Wednesday 25 November 2020

Thinking Activity: " Waiting For Godot "

 Hello readers!

Welcome to my blog.This blog is related to a few questions from " Waiting For  Godot." 



(1) What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?





Answer:

his painting symbol  of  hope. So this painting  connected  with" Waiting  For Godot".  This painting by Caspar David Friedrich, suggest the hope with the symbols of country road and tree evening in the play scene is ‘a country road, a tree & evening’ it is symbolical.  “Longing” means “Waiting” & in this play we see that the central theme was “waiting” not “Godot”.





(2) 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 - ?   




Answer :

 This  tree also symbolizes hope, sadness.  Seeing these two three leaves means that hopes have been raised and this tree also symbolizes a lot in Waiting for Godot to indicate that Godot needs to come the next day.


(3) 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?e



Answer:


When night falls and the moon comes it seems that godot will also come slowly like the moon but hopes are always hopes never come true hopes are always like dreams.Night & Moon both signifies as death & hope.Vladimir & Estragon both are waiting for Godot but at the end of both Acts both have hopelessness.


(4)The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?    




Answer:

The movie director uses debris in the setting of the play.  So in the setting there debris.  We can't see the road because of Debris  The road is covered with debris.  Therefore, it becomes difficult to see the whole, clear path.  And there among the bushes.  So debris suggests neglect.  But there is a tree in this debris.  It indicates positivity.


(5) The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?



Answer:

In this play we see that both characters Vladimir & Estragon are waiting for Godot but Godot never come . So here Beckett said that we all are waiting for something.



(6) Do you 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. Marshal who played Vladimir in original Broadway production 1950s)?


Answer:

I do not agree with this point because we always feel that when there is a problem in our lifeWe constantly feel that someone will come to solve our problem but no one is coming. Both these characters are also waiting for godot but he is not coming now so I do not agree with this point.



(7)How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?

Answer: 

In this play the boot is a symbol that indicates unsatisfactory.It represents artificiality of life, Estragon not satisfied with his boots it hurts him. It shows unsatisfied nature of human. We never satisfied with our life we always like or love other's life.


(8)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?


Answer: 

Whatever their master says, they does whatever their master says. They becomes completely blind they only listens whatever his master says. In childhood they treated like that. That's why when master beats slave. They can't say any word to master. They forgets their strength. They serve their master like god.


(9)Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or  . . .

“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?



Answer: 


According  to me. "Godot" Means  hope. But it is nicely explained in this play that hopes are always hopes. Both these characters are always waiting for Godot.

yes, I agree that the subject of the play is not Godot but Waiting, because In whole play nobody came, they waiting in the beginning of the play both ate waiting and at the end of the play both are waiting so waiting becomes the theme of the play


(10)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?




 Answer: Yes, I think the play like this can be better understandable. if it will be read first than viewed.  If we viewed film first then we can’t not understand the main themes it also requires reading & thinking. In this play we find out so many fast dialogues.


(11)Which of the following sequence you liked the most:


*  Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations whilewaiting


  * Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts


*  Converstion of Vladimir with the boy



Answer:  

I like the conversation of Vladimir and the boy because it is so relatableI like the conversation of Vladimir and the boy because it is so relatable.



(12)Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide inExistentialism?



Answer:

Yes I do feel existential crisis during screening of the movie. we see that Vladimir & Estragon waiting for Godot but at the end of the both Acts boy said that he will come tomorrow not today so waiting for Godot is meaningless. We all are waiting for Death so our life is Absurd & meaningless.


(13)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'?


Answer:

European nations represented by the names of the characters. Vladimir represents Russia and Estragon represents France. There is a history of power politics between France and Russia.There is history of power politics between France and Russia. Many Russian are in favor of France and many against and vice versa. But still they are together just like Estragon and Vladimir.

Pozzo represents Italy and Lucky represents England, as in political reading Italy tries to imposed their ideas and rule over England.Germany stands for Godot.



(14)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 Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?


Answer:Pozzo and Lucky both are kept in master slave relationship. This can completely understand by viewing or reading after play. And we see that after the blindness of his master ( Pozzo) Lucky can't be free because he doesn't want. So, Ireland always be slave of England and we read this with colonial perspective because, Ireland is small country and for its own purpose of buisness and goods it sticks with England.


(15)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?


Answer:"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!”


This How act two is ending. What the change in both the end is in Vladimir’s mentality. ‘You did see us”  convert into “you saw me” . Vladimir concern for his  Conscience only. We can connect it with 'Two thieves story' (biblical refrence and refrence of Gospel writer, disciple of jesus) which was told earlier that one was saved and one was damned. Here he also want to be the one who was saved. He emphasize on remembering only him.







(16)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?


Answer:

In act 1 Vladimir said to boy that tell Mr.Godot that he had seen both them & they are waiting for him. In act 2 Vladimir said that tell Mr.Godot that " You saw me". Vladimir not mention Estragon name in 2 Act. may be Vladimir think that he is more intelligent than Estragon.



Thank you...



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