Waiting for Godot as an Absurd Play

The Absurd Theatre illustrates ineffectiveness of life. Theater of the Absurd came about as

a reaction to World War II. ‘Absurd’ word comes from the root surd, meaning an unvoiced or

silent sound. It invites audience to ponder on bareness of life and shakes them out of their

comfortable, conventional life of everyday concerns. It presents a world which cannot be

logically explained.

The Theatre of the Absurd, secretly rebels in opposition to conventional theatre. It is

illogical, unreal, conflict-less or plots-less. The swap of dialogues stuck between characters

seems a total nonsense. The use of these tools is a challenge to reflect the absurdity of human

existence. “In the launch of this Theatre, spectators ignored it as they unsuccessful to easily

expand their attention in the Theatre of the Absurd. Absurd drama is hard to identify and to

communicate”. (Esslin,1961, p. 26).

The Theatre of the Absurd shows us language as a very untrustworthy or insufficient tool

of communication. One of the most vital aspects of absurd drama is the failure of language to

communicate. As a result, it is a sarcastic situation that the medium of communication is not

ample to communicate. In short, absurdist plays exhibit the insincerity in every field of life.

The Absurd Theatre is anti-rationalism. It contradicts rationalism because; it feels that

rationalist thought, like only deals with the exterior aspects of things and language. Rationality is

the unintelligent part of human mind as it keeps us, away from jumping into bottomless

inspection. So, you cannot be rational in an irrational world. Irrationality is a way to see things

from a fresh viewpoint. For example, a mad man can see what a rational person can’t see.
Foolish opens up infinite ways to cope up with existence. It offers stimulating freedom, brings

one into make contact with with the spirit of life.

Samuel Beckett, is the most famous absurdist dramatist because of his work ‘Waiting for

Godot.’ Beckett focuses on the themes of failure of the human race to speak and worthlessness of

human act. ‘Waiting for Godot’ rotates in the order of Vladimir and Estragon their wait for hope

to appear. This play show us, humankind at large as every human is waiting for their liberator

who will redeem them from their sins. For this occasion, Muslim people are waiting for God and

Christian people are waiting for second coming of Christ. Everyone all over the world from

different age, sex, religion or profession wait for something and somebody. There is always a

Godot everybody waits for, a reflection of dead God (stated by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German

philosopher) who is mentioned many times, but in no way appears in the play. There is no an end

for the waiting. Godot, therefore, is waited everlastingly. Most probability in one’s life is the last

one: marriage, having a job, buying a house and a car, having children, or encouragement. In

short, everyone has a reason to wait. It means life optimistic or a reason to breathe.

The two major characters wait for a man who never appears. It seems rigid for them to

pass their time through waiting. Here, moment reflects as a assessment of their aptitude to suffer.

This is an actuality in valid life as well. Many centuries have been left away or human race is

motionless waiting for God. Man utilizes complete life in waiting for God without knowing the

accurate time of his arrival. It puts the situation into absurdity.

 Moreover, the imperfect memory of both characters extra complicates the situation.

Estragon can’t memorize something past what was said. On the other side, Vladimir, although

has a enhanced memory, distrusts what he remembers. It shows that man is so busy in

committing events that he forgets what the reason behind that action was. in addition, what he

remembers don’t consider it dependable.

In ‘Waiting for Godot’ each character suffers. It includes both mental and physical

adversity. In order to find camaraderie each character gets into self-isolation. According to my

accepting, loneliness can’t be defeat by interacting with people as one can be abandoned in the

center of a swarm. The more people talk with others; the inferior life existence will be as people,

by nature and are poor communicators. People find it unworkable to say exactly what they mean.

On the other aspect, the existentialist school of thought views solitude as the spirit of being

human. Each human race comes into the world alone, travels through life as a separate person, or

eventually dies alone.

The main characters choose to assign suicide. Yet, they finally do not commit suicide

because due to the claim not to have the means, but also they are undecided of the consequence

of their challenge, it may effort or it may fail.

Different people have different estimation on some mainly relevant to the themes of time,

unknown and doubt in Waiting for Godot. But common opinion about this play is that the themes

are highly valued. In this play, Beckett completed use of the general theme of “human being

condition, and man’s misery at being not capable to find a meaning in reality” (The Theatre of

the Absurd, 45).

