1.

Char
act
eri
zat
ioni
nEndgame.

Answer
:Tool
sofChar
act
eri
zat
ion

Char
act
erAnal
ysi
s

Names

Hamm mayal l
udeto"Hamlet,
"makingHamm somet hi
ngofar av
ingpri
ncewho
wil
lul
ti
mat el
ybringabouthi
sowndest r
ucti
on.(Readmor eaboutHamlether
e.)I
t
mayal so suggestthe"ham,"someonewho i sloud,sil
l
y,andoutgoingand
const
antl
ywant stobethecenterofat
tent
ion.

bri
ngstomindtheword"cl
eave,
"tot
earapar
torrend,aswellast
hewor
d"l
ove.
"
Taki
ngthetwooftheset
ogether
,wegetthesensethatlov
ehassomehowbeen
tor
nfrom Cl
ov.

Nagg'
snamer ai
sesthever
b" t
onag,
"ashei
sconst
ant
lywhi
ningandaski
ngf
or
di
ff
erentt
hingsf
rom t
hosearoundhi
m.

signi
fi
canceofNel
l'
snamei suncl
ear,buti
tist
hemostmel
l
ifl
uous-
soundi
ng
name,andNell
isal
sothecal
mestchar
acter
.

Thi
st ypeofwordplaymayseem sil
ly,butBecket
twaspart
icul
arl
yawareofthe
di
fferentassoci
ati
ons hi
s words wouldtake on (r
emember,Beckettwas a
minimali
st)
,andtherear
eprobabl
yplentymorethatar
enotl
ist
edhere.

Act
ions

Thisplaybei ngwhati tis,wemi ghtbet t

ercl assi
fyt hissecti
onas" lackof
acti
ons."Yet,wel earnalotaboutCl ovfrom thatopeningscenewher ehedr aws
backthecur tai
nsoft hewi ndows,butkeepsf orgetti
ngt heladderwhenhedoes
so.ThroughCl ov'
sact i
ons,wegetasenseofhi sabsent-mindednessandal soof
hisabsurdit
y.Weal solear
nal otaboutCl ovbyt hewayt hatheconstantlygoes
backandf orthfrom hiskit
chen.Hei sincapableofact uall
yleavi
ngHamm, sohe
substi
tutesinabunchoft hesefalsedepar t
ures.Wegeti ntothesignif
icanceof
thekit
chenatmor elengthinthe"Setti
ng"section.

BecauseHamm andhi sparentsareimmobi l

e,wedon'tl
earnasmuchbyt heir
act
ions.Yet
,wedonot i
cet hatNaggletshimselfoutofhi
sbi nandgoesback
i
ntoitashepleases,
whereasNellwaitsforsomeonetocallherorputherback.
Thi
smi ghtsuggestt
hatNaggst i
llpossessesmoreagencyandhopet henNell
does.
Weal sonot icethatHamm want stobet akenaroundt heroom fr
equent
ly,and
thatheattempt stomov ehi
mselfwiththegaff
,thepollusedforsai
li
ng.Heisnot
contentbeingphy si
cal
lyhandi
capped,andhasnoty etgiventhehopeofbeingin
controlofhisownbody ,nomattert
ohowsmal lanext
ent .

Habi
ts

Habitisnotahugef actori nt heplayint ermsofspeci f

icbehav iors,buti
tisv er y
clearthateachchar acterhasasetr outineandi sthendr iv
enf orwardbyi nertia.
Wedonot ,f orexampl e,seemanypeopl ebr eakinghabi t
.Now,Nagghast he
habitofaski ngf ordiff
er enti t
emsoff ood,whi chsuggest sthathei sneedy .He
alsohast hehabi tofy elli
ngr epeatedlyf orwhathewant s,whi chmakeshi m
seem childlike.Hamm hast hehabitoft akingof fhistoque( hat )andputti
ngi t
backoni nsal ute.Thismi ghtsuggestt hathest i
l
lwant stomai ntainsomesor tof
personaldi gnit
ybymaki ngsuchgest ures.Heal sohast hehabi tofcall
ingCl ov
whenCl ovi sr i
ghtnextt ohi m, whi
chunder l
i
neshowaf raidofbei ngaloneHamm
i
s.Cl ov,f
orhi spart,hast hehabitofconst antlyforgett
ingt hi
ngs,whi chseems
l
iketheonl yspont aneous, pl
easurableact ionher eall
ytakesdur i
ngt heplay.

