Assignment 9 - Waiting for Godot: Absurdity and Existentialism

Hello Readers!

This assignment is a part of internal evaluation of student's academic activity in the Department of English, MK Bhavnagar University. Here is my assignment.

Name: Rohit Vyas

Class: Semester 3

Roll No. 19

PG Enrolment Number: 2069108420200041

E-mail: rohitvyas277@gmail.com

Course: M.A. English (2019-21)

Paper 9 - Modernist English Literature

Submitted to: Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English MK Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, IN.

Assignment 9 – Waiting for Godot: Absurdity and Existentialism

Introduction

For over two centuries, existentialism has been a part of philosophy. It was believed that Jean Paul Sartre was the first existentialist but the truth is Soren Kierkegaard from the 18^th century is the founding father of this discourse.

It is not the first time that something has been thought or said earlier and the thought is given a term or a word. When John Donne was writing poetry bringing the far-fetched images he was not knowing that his style of poetry would be coined as “metaphysical poetry” by Samuel Johnson.

Similarly, much later in the 19^th century, Jean-Paul Sartre identified the thoughts of Soren Kierkegaard and coined the term “Existentialism”. There are many well-known thinkers who have given their thoughts and arguments on this philosophy. To name a few, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Herman Hesse, Simon De Beauvoir are the key existentialists.

Waiting for Godot is a remarkable play by Samuel Beckett which can be best fit in existentialism and absurdity. If the characters are to be seen, only one character among six is invisible. Which is Godot, a titular character who is the central part of the play. Godot is awaited throughout the play and the characters like Vladimir and Estragon are making various ways to meet Godot.

Can it be asserted that, Vladimirs and Estragons are found everywhere? The statement is agreeable in terms of existentialism. Implications of society, religion and power are carved in such a way that it becomes utmost difficult for human beings to be free from those conditionings.

Existentialism, an umbrella of several other terms, is a philosophical movement which raised three pertinent questions relating to the individual.

Who am I?
Where did I come from?
What is the purpose of my life?

These questions are inevitable and difficult to answer. If one thinks deeper into the matter, one may get to know that gender, identity, language, birth place, names, religion all these are given by others. There is no individual choice given to select any of these.

It is also almost impossible to answer the place from where did we come from. Besides, epistemological readings say that this question is theological and philosophical. Several religious discourse are there which try to answer this question. Karmic philosophy, the idea of mind and body, soul and consciousness and many more.

The third question is the most important other than the two. It creates the existential angst and anxiety. This play touches the core part of the purpose and the worthiness of waiting.

Vladimir and Estragon are two characters who wait for a titular character Godot. If we think of religions we can consider this character as God. But theologically it is believed that one can't meet God without leaving the material world. The dialogue which Estragon speaks at the very beginning of the play is,

"Estragon: Nothing to be done!"

This nothingness and emptiness is the modern anxiety of the human beings. The play questions the readers that, can we live alone? How one can find the solace and salvation from live. The very idea of meeting to 'param tatva', or divine power is being questioned in the play. If one looks through the lens of spirituality one can say that divinity and supremacy comes from within.

What do we mean by being spiritual?

Spirituality is not only practicing Yoga and doing mediation. Spirituality can be practiced though the daily routine. One just has to be skeptical and a good questioner to the self. Whichever work is being done on hand, it can be questioned through the lens of integrity and accountability.

How does the play work in our mind?

Indeed this play is a mirror to society. Vladimir and Estragon are the reflection of human nature. Vladimir is mindful and remembers many things, but Estragon forgets many things. He hardly remembers things. One is representing the mind and the other is representing the body. This ongoing conflict between mind and body is never to be solved through worldly things. One has to go beyond this material values and greedy mindset and practice spirituality to look into this matter.

Pozzo and Lucky are also a reflection of different types of social roles people play in life. Pozzo claims the land ownership and Lucky is the slave of Pozzo. One enjoys power position and the other is subjugated and subdued in the hierarchy of power. Even Pozzo tries to free him, Lucky still wants to be the slave of Pozzo.

For the sake of meeting Godot, Vladimir and Estragon do almost all the gimmicks which are done till today. But after a long wait, when a boy enters in the play, then a ray of hope arises. The boy claims to be the messenger of Godot and says conveys that Godot will come tomorrow.

This idea of tomorrow is also interesting to see. Whenever we speak ‘tomorrow’ it becomes today just the next day. In short, tomorrow never comes, and the wait prolongs for days to years to decades. The word tomorrow also refers to the set measures of time like, hours, days, months, years and so on. If one looks at the dynamics of existentialism with time, then one may question: Are we passing through time or time is passing from us?

As a human we are given very short span of time like 80 to 100 years. In such arena we have to work till death. Without the expectation of any result or reward one has to work. Godot can be seen as reward also.

