Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Waiting for Godot - Initial questions about the play
When we were reading Waiting For Godot in class the other day, I felt very confused about the context and setting of the play. First off, Vladimir and Estragon are simply waiting for Godot, however they don't know who he is, what he wants, and claim they couldn't even pick him out in a crowd. This raises the question: why are they inclined to wait in the first place? Then, as the play goes on, Vladimir and Estragon claim that they have to leave, yet they never do. Time and time again, they announce their exits, but Vladimir only leaves momentarily (and doesn't even go completely offstage -- according to stage directions) and returns right away. This raises more questions: why are inclined to stay waiting for nothing? Are they physically able to leave? Another question I have is about the relationship between Estragon and Vladimir. How did they meet? Did they know each other very well before? My final question is: will my questions be left unanswered? Is that the intent of the play?
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Stephanie, after reading your post I spent awhile trying to zone in on one question and answer it, but I was not able to. In fact, it just confused me more. I think that it is best to approach this play with our feelings, instead of our logic, because the characters themselves are illogical.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not know the answers to many of your questions, I have a guess as to why Vladimir and Estragon are inclined to constantly wait by the tree. I think Vladimir and Estragon are inclined to continue waiting for Godot because they are stuck in a state of spiritual paralysis. No matter how frustrated they get about waiting by the tree, they never seem to be able to convince themselves to leave. This implies that they have some unexplained and perpetual spiritual feeling within them that is driving their actions and keeping them from leaving the tree.
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