting lack of energy, vitality, and meaning. The emotional state of the characters can be
mirrored in the image of the tree which still stands straight even though it has become empty
and dull, just like our characters: they manage to pursue their everlasting waiting for Godot,
hoping that Godot is going to show up and “Will miraculously save the situation” (The
Theatre of the Absurd, 50). But the appearance of some leaves in act II may represent
resurrection and salvation, a sparkle of hope that they can overcome the trap they are stuck in.
The image of the tree in act II is a mirror of Vladimir’s optimism: “Ah Gogo, don’t go on like
that. Tomorrow will be better” (Beckett, 45). On the other hand, Lucky’s baggage can be
associated with the difficulties one carries throughout life and cannot let them down. During
their entire conversation with Pozzo, Lucky does not put down the baggage not even for a

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moment, and the exhaustion and sorrow are visible on his facial expressions: “VLADIMIR:
He looks tired. ESTRAGON: Why doesn't he put down his bags? “ (19). Not only is he
obliged to hold them because of Pozzo’s authority, but it could also be because he got used to
carrying such burden. People tend to listen to the social norms imposed upon them and
therefore they accept to carry on their shoulders these social conventions every single day till
they reach Lucky’s condition. They’re afraid to disobey such authority, but it also has to do
with routine. If the 2 tramps are victims of time, Lucky is a victim of slavery and authority:
VLADIMIR: Look! ESTRAGON: What? VLADIMIR: (pointing). His neck! ESTRAGON:
(looking at the neck). I see nothing. VLADIMIR: Here. Estragon goes over beside Vladimir.
ESTRAGON: Oh I say! VLADIMIR: A running sore! ESTRAGON: It's the rope. (19).
Pozzo’s rope represents another symbol of the lack of freedom, the impossibility to regain
your own autonomy. The two pairs, Estragon-Vladimir and Pozzo-Lucky, are working
together by means of contrasts. Although the established relationships are of different natures,
they still resemble from one point of view:

Vladimir and Estragon have stopped to proceed onward their excursion through life.
Rather than progressing forward, they sit tight for Godot in one spot. Pozzo and Lucky are
not fixed, but rather they just travel around and around. Following a day's excursion, they get
back to where they started, always failing to arrive at any objective (Khushboo, 6)

In summing up, this essay presented how misleading can be for one to wait an entire
life for something better to occur, as it only leads to a massive waste of time, missing all the
wonderful experiences this world has to offer. We must realize that our existence is ephemeral
and nothing better appears unless we fight for it and work for it. Our main characters have lost
the notion of time, the notion of reason, and that of actual living. They have reached a level
where they’re like leaves permanently blown by wind with no certain purpose or place to land
on. Also, since no certain meaning has been given to Godot because even Samuel Beckett said
that there is no significance behind this character, we can assume that he is simply an illusion
made up by Vladimir and Estragon. Given this perspective, our characters are indeed waiting
for nothing, Godot representing that unknown event highly wished to come and introduce
meaning to their lives. One possible intention that Samuel Beckett had when creating the play
is to save us from a general state of ignorance and indifference and to make us question our
existence, our life: are we happy? Are we in a place where we belong? Can we do better? Are
we wasting our precious time because we’re afraid to make some changes? This idea was also
pointed out by Ishara Hansani Withanage: “Beckett has created his play using the theme of

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uncertainty to point fingers toward us, and wakes us up from the dreams we have been
dreaming for decades to ask us what is certain in our lives?”. One clear message is the
following: if we wait for our lives to happen, then our biography shall sound like: “Nothing
happens, nobody comes, nobody goes” (Beckett, 33)

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Works Cited

Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot English 121 Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot

(1).pdf Accesed 22 May 2022

Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd

Khushboo, Nadiyah. RESEARCH ARTICLE: “A STUDY OF ABSURDITY IN

SAMUEL BECKETT’S ‘WAITING FOR GODOT”

file:///C:/Users/Asus/Downloads/12.IJOES-NadiyahKhushboo79-84.pdf Accesed 22 May

2022

Withanage, Ishara Hansani. Waiting for Nothing; an Analysis of “Waiting for Godot”

September, 2011 *B.A Thesis - Waiting for Godot.pdf Accesed 22 May 2022

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