waiting for godot- final-derya

Upload: deryanaz

Post on 14-Apr-2018

240 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 7/27/2019 Waiting for Godot- FINAL-DeRYA

    1/4

    Nazlpnar 1

    Muzaffer Derya Nazlpnar

    Prof. Dr. Gnseli Snmez i

    Euro-American Drama

    09th June 2012

    Who Is Godot?

    Critics have interpreted the identity of Godot in various ways, ranging from being a

    saviour and a God, to being a rich employer. Critics have the life history of Beckett to

    establish the identity of Godot, but Beckett's own reaction has been that if he knew who

    Godot was, he would have mentioned that in the play. So, who is Godot and what does he

    stand for the two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, waiting in a state of twilight, occasionally lit

    up by a fleeting vision of a rescuer?

    What we have learnt about the characteristics of Godot, based on the sayings of the

    messenger boy working for him is that Godot does nothing and he has a white beard (59).

    From all this, it may be gathered that Godot has some traits in common with the image of God

    with his white beard reminding the image of the old-father aspect of God. Furthermore, his

    irrational preference for one of the two brothers recalls Jehovahs treatment of Cain and Abel;

    so does his power to punish those who would dare to ignore him. In fact, the play seems to

    suggest that not waiting for Godot could result in some sort of punishment. When the tramps

    do not see a shadow of Godot by the time night falls, they think of giving up on him, but they

    are afraid to disobey or disrespect Godot by not coming tomorrow. At the end of the second

    act Estragon asks, If we dropped him? (pause.) If we dropped him? Vladimirs reply is

    Hed punish us (59). Therefore, they come tomorrow to wait for Godot as Estragon asks

    You say we have to come back tomorrow? Vladimir Yes (60).

  • 7/27/2019 Waiting for Godot- FINAL-DeRYA

    2/4

    Nazlpnar 2

    Yet, in my opinion, their waiting is not just because they have to resulting from the fear

    of punishment, but because they want to do it as Angela Hotaling insists: Without Godot,

    the men have lost the meaning to their days. What is the punishment for dropping Godot? It

    is essentially the loss of meaning (4). Indeed, whoever Godot is seems to be an important

    part of the tramps lives, perhaps the only hope of their lives that will bring purpose and

    meaning. This is the reason that they waited so long, fifty years maybe (35). It is certain

    that Godot has a vital power over the tramps as Pozzo has claimed when the tramps are going

    to leave: What happens in this case to your appointmentwith this GodetGodot

    Godin anyhow you see who I mean, who has your future in his hands (19). This constant

    repetition of Godots name contributes nothing to the materialization of Godot, which remains

    an elusive and empty signifier throughout the play. He is explicitly vague and merely an

    empty promise. Gradually, waiting for Godot has become a habit with the two tramps and an

    adaptation to the meaninglessness of life. However, as far as there is absence, there exists

    infinite hope.

  • 7/27/2019 Waiting for Godot- FINAL-DeRYA

    3/4

    Nazlpnar 3

    Moreover, the possibility that Godot might represent tomorrow also could be reasonable

    way of interpreting who he is. It is obvious that the tramps in Waiting for Godothave been

    waiting for Godot for a long time, even though the person didnt say for sure hed come

    (10). They are hoping that if Godot does not come today then he may come tomorrow,

    but when tomorrow arrives, it is the same hope once again, and it is again tomorrow which

    will never arrive. Therefore, the illusion of tomorrow reflects Godot although the tramps

    may not be ready accept the fact that Godot is an illusion, and that he may only be a fictional

    figure in the mind of Vladimir. However, this cannot be certain, as the tramps are going to be

    waiting tomorrow for Godot, he may appear tomorrow denying all the arguments.

    I think who Godot is and what he symbolizes can be interpreted in many ways by the

    audience in the darkness or the reader(s) enjoying the text. The fact that there are so few

    details of one of the main characters makes it difficult for us to figure out what sort of

    character we are waiting for. On the other hand, this purposefully made lack of knowledge

    may help us apply our own hopes and expectations to Godots identity. These ideas can also

    be seen in Anthony Chadwicks opinion for the possibilities that Godot might represent:

    He (Godot) is simultaneously whatever we think he is and not what we think he is: he

    is an absence, who can be interpreted at moments as God, death, the lord of the manor,

    a benefactor, even Pozzo. But Godot has a function rather than a meaning. He stands

    for what keeps us chained to and in existence. He is the unknowable that represents

    hope in an age when there is no hope, he is whatever fiction we want him to be as

    long as he justifies our life-as-waiting.

    To sum up, Godot is happiness, eternal life, love, death, silence, hope, time, God and many

    other things. Indeed, it seems Godot is everything, at the same time he is nothing. For me, the

    identity of Godot is like listening to a blind man who is asked to describe an object or person.

  • 7/27/2019 Waiting for Godot- FINAL-DeRYA

    4/4

    Nazlpnar 4

    Work Cited

    Beckett, S. Waiting for Godot. London: Samuel French. 1957.

    Chadwick, Anthony. Waiting for Godot 30/05/2011.

    .

    Cohn, R. Back to Beckett. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1973.

    Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd. London: Methuen Publishing Limited. 1961.

    Hotaling, Angela. Camus and the Absurdity of Existence in Waiting for Godot. 30/05/2011.

    .