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Act Without Words

Arranged by S.A.A.
Act Without Words Summary

The lone character in this drama—usually a man, but there is


absolutely no reason it need be—suddenly is flung backward onto
the stage. He gets himself, dusts himself and pauses for a moment
to reflect before there is a whistle which stimulates further
reflection and what turns out to be another attempt to leave the
stage.

Once again, he finds himself flung back from whence he came and
he repeats the same getting up, dusting off, reflection, hearing a
whistle, going to inspect, exiting and getting throw back onto the
stage.

This scenario repeats itself until once when he tries to exist he


stops and considers the almost certain consequences at which
point a tree descends from above and plants itself behind him.
With just one lone bough and barely any palms, it is a pretty pitiful
excuse for a tree and when the whistle comes and causes him to
turn a look at it, he care barely fit its shadow as he sits down and
studies his hands. As he does so, a pair of scissors slowly lowers
from above him and comes to a rest before the tree. As the man
reflects upon his palms, a whistle draws him attention to the
scissors, which he grabs and uses to give himself a manicure.
At this point, the pitiful palm leaves close like an umbrella being
undone and the shadow suddenly disappears which causes him to
drop the scissors and commence his silent reflection. Suddenly, a
carafe labeled with WATER slowly falls from the sky and dangles,
but he doesn’t notice anything—as usual—until there is a whistle
to draw his attention to the carafe which he goes to stand under
but cannot reach. This failure results in a rejection of the attempt
and more reflection.

The man fails to see a large cube falling from above. Until there is
a whistle. The sound of which sends him over for inspection of the
cube and then the carafe. Reflection results in cognitive
awareness and he grabs the cube, carries it to the spot beneath
the carafe, tests its ability to hold his weight, steps onto the it, fails
to reach the carafe, gives up and put the cube bac where it was.
A smaller cube lands and a whistle draws the man’s attention. He
goes to the second cube and puts it under the carafe and tests its
capacity to hold his weight and climbs it and fails to reach the
carafe. He takes the small cube back to where he found it but then
reconsider and sets it back down beneath the carafe. He gets the
bigger cube, place it atop the small cube, tries to get the carafe
and winds up falling to the ground. Upon reflection, he tries again
by putting the smaller cube atop the bigger cube.

Just when he is about to grab the carafe, it is yanked out of reach.


When a third, even smaller, cube appears, he can only reflect on
its potential before it suddenly flies away. Then a rope appears—
complete with knots to facilitate climbing—appears next to the
carafe. Whistling and reflection continue. Ascent using the rope
which fails as the rope falls back to the ground. He gets the
scissors and cuts the rope, making a lasso. Before he can even try
to catch the carafe in his lasso, the carafe disappears upward.
He grabs the lasso and makes to create some height using the
cubes to reach the tree’s one long bough. When he turns his back
however, the bough has collapsed. This cause him to return the
cubes, one at a time, to where they were and to place the lasso on
the smallest one. A whistle stimulates another attempt to exist and
once again he is flung back.

After further reflection, he hears another whistle, but fails to move


until he starts looking around for the scissors which he uses again
to trim his nails. Then he lays the scissors on one of the cubes and
starts to trail his finger up and down his neck. The small cube
disappeared, carrying away the rope and scissors. When he
reaches for the scissors, he realizes they are gone. He sits down
on the big cube until it’s pulled out from under him and flies away.
Lying on his side, he fails to move when the carafe suddenly
comes to a rest a few feet away. A whistle and the water draws
nearer to his face. Then the carafe is pulled up and disappears.

The bough of the tree lifts back into place and the palms reopen as
the shadow returns. No movement from the man so the tree is
pulled up and disappears.
The man just sits there looking at his hands.
Act Without Words Symbols

