Saturday, May 29, 2021

Symbolic Analysis of Waiting for Godot

           Name - Jignesh  K. Panchasara

   Paper - 107: The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II to the End of the Century

             Roll No- 8

             Enrollment no-3069206420200013

Email id-jigneshpanchasara5758@gmail.com

             Batch- MA 2020-2022

Submitted to - S.B Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji  

                                 Bhavnagar University.    


                        Introduction

Samuel Beckett, one of the great avant-garde Irish dramatists and writers of the second half of the twentieth century, was born on 13 April 1906. He died in 1989. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. His centenary will be celebrated throughout 2006 with performances of his major plays, but the most popular of them all will be, without doubt, the play with which he first made his name, Waiting for Godot. It opened the gates to the theatre of the absurd as four men appear on the stage, apparently with purpose but (perhaps) waiting for someone called Godot. It is stark, funny, bemusing and still deeply affecting half a century since its first production.


*Brief Introduction of The play*

Samuel Beckett wrote “Waiting for Godot” in French in 1949 and then translated it into English in 1954. “Waiting for Godot” is the most popular play in every corner of the world. Therefore, this play has been performed as a drama of the absurd with astonishing success in Europe, America and the rest of the world in post second world war era.

Significance of the ‘Tree’ in the Setting of Waiting for Godot



The Tree generally represents the ‘cross’ on which Jesus Christ was crucified. As such, it is argued that the ‘Tree’ stands as a symbol of hope in the play; because it means that the religious dimension is not completely absent. Indeed, the cross, which is often referred to as the tree in Christian literature, is not a symbol of despair to the Christians. In the light of the Resurrection, it is in fact, the very opposite; it is a sign of the Victory over the forces of the world. Moreover it is claimed, this interpretation of the tree in Waiting for Godot is confirmed by the fact that the tree is seen to have grown leaves in the second Act.

But we see that the growth of leaves of the tree does not attract the attention of the tramps in the second Act. When Vladimir tries to convince his friend that they were in the same place the day before, Estragon describes the entire landscape as a ‘muckheap’.

In view of this lack of response, it is difficult to interpret the tree as a symbol of hope. The tramps hardly make any response to the growth of the leaves. Thus if there is hope, they certainly do not recognize it. So the tree would rather seem to be a symbol of the irrelevance of the Christian response to their predicament.

Symbolism in Waiting for Godot 

 Lucky’s Baggage

Lucky never puts down the items he carries, except when Pozzo orders him to do something. He again picks it up without any reason. This action shows the human tendency of enslavement and burdens which are unnecessary. The baggage contains mostly items for Pozzo’s comfort but, in Act 2 it is revealed that the bag which is never opened in Act 1, contains sand. This is another example of character “deadened” by a habit.

The relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is shown as capital and labor, master and slave, exploiter and exploited, between old testament God and new testament Christ.

Pozzo’s Rope

Lucky is a slave for his master Pozzo. Lucky is tied with rope, holding both master and slave together. This is the symbol of distance between the God and his slave. However, when the rope is short the distance between them is smaller. When Estragon and Vladimir try to hang themselves with cord and it breaks, and they remind themselves to bring rope tomorrow. This rope has same purpose as for Pozzo and Lucky.

 Night Fall

While Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot, they also wait for the nightfall. This nightfall shows that darkness is like a death and falling of night is like to reprieve from daily suffering as death is death to reprieve from life.

 Hat

Hat represents thinking, as the long monologue of Lucky in Act 1 and stops when his hat is knocked off. Estragon and Vladimir also exchange their hats with Lucky’s hat back and forth. This scene is the representation of instability of individual identities and exchanging represents the exchange of identities.

 The play has so few props, the props that do appear onstage take on an exaggerated significance. As one example, VladimirEstragon ,Lucky, and Pozzo all wear hats and at times seem oddly preoccupied with them. Lucky, for instance, needs his hat to think, and stops his long monologue once his hat is knocked off. In act two Estragon and Vladimir exchange their hats and Lucky's hat back and forth, trying different ones on. Given the importance of these hats to their individual owners, this scene can be seen as representing the fluidity and instability of individual identities in the play. As Pozzo and Lucky don't remember having already seen Vladimir and Estragon in act two, Vladimir begins to wonder whether the Pozzo and Lucky of act two are the same as those of act one. Estragon, for one, does not recognize them, and calls Pozzo Abel. Estragon can't even remember his own past, and at one point tells Pozzo that his name is Adam. Moreover, it is not clear whether the young boy in each act is one boy or two different ones. The boy also calls Vladimir Mr. Albert, which may or may not actually be Vladimir's name. With all of this ambiguity and instability regarding people's identities, the scene of the hat exchange playfully represents an exchange of identities, as Vladimir and Estragon wear different combinations of hats. Vladimir ends up wearing Lucky's hat—notably, the one he needed to "think"—seemingly taking on a new identity, as he then asks Estragon to "play" at being Lucky and Pozzo. Indeed, it's uncertain whether Vladimir and Estragon (or other characters) are actually being themselves throughout the play, or if they even have stable selves they can be.

Names

The most important example of hidden meanings in the play is Godot, which is similar to God. Godot symbolizes salvation that religion promises but never comes true. Estragon means “tarragon” in French, while Pozzo is Italian for water. Lucky’s name suggests the unluckiness of the sufferings. However, nihilist viewpoint is that, these names hold no meaning at all.

Boots

Boot symbolizes daily life struggling and Estragon is the most affected by boots. He takes off and putting again them on. This shows daily struggles in life which cannot be changed.

The Bone

Bone is the symbol of poverty, the characters do not have enough food for themselves and they beg for their survival. This shows the relationship between Feudalism or Capitalism who has dominated over the poor.

Conclusion

Waiting for Godot is a must-read play for everyone. It has so many interpretations, Also it has a remarkable piece for Theater of Absurd.  So The play depicts the modernism connected with contemporary time. 


Works Cited
(Author), J., 2021. GRIN - Waiting for Godot. A Deconstructive Study. [online] Grin.com. Available at: <https://www.grin.com/document/337568> [Accessed 27 May 2021].

LitCharts. 2021. Hats Symbol in Waiting for Godot | LitCharts. [online] Available at: <https://www.litcharts.com/lit/waiting-for-godot/symbols/hats> [Accessed 27 May 2021].

Scribd. 2021. Listen to Waiting for Godot Audiobook by Samuel Beckett. [online] Available at: <https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/237838313/Waiting-for-Godot> [Accessed 27 May 2021].

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