Duality in Waiting For Godot

Duality in hold For GodotBeckett is known to have commented, I had micro relationnt for happiness.- This sentence in itself is absurd, c ar the close famous frolic of Beckett Waiting for Godot. barely what exactly absurdity means?The original or dictionary meaning of absurd is Out of harmony. utterly or plain adeptless, illogical, or untrue contrary to each(prenominal) reason or ballpark sense laughably foolish or false.But the word has a contrary meaning when it is used int he theatre of the absurd.Marking the difference amongst a good lead and an absurd bid, Martin Esslin opinesIf a good play must have a cleverly constructed narration, these have no story or plot to speak of if a good play is judged by subtlety of characterization and motivation, these ar often without recognizable characters and present the listening with almost mechanical puppets if a good play has to have a fully explained theme, which is neatly exposed and finally solved, these often have neit her a beginning nor an end if a good play is to make melt down the mirror upto nature and portray the manners and mannerisms of the age in alright observed sketches, these depend often to be reflections of dreams and nightmares if a good play relies on witty repartee and pointed dialogues, these often consist of incohithernt babblings.Waiting for Godot is chock-full of pairs. Theres Vladimir and estragon, the two thieves, the Boy and his br an other(prenominal), Pozzo and fortunate, Cain and Abel, and of course the two acts of the play itself. With these pairs necks the recurrent notion of arbitrary, 50/50 chances. One thief is publishd and other damned, but for no clear reason. If Vladimir and tarragon try to hang themselves, the bough whitethorn or may not break. One man may die, wizard man may live. Godot may or may not arise to save them. In the Bible, Cains sacrifice was rejected and Abels accepted for no glaring reason. Its minor, but Estragons line in Act I My l eft lung is real weak . But my right lung is sound as a toll More pairs, more arbitrary damnation. Even the t wiz of Waiting for Godot is alter with duality two person arguments, back-and-forth questions, disagreement-agreement, questions and (often inadequate) answers.The tree is the only distinct spot of the setting, so were pretty sure it matters. Right off the bat youve got the biblical stuff Jesus was crucified on a cross, but that cross is sometimes referred to as a tree, as in, Jesus was nailed to the tree. That Vladimir and Estragon contemplate reprieve themselves from the tree is alikely a reference to the crucifixion, but it also parodies the apparitional significance. If Jesus died for the sins of others, Vladimir and Estragon are dying for nothing.But we can also think of the two men not as Jesus, but quite a as the two thieves crucified along with Jesus. This fits quite nicely with gospels tale as Vladimir tells it one thief is saved and the other damned, so D idi and Gogo are looking at a fifty-fifty chance. The uncertainty that stems from inconsistency between the four gospels is fitting, too, since Vladimir cant be certain if Godot is coming to save either one of them.Furthermore, Vladimir reports that he was told to anticipate for Godot by the tree. This should be quieten it means the men are in the right place. As Estragon points out, theyre not sure if this is the right tree. And, come to think of it, they cant crimson be sure if this is a tree or not. It kind of looks like a shrub.The tree could be the tree of life. So the trees random bloom would suggest that it is something of a tree of life. And, according to the proverb, that means a hope has been fulfilled.Moreover the trees sprouting leaves could be an ironic symbol pointing out that, removed from fulfilled desires, hopes have been deferred yet another day much like Vladimirs ironic claim in Act II that things have changed here since yesterday when, clearly, nothing a t all has..While Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot, they also wait for nightfall. For some reason (again, arbitrary and uncertain), they dont have to wait for him once the night has fallen. The classic rendition is that night = dark = death. The move of night is as much a reprieve from daily abject as death is from the suffering of a lifetime.Theres also the issue of the moon, as its appearance in the sky is the real signal that night has come and the men can stop waiting for Godot. Estragon, in one of his peccable smart moments, comments the moon is pale for weariness of climbing heaven and gazing on the likes of us. Though the man remembers nothing of yesterday, he does in this moment seem to comprehend the endless repetition of his life. And if the moon is wear out just from watching, recollect what that says about the predicament of the men themselves.Carrots and turnips are in one sense just a gag reel for Vladimir and Estragons comic bits. But I was interested in the ir disagreement over the vegetable Funny, Estragon comments as he munches, the more you eat, the worse it gets. Vladimir quickly disagrees, adding that, for him, its just the opposite. On the one hand, this could be a completely meaningless conversation the point is solely that Vladimir is in disagreement, playing at opposites, adding to the bickering duality between himself and Gogo.On the other hand, the carrot could be about the meaning of life. It could be a hint as to the differences between the way Vladimir and Estragon live their lives. Vladimirs ulterior comment, an addendum to his carrot claim, is that he gets used to the muck as he goes along. He resigns himself to banality. Estragon, on the other hand, wearies as time passes much like the weary moon he observes in Act II. When Pozzo later dishes about smoking, he claims that a endorsement pipe is never so sweet as the first. But its sweet just the same. This is a third and distinct answer to the carrot question.When well-to-do is commanded to dance in Act I, Pozzo reveals that he calls his dance The Net, adding, He thinks hes entangled in a net. You would think a guy trussed up on a rope leash would feel curb enough. Of course, the image of Lucky writhing in an imaginary net is a lasting image for the play as a whole, and especially for the dilemma of Vladimir and Estragon, who, as weve said before, are confined in a prison house or perhaps a net of their own imaginations.There seems to be no brieflyage of inane props in Waiting for Godot, and these lead have one thing in common they are all absurd objects on which the men have developed irrational dependences. Lucky cannot think without his bowler. Pozzo needs his vaporizer to speak. Estragon seems condemned to forever take his boots on and off, as does Vladimir with his hat. This is another great combination of the tragic and the comic the situation is uproarious for its absurdity, but dismal at the same time.Estragon is repeatedly rep elled by smells in Waiting for Godot. Vladimir stinks of garlic, Lucky smells like who knows what, and Pozzo reeks of a fart in Act II. It seems every time Estragon tries to get close to a person, he is repelled by their odor. It looks to us like smells understand one of the barriers to interpersonal relationships. Estragon isnt just repelled by odors hes repelled by the visceral humanity of those rough him. Theres something gritty and base about the odor of a human body, and for Estragon its too much to handle.There are several interpretations of Waiting for Godot, the two most well-known are the religious one and the political one.The religious interpretations posit Vladimir and Estragon as humanity waiting for the elusive return of a savior.If this is the basic idea, then this makes Pozzo into the Pope and Lucky into the faithful. The faithful are then viewed as a cipher of God cut short by human intolerance. The twisted tree can alternatively represent either the tree of deat h, the tree of life, the tree of Judas or the tree of knowledge. governmental interpretations also abound. Some reviewers hold that the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is that of a capitalist to his labor.This Marxist interpretation is understandable given that in the second act Pozzo is blind to what is happening around him and Lucky is mute to plain his treatment. The play has also been understood as an allegory for Franco-German relations.An interesting interpretation argues that Lucky receives his name because he is lucky in the context of the play. Since most of the play is spent trying to find things to do to pass the time, Lucky is lucky because his actions are determined absolutely by Pozzo. Pozzo on the other hand is unlucky because he not only needs to pass his own time but must find things for Lucky to do.