The waiting creates absurdity in the play. The way Vladimir and Estragon feel, we all can relate the angst and agony with our own ways of waiting. Because in the play, Godot never comes and the play remains silent about it.

Thank You.

Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot: Tragicomedy in 2 Acts. PDF, 1982.

Waiting for Godot - Thinking Activity

Hello Readers!

With reference of an online film screening conduced online on 24th Nov 2020, this blog contains the  worksheet and follow up of the play "Waiting for Godot" discussed in the class. Samuel Beckett was a modern playwright and was associated with the "Theatre of the Absurd". This play is originally written in French with the title En Attendant Godot. 

Source Worksheet blog of questions - Click Here

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

Ans: These are the paintings by Casper David Friedrich, titled as "Longing." Samuel Beckett has taken the inspiration for the setting of the play "Waiting for Godot". Two persons in the paintings connects us with two main character of the play Vladimir and Estragon. The barrenness of the tree also suggests absurdity of life, emptiness and nothingness. As the two persons in the painting are waiting for something, Vladimir and Estragon are also waiting for Godot.

* 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 - ?

Ans: Optimistically looking at the leaves, one can say that leaves are symbol of growth, newness and hope. As such there is no hope, no newness and no tone of growth in the play, still tree as part of nature works in its own way. As natural elements like water, greenery, air, fire. . . have nothing to do with human pain, agony, anxiety, frustration and restlessness. Nature is uncaring and indifferent to human being.

* 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?

Ans: The fall of night and rise of the moon in the play can be read as if the moon is observing the miserable humans from the heavens. In the play an interesting dialogue comes,

Vladimir: Will night never come ?

Estragon: (Contemplates Moon) "Pale Wariness... of climbing heaven and gazing on the like of us."

The absurdity and paleness is felt from this dialogue.

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

Ans : Debris is a useless biproduct of building materials. While demolishing the buildings and houses, lot of debris is found. The director has used the debris very cleverly as the setting of the play is countryside road. In order to increase coarseness and barrenness in the play, debris is used.

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

Ans :

* 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)?

Ans :

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

Ans : Hat signifies mind. Boots signify body. Estragon wears boots and he is not able to remove the boots at first, just like desires and body urges. Just like boots get vanished and get rusty, Estragon also forgets many things as if his memory is also like his boots. Vladimir wears hat and he thinks a lot. He remembers many things.

* 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?

Ans:

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

Ans : Godot is an object of desire. Desire is an endless vicious chain that ultimately leads us nowhere. If we observe a toddler playing with toys, we come to know that as soon as it looks at the better toy than it carries, it will leave that toy and will crave, run and cry for the better toy. This desire perhaps comes from the binary comparison that is hardwired in our mind. For grown ups, this desire is perhaps money, material wealth, luxuries, physical fulfilment, emotional acceptance, public recognition and fame, and what not. . . Goals and success are also sprouted from desire. Passion is also nothing but desire. Desire can be compared as fire also, which never gets extinguished.

* “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?

Ans :

* 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?

Ans : For many, reading a play is more preferable than to watch it. But, plays are actually performed in the mind of the playwright. Then it gets penned on the paper. So basically its a matter of performance. Theatrical performance makes the written play more lively and meaningful. So far as Waiting for Godot is concerned, it should be read first and then to be watched also. Because, even after reading the simple and straight forward language of this play, one requires visual clarification for what one has read. Then, the torrent of dialogues and rapidness of speech becomes more clear while watching.

Yes, the audio-visual helps in better understanding of the play.

* Which of the following sequence you liked the most:

- Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting

- Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts

- Conversation of Vladimir with the boy

Ans:

* 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?

Ans:

* 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?

Ans: Suicide is a very bold statement against all the whys of living life. Albert Camus mentions about philosophical suicide in which if one denies to think or question anything one is doing a philosophical suicide. In this play, Vladimir and Estragon can be read as profound existentialists. They are ready to try everything to meet Godot. But at the same time they feel insecure whether they might fail to kill themselves.

* 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? Which country stands for 'Godot'?

Ans: Germany stands for Godot. As the character of Godot is absent and silent but to consider Godot as God then, Germany best fits in terms of World War II. Adolf Hitler was a German dictator and he occupied many countries including many European countries like Russia France, Italy, England.

(Click Here to view the map. Click Here to know more about World War II). In this way one can politically connect all the characters and countries which are waiting for Germany to liberate them.

* 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?

Ans:

* 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?

