4 waiting for godot - summary - themes

 Vladimir
 Estragon
 Pozzo
 Lucky
 Boy
 Godot

 Setting: A country road with one tree
 Vladimir and Estragon meet
 Estragon pulls of his boot, Vladimir takes of his hat
 They look in them to see if there’s anything inside
 Later, they talk about Jesus Christ and Gospels to pass time.
 Estragon wants to leave, Vladimir says they can’t.
 Because theyre waiting for Godot.
 They don’t know if Godot will come, or it’s the right place to wait.

 Bored, Estragon suggests hanging themselves from the tree.
 They can’t decide who should go first, so they decide to wait.
 Pozzo and Lucky arrive.
 Lucky  looks like a horse, rope around his neck, carrying everything.
 Pozzo  looks rich and aristocratic, carries a whip to hit Lucky.
 Estragon talks about Godot, Pozzo gets confused.

 Pozzo orders Lucky around, Lucky obeys silently.
 Then he eats some chicken, throwing the bones away.
 Estragon gets the bones since Lucky doesn’t say he wants them.
 Pozzo then says he’s been with Lucky for almost 60 years.
 Vladimir is surprised but Pozzo says Lucky is a burden.

 Pozzo talks about the night sky, other appreciate that.
 Pozzo likes being appreciated, offers to have Lucky dance and think for them.
 Lucks dances, but when he starts to think, he starts talking about politics and
religion. The thoughts are never connected or completed.
 The men force Lucky to stop talking.
 Pozzo and Lucky leave, Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot.
 A young boy arrives, sent by Godot. He says Godot won’t come today.

 Setting: Same place, same time
 Vladimir and Estragon admit they are happy alone.
 Then convince each other that they’re happy together.
 Still waiting for Godot...
 They say they hear «voices», so they decide to ask each other questions.
 Estragon doesn’t remember yesterday.
 They keep on talking, then see someone coming.
 They try to hide behind the tree, but they’re too big to hide.

 Then they decide to «abuse» each other, start insulting.
 They embrace and continue waiting.
 Pozzo and Lucky arrive again.
 Pozzo is blind and Lucky is mute.
 Pozzo falls, Vladimir doesn’t want to help him stand up not to be left alone.
 Then they help Pozzo get up.

 Estragon goes to wake up Lucky.
 He kicks him and starts hurling abuses until he again hurts his foot.
 Estragon sits back down and tries to take off his boot.
 Pozzo and Lucky leave.
 Vladimir says there is no truth and by tomorrow they will know nothing of what
happened.
 The boy arrives again but does not remember meeting Estragon or Vladimir.

 The conversation is the same – Godot will not come today.
 Vladimir wants the boy to remember him tomorrow.
 Then they decide to leave but they can’t because they need to wait.
 They decide to hang themselves if Godot doesn’t come.
 Then they decide to leave, but they don’t.

 The absurd
 Truth
 Life, Consciousness, existence
 Time

 Daily actions are meaningless
 Language fails to communicate
 Artifical lives(Characters explicitly say they might be on stage)
 Dark comedy – Charaters talk about tragic events (death, suicide)
 The audience cannot know how to react, laugh or cry?

 Truth is uncertain
 Characters cannot decide what to do – uncertainty of consequences
 Non-existence of objective truth – they question everything
 Even time is subjective

 Life is repetitive, meaningless
 Without a purpose
 Nihilism - a denial of any significance or meaning
 The play is basically about «nothing»
 Involves suffering
 Solution?
 Awareness
 Conscious choice

 In the title: «WAITING»
 Time is a barrier and a test of endurance
 Same actions everyday  Time is cyclical
 Memories are faulty  Time is irrelevant, uncertain
 It is not clear when the play starts and when it ends.

4 waiting for godot - summary - themes

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4 waiting for godot - summary - themes