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  • Essay / Man's search for meaning in Waiting... by Samuel Beckett

    Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett; a tragic comedy in which Estragon and Vladimir wait for someone named Godot, who never shows up. This existentialist play, set in a unique setting and time, follows traditional actions and rules of human existence, and does nothing in its life but wait. Beckett wrote a play in which nothing happens and one minute is no different from the next. The play ends exactly as it began, with two men impatiently waiting for Godot and trying to exist in a hostile and indifferent world because of their human condition, for example, they keep repeating themselves, saying stupid things, to forget and try to find the answer to the question: Who and where is Godot? From the paradoxical repetition of words, forgetting and meaningless speech, the play tells us that human life has no meaning, but that in real life humans will create distractions and diversions, trying to form patterns, goals and meanings to give meaning to their lives. .Throughout the play the form can be seen, in two acts with the repetition of lines, actions and staging. Didi and Gogo wait impatiently, but waiting induces boredom and Estragon continually says "Let's go" but they don't move referring to creating boredom within and through repetition of dialogues as well as actions. Vladimir and Estragon constantly ponder questions, many of which are rhetorical or remain unanswered. As the play progresses, certain unanswered questions arise: who is Godot? Where are Gogo and Didi? Who beats Gogo? All of these unanswered questions represent rhetorical questions that individuals ask themselves, but for which they never obtain an answer throughout their lives. The many repetitions of the empty hats passing back and forth can be s...... middle of paper... ....... The artist depicts the human condition of Estragon and Vladimir . They repeat themselves, which refers to the passage of time and an attempt to remain oblivious to the fact that they are waiting for a vague character, partly of their own invention, who will never come, because Estragon never remembers having met Godot but Vladimir did. They finish their sentences; they keep saying, “Let’s go,” but the stage directions say, “They’re not moving,” which refers to the shape of the play. This waiting, this repetition and this nonsense tells us to stop waiting, or to move on because waiting will only waste more time. Gogo and Didi should have stopped waiting, talking stupid things and should have managed their time better. Works Cited Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. 3rd ed. Np: CPI Group, 2006. Printed. Flight. 1 by Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works. 4 flights.