Thinking activity on Waiting for Godot

             Introduction

Waiting for Godot  is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting Godot, who never arrives. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's translation of his own original French-language play, En attendant Godot, and is subtitled (in English only) "a tragicomedy in two acts". The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949.The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone [fr], Paris. The English-language version premiered in London in 1955. In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1998/99, it was voted the "most significant English language play of the 20th century".

The Samuel Barclay Beckett was born in the Foxrock suburb of Dublin on 13 April 1906, the son of William Frank Beckett (1871–1933), a quantity surveyor of Huguenot descent, and Maria Jones Roe, a nurse. His parents were both 35 when he was born,[5] and had married in 1901. Beckett had one older brother named Frank Edward (1902–1954). At the age of five, he attended a local playschool in Dublin, where he started to learn music, and then moved to Earlsfort House School near Harcourt Street in Dublin. The Becketts were members of the Anglican Church of Ireland.

Beckett's family home, Cooldrinagh, was a large house and garden complete with tennis court built in 1903 by Beckett's father. The house and garden, its surrounding countryside where he often went walking with his father, the nearby Leopardstown Racecourse, the Foxrock railway station, and Harcourt Street station would all feature in his prose and plays. Around 1919 or 1920, he went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, which Oscar Wilde had also attended. He left in 1923 and entered Trinity College in Dublin, where he studied modern literature. A natural athlete, he excelled at cricket as a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-pace bowler. Later, he played for Dublin University and played two first-class games against Northamptonshire.[6] As a result, he became the only Nobel literature laureate to have played first-class cricket.[7] for Godot is written by Samuel .Here we can see the picture of Samuel backett

Summary of the play.....

Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave.

After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls.

The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait.

Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.

Next section

Act I: Introduction & Pozzo and Lucky's Entrance

The charactor of the play

 1. What do you think about the characters of the play?

We already know that Samuel Becket has presented two types of relationships in the play. One in the form of Vladimir and Estragon whereas the second is of Pozzo and Lucky. No one can understand the character of Vladimir without comparing it with Estragon. Hence, Estragon is necessary to be discussed along with this major character of the play.

Vladimir thinks logically and takes the decision on the basis of reasoning, hence, we may say that he is the strongest of all. Despite his odd nature, he is loved by the audience as he thinks more than any other character of the play. He has more knowledge than Estragon that makes him a sober and intellectual personality. He time and again tells Estragon that they should wait until Godot arrives. Vladimir also reveals that he once met Godot still he does not remember how exactly Godot lookalike. He also gives hope to Estragon and boosts his moral due to which Estragon agrees to wait for Godot.

Vladimir is not selfish at all. He does not want that Pozzo should sell Lucky. When he realizes that Pozzo is going to sell Lucky, he expresses his deep condolence with him and advises Pozzo not do so. Not only he expresses his sympathy with Lucky but also expresses sharp disapproval and suggests that Lucky should not leave his good master.

2. What do you say about their activities and their significance?

• The character of Godot in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, a timeless piece that challenged theatre norms in 1950s Europe, even now is still keeping audiences/readers interested by questioning the persona of Godot and the values the character represents. The play’s cultural, philosophical, and sociological contexts force the viewer/reader to reflect upon our own existence and beliefs about the world we are living in. The era in with the play was created and the issues that Beckett was exploring within the play are still relevant today.  As mentioned in the chapter: Roots and Textual Meanings, it is up to the reader/audience to read the metaphors and the symbols within the context of the text, and one may find different meanings from what Beckett had intended. Watching or reading the play incorporates us in the endless waiting for a person.

• 3. Is there any similarity between the situations in the play and the lockdown period of 2020?

• of course, we are finding similarity in the play because Now we have so many example of that when Vladimir and Estragon both are waiting for Godot and also similar things are that there are so many person who are just waiting for that Godot will come and save the life of people from the virus.
• 4.  Did you feel like an existential crisis?
• yes, we have faced so many existential crisis of that lockdown as well as the condition of people. how poor people are facing this situation also people are dying like so many mosquito killed by the Kalahit. so we can say that Kalahit is corona virus.

•  5.What did you do to pass time?

• when the suddenly there was lockdown at that time i was preparing about my sem 6 exam of B.R.S. also i had seen so many movies.it is to be the part of literature student.

• 6. How was your psychological condition?

• I was scared that people are facing the problems of the corona. when we can compare with this situation is more terrible for us. how we can alive that is the question of live a life.
•                                                     Thanks 😊

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