Waiting for Godot

By Samuel
Beckett

I. Introduction
A.

Becketts Life
1. His Irish ness
2. His novels and early writing
3. His work with Joyce
4. After the WarHis Plays

B. Becketts Ideas
1.

The absurdthe illusion of reason

2.

The Voidthe illusion of faith

3.

Humor and the dignity of humanity

4.

Loneliness and love

C. Philosophical Background to
Waiting for Godot
1.

Effects of World War II (62 million

people killed [37.5 million in WWI]; 12
million in concentration camps; atomic
bomb and the promise of annihilation)
a. Shock and disillusion
b. Alienation and anxiety

c. Loss of faith
d. Pessimism

C. Philosophical Background
(cont)
2.

Existentialism
a. Loss of the sense of external meaning
b. Loss of belief in reason and faith
c. Believes in only that which we can see,
that which exists (e.g., Platos
essence and Spinozas substance
are out the philosophical window)

C. Philosophical Background
2. Existentialism
d. Existentialism states:
There is, therefore, no preexistent
spiritual realm, no soul,no cosmic
compassion for or interest in human life,
no afterlife, no transcendence of worldly
existence, no cosmic meta-narrative, no
angels and devils, no divine will, no
preset destiny, no inevitable fate.

C. Philosophical Background
2. Existentialism
e. Existentialism believes:
1. life has no preset or external
meaning of its own
2. Life is (without human creation
of it) meaningless (the myth of
Sisyphus)
3. Humans, therefore, are free
(free will is important)

C. Philosophical Background
2. Existentialism
4. Humanitys only chance at dignity lies in:
the courage to face the truth, that we are alone
in an uncaring universe
the courage to face the fact / possibility that
life is meaningless and yet to still go on
--I cant go on; I must go on; Im going
on.
-- the courage and dignity of Sisyphus when at the
top of the hill he sees the rock roll back and realizes
his meaninglessness and yet still goes down to set to
work again.

3. The Paradox of Consciousness

There are two possible interpretations of the
existence of human consciousness:
a. A divine gift, fire of the gods, part of
the divine plan, consciousness brings us
all our joy (love, art, etc.)
b. A cosmic joke, consciousness was
never intended for humans and brings us
only suffering, pain, and the existence of
evil.

D. Theatre of the Absurd

1.

2.

Existentialist Theatre
(No Exit by Sartre)
absurd content but
rational form or
presentation
Theatre of the Absurd
form and content merge
to form a truer art

II.
A.

Waiting for Godot

Major Themes
1. the voidlife is meaningless
2. the hopelessness (and cruelty)
of hope
3. dependence of
one human on
another

A. Major Themes (cont)

4. Passing the
time
5. the world
as wasteland
6.

Lack of communicationnothing is
worth communicating or can be
communicated, but we cant stop talking

A. Major Themes (continued)

7. The social theme (Pozzo and Lucky=the
oppressed and oppressor;
Lucky carries his own whip)

8. Psychological Theme
a. loss of memory=loss of meaning
b. lack of self-awareness
c. our cosmic insignificance
d. the pain and curse of consciousness

A. Major Themes (continued)

9.

The Religious Theme

a. No personal god

b. No Savior
c. No Redemption

B. Characters
1.

2.

Vladimer (Didi)

Estrogon
(Gogo)

B. Characters (continued)
3.

Pozzo

4.

Lucky

B. Characters
5. the boy

6. Godot

C. Setting
1.

The place

2.

The time

D. Symbols, Style, Literary

Techniques
1.

2.

3.

D. Symbols, Style, and Literary

Techniques
4.

5.

6.