Light
The opening words of the published play that situate the setting are “Desert. Dazzling
light.” The use of light as a symbol is a recurring motif throughout Beckett’s work.
Light and illumination are inherent symbols of the apprehension of consciousness in
man.
Whistle
The whistle that draws the man’s attention and seems to guide him toward action
represents some sort of external guiding force. The fact that the whistle generally has
the effect of tempting the man to do something which he will not be able to do
suggests it is a malevolent guide; the tempter as devil.
The Fling
The man seems to be flung onto the stage at various intervals as if against his will; as
if being tossed into an existence over which there is no control. This symbolic act
actually relates the play back to a concept established by the philosopher Martin
Heidegger: Geworfenheit which translates literally into “thrownness.” The symbolism
is here rather firmly firmly established as linking the man being flung onto the stage
as comparable to the act of birth; an act which is utterly absurd as no one asks for it,
but must deal with the consequences.
The Tree
The tree provides only physical comfort and thus becomes a representative symbol of
those elements of the word which we seek solely for the basic necessities. In this case,
shelter from the heat of the desert.
Scissors, Rope and Cubes
The scissors, the rope, and the cubes are symbols of reason. Thrust into existence
against his will, the man must evolve and adapt. Recognizing the value of water as not
just immediate gratification, but essential to long term existence, the tools which have
been made available only become useful through trial and error. Ultimately, of course,
they prove to be useless, but such is the path of rationality. One must comprehend
logic before it can be successfully applied.
Act Without Words Themes

The Difficulty of Communication


The entire play is performed in mime. The lack of verbal communication of any kind
suggests that real communication through verbal means is either pointless or
impossible. Either way, the result is that it creates difficult in translating meaning
between people.
The Illusion of Choice
The carafe of water is there for the taking, or so it seems. Every time the man tries to
make a grab for the carafe—holding the stuff of life—he is denied. The message is
clear: when given the opportunity to get something that really matters, the matter of
choice is false. The man really has no choice when it comes to get getting the water;
he will be denied no matter mater. Everything is an illusion of possibility, not actual
possibility.
The Impossibility of Escape
You can’t escape fate. Every attempt to extricate himself from the vagaries of fate
sends him tumbling right back into the desert again. He is there for good because life
offers no real escape, but one. Only death can extricate him from an endlessly
repeating cycle of being thrown right back into the situation that is his living hell.
The Absurdity of Existence
As with many of Beckett’s works, ultimately the overarching theme is the utter
absurdity of existence. What could be more absurd than being thrown into a world to
face the same challenges every day with the same illusion of having choice provided
for you that are really no choices at all in a situation where it seems those around you
just don’t even seem to speak the same language as you? About the only thing more
absurd than the situated faced by the fellow there in the desert is…just about any
employee’s day at work in a face bureaucratic system or the hell of having to come
home to a family already firmly ensconced in their ridiculous expectations of you.
One man’s desert with no chance to get a drink of water is another man’s absurd
extrapolation of life, or so Beckett suggests.
Act Without Words Analysis

Beckett's Act Without Words is a silent depiction of futility. In the Greek


tradition, the main character is facing an eternal punishment, forced to work at
tasks which he or she will never be allowed to complete. The Greek myths of
Sisyphus and Tantalus come to mind after reading Beckett's work. Sisyphus
was punished for arrogance by rolling a boulder up a hill, but when it reaches
the top it rolls back down again, for eternity. Similarly, Tantalus was punished
by being made to stand in a pool with a fruit tree branch extended above him,
never able to reach the fruit or touch the water forever. In much the same way
Beckett's main character finds himself on a stage and is whistled at to complete
tasks which may help him grab hold of a carafe of water but never allowed to
grab hold of the carafe.
This story of constant frustration is a disturbing one, an idea that has tortured
the minds of men for centuries, since the Greek philosophers. Is this person
being punished? One could never know for certain as no outside information is
provided for the readers beyond what the main character observes and does.
With no end in sight, this person just has to respond to data and hope that he
can do something right and be rewarded for it with water at last. He doesn't
seem too concerned, however, showing more anxiety about the state of his
fingernails than the perpetually receding water. Most likely, Beckett's point is
to illustrate how people are thoughtless, more inclined to worry about the
inconsequential than the necessary.

Another important aspect of this story to consider is the fact that the
protagonist awakens upon a stage. He is trapped on a platform, denied exit by
an unknown force. Something else besides himself exists as evidenced by the
whistle, but for all he knows he may be the only being in existence. He's
completely alone. Despite appearances, he may in fact be under observation by
an audience as the stage seems to imply. This idea of endless, public
punishment is one alluded to in an episode of the British TV show Black
Mirror. Whether he knows it or not, the main character is potentially being
watched by any number of people laughing at his frustration and torment. In a
very real way, this is a commentary on human existence. We try and try at
things that will never result in anything worthwhile, all the while trapped in the
public eye as our brothers and sisters watch us fail. No matter what, we are
always utterly alone.

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