ThoughtandOpi
nions

Becausesomuchoft heplaytakespl aceindi alogue( whichmakessense,of

course,becauset hisi
sapl ay)
,wel earnt hemostaboutchar actersbywhatt hey
sayanddo.Wedonotcountt hisas" SpeechandDi alogue,"howev er,because
whatdef inest hechar act
ersisnotsomucht hei rspeechast hei deast hat
underli
eit.Hamm,f orexample,ischar acter
izedbyhi sthoughtt hatt hingsmay
nothav ebeenf ornothing,
thatthegrassmaybegr eeneront heot hersi de.Heis
alsocharacteri
zedbyt hewayt hathet hinksofhi mselfasamonar ch,andbyhi s
generalhesitancytoendhi sownl ifeorhi sinteracti
onswi tht hosear oundhi m.
Clovischar acteri
zedbyhi sconvicti
ont hatt hi
ngsar ev erynear lyfini
shed,and
thatevery
t hi
ngi spret
tymuchmeani ngless.Cl ov,unli
keHamm, longsf ortheend.

Nel lisav eryminorcharacter,wecan'thel pbutcharacter i

zeherbythespeech
thatshemakesaboutnot hingbei ngfunnierthanunhappi ness.Nel
lunderst
ands
blackhumor ;sheget
si t
.Sheexpl ainsitbetterthanany oneelseintheplay,but
shei sjusttooexhaustedtol aughanymor e.Sheadmi t
st hatshehasgivenint o
despair.Nagg,f orhispar t,ist heleastbr ainycharact erintheplay.Hei s
domi natedmor ebyhisneedsanddesi r
est hanbyanythingel se
2.Thesi
gni
fi
canceoft
het
it
leEndgame.

Answer:Intheplay"Endgame"bySamuelBecket t,theti
tl
ereferst othegame
chess.So,justli
keinchesssomeonei nEndgamehast ol oseandwi n.The
"game"i Endgame 
n  i
sl if
eand deat h-
-wit
hdeat hbei ng avictory.
 Nobodyi n
theat
reoftheabsurdi sawi nner,becausedailylifeispainf
ul,repeti
ti
ous,and
meaningl
ess. Youcouldarguet hatbothHamm  andCl ovwil
lbewi nner
swhen
theyeachdi
e. Hamm andCl ovare not 
playi
ngagainsteachother.

Thechessgamei show wemanaget oliveourdail

ylivesagai
nsttheforces
notedinabsurdi
sm. Thisi
show wechooset oactdail
ytomanaget hepai
ni n
ourliv
es. Theoutcomeoft hegamei sal r
eadyknown,asi nchess,during
endgame:weeachwi lldi
e. Beckettaskseachofust ounit
einordertopl
anor
manage ourdayswhil
ewear estil
lali
ve.

Endgame  bySamuelBecket tispar tofaEur opeant r

aditi
oncal l
ed t
heatreoft he
absurd.Thi st raditi
onf ol
lowst he hor
rorsofWor ldWarI Iandt heHol ocaust.
 
