Hello everyone,
My today's activity is quite different from other activities, which I did earlier. This activity is assigned by our professor Dr. Dilip Barad sir. In this task we were supposed to give the answers to the questions that sir gave us to ponder upon. This is an activity about "Waiting for Godot". So let's discuss the answers of the play. And yes we have to give answers according to our understanding of the play. So let's start.
For better understanding of activity I'm sharing the link of professor's blog,
https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2014/09/worksheet-screening-movie-waiting-for.html
∆What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?
The setting of the play "Waiting for Godot" is inspired by this painting, titled as "Longing" by Casper David Friedrich. The word "Longing" means - an earnest and deep desire for something. In this painting we see that there is a view of sunrise and sunset. Two people are watching towards sunrise and sunset. It means they are waiting for such hope, as the similar way like Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for Godot. Just like the sun is rising and these two people are watching for something till the sunset, Vladimir and Estragon are also waiting for someone from morning to rise of the moon.
∆The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves - ?
The tree is an important symbol of the play. Tree stands symbolically in both acts. Trees are seen as hebetate matter. In the play we see Vladimir and Estragon also act like hebetation (tree). There are no leaves on barren tree in act |. As we know that the play was written after the war it symbolically indicates the World War ||. In the second act Buckett adds some leaves on the barren tree. These leaves indicate hope and positivity. Also we can say that this is the change of nature in a positive way.
∆In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?
As we see in both acts evening falls into night and moon rises. Waiting for someone, time will not stop, It continually passes. The day and night come and go. But the rising of the moon at night seems like the bright side (moon) in the darkness (night). It indicates the positive hope in the play.
∆The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?
The director feels the setting with some debris. It expressly indicates the World War ||. This debris seems like the buildings are destroyed by the bombs. And everything become debris.
∆The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?
The play begins with this dialogue "Nothing to be done". It indicates the theme of nothingness in the play. This dialogue refers to the theory of existentialism. This theory of existentialism says that there is no meaning to anything that we are doing. Everything is meaningless. So in the beginning we see nothingness in the play. Vladimir and Estragon both are waiting for someone named 'Godot', but they don't know who Godot is ! What he looks like ! Is he coming or not ! Does he exist or not ! They don't know anything despite waiting. So the whole concept is described in one sentence, "Nothing to be done".
∆Do you agree: “The play (Waiting for Godot), we agreed, was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. As I saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes, the philosophy is: 'No matter what— atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can't kill life." (E.G. Marshall who played Vladimir in the original Broadway production 1950s)?
My answer is yes. I agree with the point of E.G Marshal that the play waiting for Godot is a positive play not a negative play. We can not stop or kill our life and time. As well as giving birth and death is not in our hands. If we commit suicide or stop our breath it doesn't mean that we can stop our life. We kill ourselves not the life, it must go on. So, we can say that life is meaningless, there is also nothingness though we have to live life. So the play gives us positivity of thinking in different way.
∆How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolic significance of these props?
There are many symbols used in this play. The hat and boots are also very important symbols in this play. The hat indicates intellectuality and the boots indicates the lowness of characters.
∆Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?
Yes, the obedience of lucky is extremely irritating and nauseated. Some people are used to it. They can't think beyond their limitations, even if they get a chance to be free they don't do it. Lucky knows that his master is blind, but still he serves for Pozzo without asking any question. In today's time there are some people who blindly follow the instructions of some Dharma Guru's or political leaders. That type of Gurus and leaders are controller and people like lucky gives them rope of their life !
∆Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or . . .
According to me Godot is changeable with time. It depends on different time zones. Because we haven't only one desire or one success in our life. Our desire changes with time. In childhood our Godot is toys. In our youth we have a desire for good marks. After that we want good jobs, a good salary, success, a perfect life partner, homes and so and so… But everything is about passing the time. Our last desire is waiting for death ! It is our last wait and then everything is finished.
∆“The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?
Yes, I agree with Esslin's point of view. "The subject of the play is not Godot but Waiting". We can see in the play that nothing happens except meaningless waiting. In our life we are also waiting for meaningless matters. In the different stages of life we are waiting for different types of Godot(waiting). According to our desires we are waiting to fully fill them. And at last we are waiting for death ! So we can say that the subject is waiting rather than Godot.
