Write a page, page and a half essay for each play, by taking into account all of the questions

for
Betrayal, two of the questions for Waiting for Godot and two for The sandbox.
Due Monday, September 15th.
BETRAYAL
1. Who is betrayed in this play? Who does the betraying?
2. Which character is most damaged by the events in the text?
3. Ive always liked Jerry. To be honest, Ive always liked him rather more than Ive liked you.
Maybe I should have had an affair with him myself. (end of scene five). What does Robert mean
when he says this? What is the effect of this statement? What implications does this have for the
themes of the play?

WAITING FOR GODOT

1. Why is it that in Act II--on the second evening Vladimir and Estragon wait--the tree has
leaves, Pozzo is blind, and Lucky is mute? Why do things change so drastically?
2. What is the function of the boy in Waiting for Godot? Please note that I am not asking for a
summary of what he does, but of what his significance is for the play. Why is he--and what
he does--important?
3. One critic of Godot has observed that the boy's response to Vladimir's question about what
Godot does is "He does nothing, Sir," and has concluded that "Godot, by implication, lives
in the same condition, the same spiritual insomnia, agony, limbo, the same despair of one's
failing powers which has hung over the play." Agree, disagree, or otherwise comment on
this analysis (with evidence from the play, please).
4. Discuss the function of the audience in Waiting for Godot. After all, do we not wait with
Didi and Gogo? Are we not caught up in their dilemmas? Are we not as uncertain about
Pozzo and Lucky as they? Are we not as confused? Is Beckett, then, using us? How? and to
what end?
THE SANDBOX
1. Of the four characters in the play, which do you find the most sympathetic? Exactly why? Set
forth your answer, with supporting evidence, in a paragraph, or perhaps in two paragraphsXthe
first devoted to the three less sympathetic characters, and the second devoted to the most
sympathetic character.
2. Why, in your opinion, does Albee insist in the first stage direction that the scene be "a bare
stage"? Do you think a naturalistic setting would in some way diminish the play? Explain.
3. What do you make of the sandbox? Is it an image of the grave, with suggestions that life is
meaningless and sterile? Or is it an image only of the sterility of life in the United States in the
second half of the twentieth century? Does the fact that Grandma was married to a farmer suggest
an alternative way of life? Explain.
4. Has reading The Sandbox forced you to rethink anything? If so, what?