Societyusedt obeliev ethatwe,ashumans,wer eenlightenedwi t
hknowl edge
andcapabl e ofabr i
ghtf uturef orgenerationst ocome.  Thehor r
orsoft he
Holocaust ,howev er,suggest edt omanyt hathumansar enotenl i
ghtened,and
thattherei snoguar ant eeofany thi
ng. Humansf aceforcessuchascapi tali
sm,
i
ndust r
ialization,andev il-
-ourdai lyact
ionsar epointl
ess andf ut
il
eint hefaceof
thesef orces. Wel i
vei nawor ldofnot hingness( becausewehav estoodbyand
all
owedt hemur derof6mi l
lionJewsandot hers)
,butweneedt ouni tefor
somet hing,i fpossi ble. AlbertCamus'  TheMy t
hofSi syphus isagr eatexampl e
ofanexi st entiali
star gumentont hesubject.

Byanalyzi
ngt hepl aysEndgame,t hi
sstudywoul dliketodiscussofbehaviors
towar
dsot herpeopl e.Throughthemaincharacter
’swayt oshowhi sexpr
ession
byusing psy choanalyti
ct heor
y,itis expected t
he readercan getaf ur
ther
under
standingabouthuman’ smindandbehav i
ortr
oughHamm’ sli
fe.

Hopef ul
l
y ,t
hisresearchwillbeveryusef
ulinhel
pingreader
s,especi all
yforthe
youth,tobeunder st
oodaboutt hemeani ngofli
ve.Atlast,thi
sst udycanbe
considered asacont r
ibuti
ontot helit
erar
ystudyespeciall
yf orst udent
si n
Engli
shDepar tmentFacultyofLett
ersandHumaniti
esStateIsl
ami cUniversi
tyof
SunanAmpel Surabaya.
3.WhyandEndgamei
sapost
-apocal
ypt
icdr
ama.