Ans: The lines are changing with the word from 'us' to 'me'. In the Act II, Vladimir changes the tone of the thought and speaks: 'tell him you saw me'. In the Act II, This conversation happens between Vladimir and Boy, where Estragon is sleeping. If Estragon represents the body and Vladimir mind, then perhaps one can state that, mind is the ultimate master of the body and mind knows that the body is material thing and going to decay with time, but perhaps it is the consciousness that goes somewhere. This way one can see the selfishness in Vladimir's character. Even after being together throughout the play, Vladimir changes his mind and willingly forgets Estragon. A Gujarati quote that comes to mind,

"અંતે તો સગા સૌ સ્વાર્થનાં"

Vladimir's selfishness also seems forgivable because on a larger way if one thinks, all the humans are tied with one another with some kind of need and requirements. If its all about give and take, then such selfishness is also legible, and forgivable as per the human temperaments. Even after the death of any near and dear ones, people forget them and move on with life. So, this is also a considering aspect of human predicament.

Sometimes life gives many crucial choices to make. And humans mostly go for the personal benefits. For better prospects of life, children go for foreign countries and they forger their parents. Even after death of their parents they don't come to native place.

These are the slightly awkward sides of human life and various situations but if one thinks about a larger and most adverse situations, one comes to know that nothingness prevails everywhere. Still its life, that goes on. . .

Thank You!

additional reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/theater/waiting-for-godot-review-druid-theater.html

Interpretation Challenge: Breath: The Shortest Play by Samuel Beckett

Hello Readers!

Here is a blog post about giving interpretation of a thirty-second play, 'Breath'. It is the shortest play written by Samuel Beckett. Martin Esslin first gave the term 'Theatre of the Absurd.' He was awarded with Nobel Prize in 1969. Few of his notable works are Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Happy Days and others.

If we look at the script of the play, it is as follows.

CURTAIN Up

1. Faint light on stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold about five seconds.

2. Faint brief cry and immediately inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum - together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold for about five seconds.

3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in 1) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold about five seconds. 

CURTAIN Down

-------------------------------------

* Interpretation of the play

If one tries to interpret such a short play, it can be said that it covers much absurdity and meaningless. As we know that Samuel Beckett is associated with Theatre of Absurd, his another play, "Waiting for Godot" is also an absurd play.

The title of the play Breath is very significant. It refers to life. The script of the play contains miscellaneous rubbish. This suggests boredom and anxiety. The brief cry also signifies life but it also suggest disgust, anguished, stressed, haphazard, pessimist and gloomy thinking. The play is very short so, this also significantly suggests that life is very short. All we have to do is just breath and cry. Crying for status, power, money, recognition, attachment, acceptance and what not. The beginning part of script suggest birth, as the light inspires and grows. The end part suggests death as the light and the sound gradually decreases. But the setup is very rubbish, so it suggests that life is nothing but a rubbish stuff, spread hither and thither. No matter how human tries to decorate the life, it will remain rubbish and coarse. This also relates with Albert Camus's Myth of Sisyphus.

* Picturization of the play

The script is very short and perhaps it is written for the dramatization purpose. So, I've tried to shoot a video following the original script and also used crying and breathing sound.

A short video describing the scene is also embedded here.

Samuel Beckett's ‘Breath’ by Rohit Vyas

If you find this video interesting then I suggest to visit the blog link given below.

https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2014/09/interpretation-challenge-breath.html

WHAT’S BEHIND THE SCENES?

Let's get some technical info about how I shot and edited this short play.

* Shot with mobile camera, tripod and headphones. For more information about ICT tools which I use, click here.

* Used steel glass to generate more deeper and hollow crying sound. Here is a demo image clicked after recording the audio.

* For repairing purpose, I have a container full of mechanical tools like screws, nuts, bolts, wall-plugs, visors, nails, rivets and many small articles. I have used these tools as prop for the play. This use of screws and other sharp objects are used metaphorically to show absurdity and coarseness. Here the sharpness also makes a curious statement that life if full of pain and agony.

Now, lets see the post-production work.

Click on the images to get closer look.

1. OpenShot Video Editor

I've used this opensource video editing tool that allows editing, cropping, merging image files, audio files and video files altogether. No license or payment required. This software gives 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p to 4K video exporting resolutions. Here is the screenshot below.

2. Audacity

It is the free audio editing tool. It is used for editing, cropping and merging the multiple audio tracks. I also applied noise reduction effect to sounds. I've cut unnecessary honking sounds coming from nearby road. Though this software doesn't support Advansed Audio Codec - AAC audio format of recording which is the only minus point.

3. Online Audio Converters

There are many. And I also select a random converter. Here I've selected ZAMZAR online conversion website to convert AAC audio track to MP3.

All in all, this entire process took 5 hours in recording the video and audio (many retakes were taken) editing and mixing many files for final video, and uploading the finalized version to YouTube. I have learnt a lot many things from this project.

Thank You!