 When men’s desire to find out the understanding the meaning of life then generally it

means, men try to find out the meaning of life by creating their own stragetric based on their

daily routine. On the other hand, if a man is not applicable to find his own guide, then of course

he will be get lost in the world of confusion making it extremely difficult to find his way, while

consecutively fantasizing about the significant existence of life that he has been expecting.

Waiting for Godot, is the story about two homeless men (without a roof over your head)

badly searching and seeking some meaning for their existence life and continually hoping to

meet someone called Godot who might able to help them out of their present situation. In order

to fulfill this expect, waiting is the model they want to be create to represent the meaning of their

lives. Because they strongly consider that their live desire will be rewarded if they meet Godot.

Perhaps, they would be hopelessly upset if they encounter a bad impact and negative

aspect from Godot. It clearly seems that Godot is probably a perfect illusionary shape in the

mind of every one.

On that situation may be denoting man’s desire and needs to meet some unseen

paranormal such as Godot and various sort of prophet. Attach with expect of relieving their

current difficulties. In their wish, their hopes and their life develop into absurd, not only in the

deficiency, but also in the existence of Godot. Therefore the meaning of life and specifically in

Waiting for Godot can be associated as uncertain, unknown, strange or tragic.

 This play usually sometime confuses us to wonder if the play really has some meaning or if

the pair both Vladimir and Estragon were just playing games with ineffective words. If we check

the history, in a postmodernism consideration, Peter Barry discussed Nealon’s literary analysis of

the[ CITATION Wit11 \l 1033 ] play, claiming that “Estragon or Vladimir in Beckett’s play connect

into ‘language games’ of this type (the type of the language in which mentioned disappearance

from the real ”. Thus the postmodernists agree, there is no “transcendent firmness” behind those

words “They are truly self-validating or supply us with the public identity we can clearly seek”.

Nealon says there is no important meaning in it “Waiting for legitimating of their social

order “or Godot is from the earlier pointless (Beginning Theory, 92). Maybe he is right may be

he is not, however the most significant thing, is to find out that Estragon and Vladimir show us

as Vladimir says that “At this position, at this age of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it

or not” (51).

In short, Estragon and Vladimir represents all of compassion. They can’t locate mutually as

well as separately. There is no sense or nor any cause for any of the act they do. Furthermore,

even the Godot is changeable as he never comes on occasion. Life is basically worthless. So, we

suppose in our own Godot, who resolve sometime save us from this earthly hell. The plays also

tell us, that life is a development of infinite waiting, bracketed by beginning and death. Now

there is question rises why not hang ourselves like Vladimir or Estragon thought of doing? due to

that because life is carrying great weight. However, we create the sense. It relates on us how we
make our events meaningful. For the reason that once we thrown into the world, we are

accountable for all we do.

In importance, ridiculousness tends to get rid of cause or outcome affiliation among

incidents. It reduces some word to a game or minimizes its talkative control. Characters are

shown us in their ordinary circumstances or make position unclear, view the world as alienating

or away from belief. Characters are sensible because they be similar to the each day world. The

illogicality is not the creation or man. It is their arrangement together that produces the

absurdity. If something has been made generously clear in the 20th century, it is that the earth is

irrational i.e. it does not follow any policy. In short way to live is to suffer or to survive is to

find meaning in the suffering. Thomas Nagel’s definitions, “In regular life a position is absurd

when it includes a clear difference between affectation or ambition or reality.”

Waiting of Godot, Barzen Sets are charactertics of the theater of absurd. The dramatic

symbolism, spectacles or content offered in these pieces are remarkable things to see and

ridiculousness to comprehend. The viewpoint of the absurd or the dawn of mankind stressed out

these plays in the 20th century. The major proponents or works of theatre of the absurd or

idea were inclined by the chaotic actions not only earlier but also tell us, mid twentieth century.

These chaotic actions led them to search for something in field of literature.

In other words, theater of the absurd conveys illogicality of life move on the stage. The

actions of the characters or talks express any sense. There is in reality, no plot in there plays, the

place is not specific and the time is also static. As an entire, this play is totally an

unconventional.For this reason play seems lead as one of the masterpiece of absurdist literature.
 Work Citied

Hansani, Withanage . Waiting for Nothing; an Analysis of "Waiting for

Godot" (september 2011): .

Esslin, Martin. The Theatre Of The Absurd. U.S.A: 1961.