Answer :Endgamei sseti nawor l

dev enmor eunf ami li
art hant hatofWai tingf or
Godot .Al lout side, i
fwear et obel i
ev et het est imonyofCl ovandhi st elescope, i
s
grey ,deser tedandl if
el ess.Thechar act ershav ememor iesofawor ldsi mi l
art o
ourown,butt heonet heyl i
vei ni sdepl et edandbel at ed.Thei rmemor iesar e
mor eat t
unedt hant hechar actersi nWai ti
ngf orGodot ,sot hei rawar enessof
cur rentder elicti
oni sal lt hemor eofat orment .Phy si caldebi lityi scl ear lyamot i
f
i
nt heear li
erpl aybuti nt hiswor ldoft heampu-t ated, t
hepar al yticandt hebl ind,
thesenseofdecr epi tudeandent r
apmenti sf armor eoppr essi v e.Out side,al lis
'
cor psed' .Thi s desol at el andscape r esem-bl es a post -apocal ypt i
c scene,
prompt i
ngsomecomment ator st ospecul at eonwhet hersomeoft heanxi et ies
oft heCol dWar , wi tht het hreatofnucl earext i
nct i
on, canbef elti nt hispl ay .The
reasonf orwhyt hewor ldi satt hispoi ntofexpi ration, whyal lout sidei sgr eyand
fl
atandl if
eless,i snotgi ven.Nori st hebehav iouroft hechar act ersexpl ained.
WhydoesCl ovdo Hamm' sbi dding whenher esent si tso much?Whyar e
Hamm' spar ents,t hel egl essNaggandNel l,conf inedt oashbi ns?Whati st he
relationshi pofHamm' schr oni clet ot hepl ay ?Doesi t,asmanyhav esuggest ed,
relatet ot hear ri
v al ofCl ovi nt hehouse?Atapr oduct ioni nt heRi v ersideSt udi oi n
Hammer smi thin1980,di rect edbyBecket t,Ri ckCl uchey ,play ingHamm att he
ti
me, askedBecket tdirect lyi fthel itt
leboyi nt hest or yi sact ual l
yt hey oungCl ov .
'
Don' tknowi fit'st hest or yoft hey oungCl ovornot ,wasBecket t'schar act er ist i
c
response.' Simpl ydon' tknow. 0Spect at orsont hel ook- outf orameani ngi nt he
play wi l
lencount ert he f oll
owi ng met at heat ri
calsnub:' HAMM:We' re not
begi nni ngt o. .somet hing?CLOV:Meansomet hing!YouandI ,meansomet hing!
(Briefl augh. )Aht hat '
sagoodone!.I fev ery thingi scomi ngt oanend, ifalli sr un
downandexhaust ed,t hisdoesnotj ustappl yt opai nki llersandbi cy clesbutt o
thel esst angi blequal itiesofmeani ngandcl ar i
ty .Thest agedi r ect i
onst ellust hat
ther ei sapi cturef aci ngt hewal lint her oom wher et het o...mean44The
Cambr idge I ntroduct ion t o SamuelBecket tact ion t akes pl ace,a met aphor
per hapsf ort hewi thhel di nfor mat iont hr oughoutt hepl ay .Unl i
ket heconv ent ional
orwel l
-madepl ay ,wear enotgi vent he' fullpi ct ure'-notev enatt heend.Rat her ,
wehav et omakedowi t ht hev aguer ef r
ain:" Somet hingi st akingi tscour se.What
i
st hi s' somet hing,apar t ,obv iously ,f rom t he al readywr itten pl aywhi ch i s
unf oldingbef oreourey es?How dot hoseaspect sofEndgamewhi chwemi ght
consi der' bewi l
der -i ng' or' bizar re'act ual l
yf unct i
onaest het i
cal lyordr amat ical ly?
How mi ghtwe begi nt o' read'ori nter pr ett hem?Endgame r esi sts cr itical
decodi ngorphi losophi calexpl anat i
ont oanev engr eat erdegr eet hanWai tingf or
Godot .Thi sr esist ancei spar tofi tsaest het i
candt heat r i
calef fect .Wai t
ingf or
Godotal sowi thhol dscer taint y
, aswesaw, butt herear er ef l
ectionsont i
me, habi t,
desi reandsoont owhi chacr i
t i
ccangai napr ecar iousgr ip.Endgameposest he
sheer erchal lenge.I tisasi f,f r
ust ratedbyt hephi losophi cali nt erpr etationsof
Wai tingf orGodot ,a' playst rugglingatal ltimest oav oiddef inition',Becket thas
producedanew pl ayi mmunet oexpl anat ioni n' allegor icalorsy mbol ict er ms.
Howev er ,i
fEnd-gameby passesneat ,rati
onalexpl anat ion, thisi snott osayt hat
i
tdoes notcommuni cat ei n a power fuland af fect ing way .The Ger man
philosopherandcr iti
cT.W.Ador no,i npossi blyt hemostf amousessayont his
play, canpr ai
sei tf orput ting' dramai nopposi tiont oont ology , fordr amat isingan
i
ncoher -entsi t
uat i
on,unt ransl atablei ntot he l anguage ofr ationality and
concept uality:Under standi ngEndgamecanonl ybeunder standi ngwhyi tcannot
be.Howev er,thef el l
ow- feel ingt hatwasev i
denti nt heear lierpl ay ,thet ender ness
between t he t wo l eads,i s her e har dert of i
nd.I fi ti s any wher e,i ti si n
therel ationshi pbet weenNaggandNel l.Foral lNagg’ sunseeml yappet it
es–‘ The
oldf ol ksathome!Nodecencyl ef t!Guzzl e,guzzl e,t hat ’sal lt heyt hinkof ’( 15)–
hisr elat ionshi pwi thNel lappr oachesi nt i
macymor et hananyoft heot hers.They
speakt ender lyt oeachot herandNaggkeepssomeofhi sbi scui tt oshar ewi th
Nell,thoughshebecomesl osti nherownr ev eriesaboutt hei rtimeonLakeComo.
Naggcoul dbeanol dEst ragon,asconcer nedf orhi s‘ pap’andsugarpl umsas
theot herf orhi scar r
otandchi ckenbones,whi leNel l,mor epessi mi sti
c,mor e
cerebr alandwi thabet termemor yt hanherhusband, coul dbel i
keVl adimi r:‘Why
thisf ar ce,dayaf terday ?’( 18) .Ther elationshi pbet weenHamm andCl ov ,by
cont rast ,seemscompar ablet ot hatbet weenPozzoandLucky .Hamm shar es
muchwi thPozzo:hi sat t
ent i
on-seeki ngbombast ,hi scapaci tyf orcr uel t
y ,hi s
vulner abi li
tyandneedf orr eassur ance,hi ssham l yricism.Cl ov ,thoughsur lyat
ti
mes,i sagr eatdealmor ev ocalt hanLuckyi nexpr essi nghi sdi sgustwi thhi s
roleint hewor l
d, butal soseemst obei nsomesor tofbondaget oHamm.I ti sa
mast er –slav er elationshi pbasedonmut ualneedbutal soent rapment :Cl ov,i n
answert oHamm’ sst atement‘ IthoughtIt oldy out obeoV’ ,repl ies‘ I’
mt rying.
(Hegoest odoor ,hal ts.)Ev ersi nceIwaswhel ped’( 17–18) .Cl ovi si rrit
at edand
torment edbyHamm ( Cl ovi scl oset ocl ou,t heFr enchf or‘ nail’,Hamm cl oset o
‘
hammer ’
),butatt hesamet i
mei scapabl eoft endi ng t o hi m.When Cl ov
pretendst hedogi sst andi ngupf orHamm,i tisal mostasi fhei sapar entand
Hamm achi l
dt hatheseekst opl acat e.
4.Ther
oleofmemor
yinEndgame

