Name :- Gohil DevangibaAniruddhsinhRoll No. :- 14Email Id :-devangibagohil786@gamil.comPaper No. :- :- 9 (The Modernist

Literature)

Topic :- “Waiting For Godot”:

Literary Analysis

Submitted To :- Department Of English M.K.B.University

Samuel Beckett

Samuel was born in Dublin 1906 and graduated from Trinity College.

He lived most of his life in Paris, where he died in 1989.

Waiting for Godot was originally written in French and was translate by the author. One of the most important writers of our time,

Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

"Waiting for Godot"

"Waiting for Godot" is a play in which two

characters Vladimir and Estragon await the arrival

of Godot. A person whom they've never met. As

they sit there waiting for Godot they aren't sure if

they are in the correct place or if its the correct day.

They come across two individuals by the name of

Lucky and Pozzo. At the end of the day a little boy

appears which seems to be Godot's messenger he

tells Vladimir and Estragon that Godot wont be

able to make it that day but he will for sure be there

tomorrow. The next day Vladimir and Estragon sit

in the same place waiting for Godot but this time

something seems different even though nothing has

changed. They do the same thing as the day before.

And like in the first act Godot never shows up and

Vladimir and Estragon stay another day to wait for

him.

Characters

Vladimir

more intellectualhe has the better memory

he’s more logicalEstragon depends on him for his

life.

Estragontramp with a sore foot. He wears boots and a bowler hat. He is obsessed with his

needs, his health and his hunger.has a chronically poor memory,

struggles ineptly with his boots, needs to be told what to do

spends most of his time trying to fall asleep, unless he’s sleeping already.

Pozzo Lucky

Pozzo is tyrannical, cruel, focused only on himself

A harsh slave master whose arrogance and pride annoys the two tramps. Later in the play, he

suddenly becomes blind

Pozzo’s slave.He is abused physically and

verbally, made to work to the point of exhaustion, and denied any opportunity to act of his own

accord.He is led around on a rope. In the

second act, he becomes mute.

Boy Godot

He is sent by Godot to tell the tramps he will not arrive today. The messenger boy periodically

reveals bits of information about the mysterious Godot.

Godot isn’t really a character. Or, at least, we can’t be sure if he’s a character or not.An unseen person for whom Vladimir and Estragon are waiting. All that is known about

Godot is that he has goatherds and shepherds and a long white beard. He does nothing all day, and has asked the tramps to meet him by the tree on Saturday. He never

appears.

Memory's role in the Play

It might seem strange to the reader

why the character can remember far

back into the past, but not what occured

yesterday

from playing with the mind of the

characters, every yesterday just another

normal day because of the memory's that

are randomly cleared

there is no progression in the play, this

is why they are stuck in an unending

cycle of actions

they wait for "Godot" everyday at the

same spot, they play the same games,

and ask similar questions, which in turn

repeats everyday they spend together

Effect created by the relationship Vladimir

and Estragon Present

when reading the play or even hearing it being read, the person listening to the words will most likely fluster because the reader

isn't able to find the differences in the characters

this is why the differences are as important as the similarities

between thembecause Vladimir is the more

potent of the two, whatever action he displays, Estragon follows, this

continues throughout the play

Major Themes

ChoicesPhilosophical Viewpoints:

The AbsurdTruth

Life, Consciousness, and ExistenceTimeReligionFriendship

Freedom and ConfinementSufferingMortality

SYMBOLS

DualityThe Tree

Nightfall and the Rising MoonVladimir's Song that Never Ends

The CarrotLucky's DanceLucky's Dance

Smell

What is the relevance of some scenes?

Ex. When the hat swapping scene occurs, we see that Vladimir and Estragon

repeatedly exchange hatsthese kind of scene have little relevance to what is actually happening in the play,

this is just a way to give the reader a bit of humor and pass time

Why do they stay together?

Historical Context and Theatre of the absurd

Theatre of the absurd came about as a reaction of the Second World War. The existential philosophy was taken as its root and was combined with dramatic

elements to create a style of theatre which presented a world which could not be logically explained.

This genre of theatre took quite some time to catch on because its playwriting techniques seemed to be illogical to the theatre world. The scenary was often

unrecognizable and making matters worse, the dialogue never drew any sense.

The Theatre of the Absurd is a phrase used in reference to particular plays written by number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and

1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved form their work. However, this genre of theatre accomplished its eventual popularity when World

War II highlighted the ultimate precariousness of human life.

Works Cited

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Waiting for Godot Theme of Friendship." Shmoop.com. 11 Nov. 2008. Shmoop University, Inc. 24 Mar. 2014

<http://www.shmoop.com/waiting-for-godot/friendship-theme.html>.

"Waiting for Godot Summary and Analysis." Waiting for Godot Study Guide : Analysis of the Play. 24 Mar. 2014 <http://www.gradesaver.com/waiting-for-

godot/study-guide/section3/>.

"Waiting for Godot Script." Waiting for Godot Script. 24 Mar. 2014 <http://samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part1.html>.