∆Do you think that plays like this can better be ‘read’ than ‘viewed’ as it requires a lot of thinking on the part of readers, while viewing, the torrent of dialogues does not give ample time and space to ‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the play?
I want to say that reading and audio-visual both are equally important for understanding any of the play. It's easy to remember the actions of characters if we watch them. But if we want to understand deeper things we have to read the original play. There are benefits of both mediums. But if there is only one choice in between them, I choose reading of the play, because audio-visuals can not display everything in the play. But reading the play can give us every information of the play. Because everything has been written, but everything has not been spoken in audio-visual.
∆Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
o Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting
o Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
o Conversation of Vladimir with the boy
I like Vladimir's conversation with the boy. Because this conversation is quite different from all other conversations. We listen to their conversation curiously. It is noticeable that Vladimir becomes serious while talking with the little boy. Conversation of Vladimir and Estragon makes us very bored, so that's why I don't like their conversation. In the first conversation Vladimir is little bit happy because he think that Godot send his messenger for them. He ask some interesting questions to messenger boy, like
When will Godot come?
What Godot is doing ?
Godot give you food ?
Has he beat you ?
Are you frightened ?
So this dialogue makes it curious to listen to the conversation. In the second conversation we can see Vladimir's selfishness. This is also very interesting dialogues to be listen.
∆Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?
Yes, I feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference universe in the scene of Pozzo, lucky and Vladimir. When Pozzo, the master of lucky was blind, but lucky still served his master. He doesn't grab the opportunity to be free, but continue his slavery for Pozzo. Here we can see that Lucky's life is meaningless. He have chance to become free, but he doesn't choose that way and he gives the rope of his life in the hand of Pozzo. This is how meaninglessness is described in the play.
∆Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?
As we know that the play indirectly indicates about Christian religion. And commit suicide is the crime according to Christian religion. But existentialism take suicide as art. It talks about philosophical death. But Vladimir and Estragon avoid doing that, because Vladimir is a strong believer of Christianity. He believes that Godot will surely come to them. So they abandon that idea.
∆Can we do any political reading of the play if we see European nations represented by the 'names' of the characters (Vladimir - Russia; Estragon - France; Pozzo - Italy and Lucky - England)? What interpretation can be inferred from the play written just after World War II? Which country stands for 'Godot'?
So far as Pozzo and Lucky [master and slave] are concerned, we have to remember that Beckett was a disciple of Joyce and that Joyce hated England. Beckett meant Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in the Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?
Yes, we can do a political reading of the play in which Vladimir stands for Russia, Pozzo stands for Italy, Lucky stands for England and Estragon stands for France. So, we can connect this to the world war in which all countries destroyed by Godot means Germany. All these countries were lost in their gimmicks and passing time in wait for something good to come out. What actually turned out to be the end of Waiting, in the form of Godot, was the Second World War – the rise of Hitler - a psychopathic good.
So we connect Godot with Germany, which means Hitler, who destroyed many countries and killed thousands of people. And another interpretation of Pozzo and Lucky (master and slave) in which we connect Pozzo with England and Lucky with Ireland, so in this matter Ireland is struggling a lot with England. As lucky is doing slavery of Pozzo, Ireland is also slave of England at that time.
∆The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have no change in Act I and Act II of the play. Even the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there is one major change. In Act I, in reply to Boy;s question, Vladimir says:
"BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw us. (Pause.) You did see us, didn't you?"
How does this conversation go in Act II? Is there any change in seeming similar situation and conversation? If so, what is it? What does it signify?
Yes, there is change in this conversation in act ||. In the second act, conversation become like that,
BOY : What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR : Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw me and that . . . (he hesitates) . . . that you saw me. (Pause. Vladimir advances, the Boy recoils. Vladimir halts, the Boy halts. With sudden violence.) You're sure you saw me,you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me!
Saw us is changed in saw me ! This is a big change of the act. Here we can see the selfishness of Vladimir. He thinks that he will survive so he tells the boy to tell mr. Godot that he is waiting for him.
So these are all questions regarding the play and I gave answers according to my understanding of the play. At the end I want to say that our life is full of desire, but because of laziness we are not doing anything and we started waiting for something to happen to others. There is one dialogue,
APNA TIME AAYEGA
Time will not wait for people, it comes and goes. People are talking about this dialogue, but few are working on it. Remaining all are waiting… the time will come… their time will come… nothing comes… death comes !!!