Answer :BECKETT' S cent enar yy earsaw amul ti

tudeofcel ebr ationshonor ing t his
singularaut hor .2006saw maj orBecket tf est ivalsi nPar i
s,Readi ng,andDubl i
n;t her e
wer eacademi cconf er encesi nt heseci tiesaswel lasi nci ti
esi nDenmar k,Japan,t he
UnitedSt at es,andel sewher e;mor eov er ,al r
eadyexi stentl iterar yf est i
v als,f r
om Buenos
Airest oSy dney ,gav epr i
deofpl acet oper formances,r oundt abl es,anddi scussi onsof
Becket t
'swor k;andf inally
,count lesst heat ersar oundt hewor l
dcont inuedt ost agehi s
plays,asev erandasal way s.Thi sv olumeofessay sonEndgame,Becket t
'smost
famouspl aynextt o Wai t
ingf orGodot ,comesi nto bei ngsoonaf tert hist imeof
celebr ation.I ft het imi ngofsuchapubl icationi spr opi t
ious,t hequest ionr emai ns:why
thispl ay?Ast heedi toroft hiscol lection, Ibel ievet her ear esev er alcompel l
ingr easons
forthi sr enewedat tent i
ont oEndgame.I tisadeepl ycompl expl ayandr epay si ntense
scrutinyf rom r eader sandcr i
tics:t her angeofi tst hemat i
cconcer ns- theol ogy ,ecol ogy ,
l
iteraryi nher itance, compani onshi p( andi tstwi n, abandonment ), philosophy ,percept ion,
artitself-pr ovidef r
amesofr efer encewi t
hi nwhi cht oposi t
iont heact ion; inaddi tion, the
possi bil
itiesandchal lengesofst agi ngt hepl aydr awat tentiont ot hedr amat icmedi um,
i
tsl i
mi tsandi tst errai ncognita, andcr uci all
y, Becket t
'sexpl orat ionoft heway sinwhi ch
l
anguage and gest ur e asser tcont rolorsubmi tt of ore ori nef fabi li
ty,cr eates a
mast er wor kofhumanexpr essi vemodes- andt heirshor t comi ngs.Pr eci selybecauseof
thisv ar i
egat edt ext ur eoft hemes,modes,andl evel sofawar eness( psychol ogi cal,
rhetorical ,dr amat ic),Endgamehasi nspi r
ed apr ofound cr iticalher i
t age.Fr om t he
earli
estday sofi t
spubl i
cexist ence, thepl ayhasr eceivedper cept iveandsubt lerev iews
andcr it
icalcomment ar y.RubyCohnandS.E.Gont ar skiexpl or edEndgame' scompl ex
j
our neyofcomposi ti
ony earsbef oresuchmat terswer eatal lunder stoodt obecent ral
toanycr i
tical.

