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Reflection
Through reading Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, my understanding of the

devastating effects of war on society and the ideology of existentialism was expanded. Because

Beckett wrote the play sometime between 1948 and 1949 in France, World War II had an acute

effect on not only Beckett, but also the rest of society. As a result of the numerous lives lost

during the war, much of the world came to realize the pointlessness of their actions. The

prevalence of death led many to recognize that each and every person will eventually die at some

point, urging them to focus on their present lives rather than their futures. Following the

conclusion of World War II in 1945 in Europe, Beckett became more aware that most people

went through the same monotonous actions everyday with few changes. These sentiments

became the basis for his play. When first reading the play, the characters and the plot simply

seemed absurd, acting in a way that no one in todays society would. However, after a thorough

discussion, we began to comprehend that Beckett utilizes the aggravating characters in order to

incite the audience to grasp the senselessness of our own actions. He encouraged the readers to

take control of reforming their lives in order to experience a meaningful life. In addition, the play

also indirectly criticized religion, which can be seen in the relationship between Lucky and

Pozzo. Because Lucky, a slave, refuses to run away even when he has the chance to, the readers

began to understand the deep ties that people have to their religion. Even if a religion may not

prove to be beneficial, one will often stay, hoping that God will lead them to the right path.

Overall, Becketts main message appeared to be that society needs to recognize the absurdity of

its actions in order to lead to more substantial and purposeful lives.

Word Count: 314


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Waiting for Godot: Analysis of Symbols

In Waiting For Godot, the two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, waste time while

endlessly waiting for another man, Godot. They try absurd methods to cure their boredom, such

as suggesting that they hang themselves. Instead they meet a man named Pozzo, who entertains

them by commanding his slave, Lucky, to dance and think. Later, Godots messenger informs

Estragon and Vladimir that Godot will meet them the next day instead. However, on the

following day, the events follow the same monotonous pattern with a few small changes, such as

that the tree grows leaves and Pozzo becomes blind. Eventually, Godots messenger again

informs them again that Godot will meet them the next day, leaving Estragon and Vladimir

perpetually waiting for a man who will never come. Therefore, in Waiting For Godot, Samuel

Beckett utilizes symbols, such as the rope, the tree, and the boots, in order to criticize societys

hesitation to break away from routine and live a meaningful life.

The rope that Pozzo uses to control Lucky, his slave, embodies the various aspects of a

relationship between God and a worshipper. For instance, after Pozzo jerks the rope, Lucky

looks at Pozzo, and Pozzo commands, Think, pig!.. Stop!... Forward! (33). By jerking the rope,

Beckett criticizes the emotional bondage of practicing a religion. Whenever Pozzo pulls on the

rope, Lucky must perform an action. Similarly, when one feels that God has told them to do

something, the follower must put Gods command first rather than ones physical or emotional

needs. This also demonstrates how adherents of religion look to other people to lead them when

facing an adverse situation, expecting to be rewarded with salvation of an afterlife, instead of

living in the moment and bettering the life that they are experiencing at that moment. As a result,

religious followers become obsessed with the future, rather than the present. Moreover, when
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Pozzo becomes blind, Pozzo and Lucky remain attached by the rope as before, but much

shorter, so that Pozzo can follow more easily (67). In this situation, Pozzo acts as the follower

in the relationship, while Lucky becomes the god-like figure. When Pozzo becomes blind, as he

experiences a more difficult situation in his life, the rope becomes shortened in order to allow

him to ease his difficulties. Similarly, when one undergoes a traumatic event in ones life, they

will often look for a closer link with God or someone who will lead them. However, when one is

content with their life, they disregard their faith, and look to lead themselves, demonstrating the

hypocrisy of religion. Furthermore, as Pozzo commands Lucky, Lucky puts everything down,

[and] puts [the] end of rope in Pozzos hand (79). Even though Lucky has the opportunity to run

away from his master and gain his freedom, Lucky chooses to hand the rope back to Pozzo,

keeping him captive. In a similar fashion, because they remain scared or simply too lazy, people

often choose to maintain a routine rather than break away and work for something better. They

practice religion because it is convenient, even though it may not necessarily prove to be

beneficial to them. When someone is born into a religion, they often continue to practice it

without exploring other options or questioning the validity of it because it provides the path of

least resistance rather than being something that one truly believes in. This also exhibits how

people put their fate into the hands of God instead of using their own efforts to better their lives.

They expect God to point them in the right direction instead of choosing to take a chance, which

cannot be blamed on another person and would instead only leave oneself to blame. In this

instance, Estragon and Lucky put their fate into the hands of an unknown stranger, Godot, whom

they expect to willingly save them.


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The tree in the background symbolizes peoples focus on the future rather than the

present. Initially, when Vladimir asks how to relieve their boredom, Estragon suggests, What

about hanging ourselves? (9). By hanging themselves, Vladimir and Estragon would hope to

gain new life through going to heaven. Death also offers them an easy way out of their unnamed

predicament. Instead of taking responsibility for something that got them in trouble, they would

rather just kill themselves, proving the absurdity of man. They would prefer to avoid dealing

with their problems than actually work to resolve them. Because they do not end up hanging

themselves because they do not have rope, this further demonstrates their laziness because rather

than acting and doing what they deem most effective, they choose to simply wait and see what

happens to them. In addition, even though the tree appears dead the first day, the next day the

tree has four or five leaves (47). Because Vladimir and Estragon do not realize the dramatic

change in scenery even though the tree is the only indicator of a setting, this reveals that they

remain so focused on the future that they do not see than anything that is around them. Estragon

and Vladimir choose to focus on the possibility of meeting a stranger who will solve all their

problems, which distracts them from perceiving their surroundings. The tree also represents a

chance for new life. Since no one attempted to revive the tree the previous day, the tree must

repair itself rather than rely on someone else. This contrasts Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait

for someone else to advance their lives.

Estragons boots represent peoples unwillingness to change. For example, at the

beginning of the play, Estragon sits and is trying to take off his boot (1). By taking off his

boots, this hinders Estragon from moving anywhere. As a result, Estragon essentially wastes his

life, sitting in the same spot, reluctant to experience anything new. While he has the ability to
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change his life, he instead chooses to live the same monotonous routine, waiting for someone

who will never show up. In addition, when Estragon removes his shoes, this also removes any

semblance of being a civilized person, demonstrating that if one refuses to move forward, they

will revert back to primal behavior. Additionally, on the second day, when Estragon finds his

own boots, he claims that theyre too big (60). Even though the previous day Estragon thinks

that his boots seem too small, the next day he alleges that the boots are too large. In a similar

fashion, people find fault with everything. Estragon expects the boots to fit perfectly even though

they remain the same boots as the previous day. Rather than attempt to get new boots that fit, he

instead chooses to leave them, expecting someone to exchange them with ones that will match

his size. By relying on the chance that someone else will improve his life, Beckett criticizes the

laziness of society.

Overall, through the the symbolism of the rope, the tree, and the boots, Beckett

denounces humankinds reluctance to take action which will ultimately aid themselves in

advancing their lives. He urges to use an innate power to reform ones life. Each person should

act as the creator of their own destiny without relying on an outside figure. Therefore, Beckett

calls upon each person to take responsibility of their life in an effort to prosper and thrive.

Word Count: 1219

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