Greetings from English with Saddam! As a fellow English student at the national university, I’m Md Saddam Hossain, the founder of a top English literature coaching center in Narayanganj. Today, I’ll illustrate the drama Waiting for Godot as a play to show the sense of nothingness to aid your success in the 4th-year Modern Drama subject.
Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906 –1989) is an Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet of the Modern Age of English literature. “Waiting for Godot” is a masterpiece of his literary career. Here, the author has presented the play as a sense of nothingness.
‘Waiting’ is a mysterious word in “Waiting for Godot”. The author and the critics know precisely why they are waiting, even if they do not know whether they will find Godot. The author wants his readers and critics to interpret ‘Godot’ differently. Beckett has yet to also tell anything clearly about Godot. He does not know who or what is Godot. Therefore, he says,
“If I know, I would have said so in the play.”
Two men, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo) gather by a tree and engage in conversation on a range of subjects, disclosing that their purpose for being there is to await the arrival of an individual named Godot. Estragon gets bored of waiting and suggests they pass the time by hanging themselves from the tree. They both like the idea but cannot decide who should go first. They are afraid that if one of them dies, the other might be left alone. Ultimately, they decide it is safer to wait until Godot arrives. Therefore, Estragon says,
“Don’t let’s do anything. It’s safer.”
While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo spends several minutes ordering Lucky around. Lucky is entirely silent and obeys like a machine. Pozzo then tells them that he and Lucky have been together for nearly sixty years. Vladimir is appalled at Lucky’s treatment, who appears to be a faithful servant. Pozzo explains that he can no longer bear it because Lucky is such a burden. Pozzo is going to the market to sell his slave, Lucky.
Following Pozzo and Lucky’s departure, a boy arrives and informs Vladimir that he serves as a messenger from Godot. A young boy arrives, having been sent by Mr. Godot. Estragon is incensed by the delayed arrival and startles him. Vladimir cuts him off and asks the boy if he remembers him. The boy says this is his first time coming to meet them and that Mr. Godot will not be able to come today but perhaps tomorrow. Then he says,
“Mr. Godot told me to tell you he won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow.”
The next night, Vladimir and Estragon meet near the tree again to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo reappear, with a notable change—Pozzo is now blind, and Lucky has lost the ability to speak. Pozzo seems to have no recollection of meeting Vladimir and Estragon the previous night. After their departure, Vladimir and Estragon persist in their wait.
Soon after, the boy returns and conveys the message that Godot will not be arriving. He adamantly denies having spoken to Vladimir the day before. Once the boy departs, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave but they do not move again because they will wait for the Godot to come to them. They say:
“We’ll hang ourselves tomorrow. (Pause.) Unless Godot comes.”
The sense of nothingness is evident here. Several critics advise the reader only to bother a little to know about Godot. The play is about ‘waiting’ and not about ‘Godot.’ ‘Godot’ means only something one waits vainly, some promise that remains unfulfilled, and some hope that does not materialize.
To conclude, it is clear that Beckett has successfully highlighted the sense of nothingness in the play “Waiting for Godot.” The ‘wait’ is for nothing for which people always spend their time vainly.
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