InDecember1984, Becket tsought , t

hroughl egali
njunction, tohal tper f
or mancesoft he
Amer i
canReper tor
yTheat er’
s( Cambr idge,MA)pr oduct ionofEndgamedi rectedby
JoAnneAkal aits,whichhadmadechangest ot hetextandset ting.Al thought hedi sput e
wasul ti
mat elyset t
ledoutofcour tandt heper f
ormancesper mi tted,shor t
lyaf terwar d
Beckettamendedt hecont r
actt hatl icenseshi splay si npr oduct iont opr ohi bitany
changest othet ext
, setti
ngorst agedi rect i
on.Fortwent yy ears, t
hepubl i
cper cept ionof
Beckettasar igidandr ecalcit
rantpl aywr ighthasper sisted, formedl argelyont hebasi s
ont hi
ssoleev ent.Thi spaperseekst or eexami nethecont rover sysur roundi ngBecket t’
s
responset ot he1984pr oductioni nlightofnewev idenceandi nt erviews,andi nl i
ghtof
Beckett’
sr esponset ot woear li
erpr oduct i
onsofEndgamei nt heUni tedSt ates:Andr e
Gregory’s1973 Manhat tan Pr ojectEndgame and Al an Schnei der’s1958 Amer ican
première.Byexami ni ngBecket t
’sr eactiont oGr egory’
spr oduct ion,whi chal sor adi call
y
deviat
edf rom hi stext ,butdr ewasur pr i
singlydif
ferentr esponsef r
om Becket t,andby
understandinghi srelati
onshi pwi thhi sAmer i
candi r
ectorAl anSchnei der ,onewi llsee
cl
earl
ythatBeckettwas oft
en flexi
ble and permissi
veinr egards to his worki
n
per
formance,andt
hati
twasonlylaterinhisl
if
e, af
termount
ingdistressinresponset
o
sever
alyear
sofdir
ect
ori
almeddl
ing, t
hatBeckettbecamemor einf
lexibl
e.

Acent ralf eat

ureofEndgamei sthepai ringoft womeni nanunconv enti
onalduo, wit
hin
at raditi
onst emmi ngf r om TheBi rdsofAr ist
ophanest omoder nf i
lm andt elevisi
on.
AlthoughHamm andCl ov ’spartner shipmi ghtsuggestacodedhomoer oti
cv ariati
onof
thebuddyconcei t,theirsi nvolvespsy chol ogicalandphy sicalcodependency .Becket t
concent ratesont woconf l
icti
ngi ssues:amast er/slav
edi alecticandapar ent /shame
dialecti
c.Thepl ayi sar uthlessdev olutionofpower ,wher et hesour ceofHamm’ s
paralysisappear sr ootedi ndy sfunct i
onalf ami lydy namicsandt heinnerdemonst hat
tormenthi m.Inclinedt ol orditov erf ami l
yandv alet,Hamm j ustbar el
ysuppr esseshi s
paranoi ai nordert omai ntainast ateofneedf ulcompani onshi p.Thet racesofsexual
cruelty,seductiveappeal ,andhi si nflatedegoar eseeni nthemet aphorofhi sspeech,
fl
ashy dr ess,and eccent ri
c accout erment s.These const i
tute hi s masks and ar e
embl emat i
coft hesoci alconst r
uctoft hebody .Thepoweri nequi t
iesbetweent hetwo
mensuggestt hatBecket tv i
ewsendur i
ngr elati
onshi psashighl ysuspect .