Samuel Beckett's Paradoxical Approach to Reality in Waiting for Godot

It has been stated in this article that Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot has components of both absurd and existential literature. By means of the absurdities of the play, Samuel Beckett's paradoxical approach to reality becomes exposed to the readers. First it is important to understand the meaning of paradox. According to A Glossary of Literary Terms by MH Abrams, "A paradox is a statement which seems on its face to be logically contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to be interpretable in a way that makes good sense (201)."

Morris Dickstein wrote in his article "An Outsider in His Own Life" "Contradiction is located at the heart of paradox. Contradictions are found in all people playing different roles in Waiting for Godot. Every character in Waiting for Godot seems to live in a prison of their own making. Each is confined to a state of passivity and stagnancy by his own inability to act. The one character who is literally the slave of another is no more restricted than those who are technically free. In fact, he may be more free because he is at least aware of his imprisonment. So, freedom and confinement are two major contradictions or two significant instances of paradox in this play (11)".

The concept of waiting is a paradox by itself in this drama. Throughout the entire play Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait for Godot who does not appear at all. So, the title of the play Waiting for Godot is a paradoxical one. Vladimir and Estragon wait for someone who perhaps does not exist or maybe Godot exists but he simply did not arrive.

Morris Dickstein further wrote, "So, the belief by Vladimir and Estragon that Godot would arrive is fully paradoxical to the fact that Godot is not seen on stage in any part of the drama. Waiting for Godot illustrates the point that Vladimir and Estragon cannot break through the barren cycle of waiting but still they wait. Reality is filled with paradoxes. People believe in one thing but they do something quite different. People hope for one thing but they finally receive something opposite (12)."

Paradox is strikingly found in the sufferings of the characters in this play. The philosophical concept of the nature of suffering is first introduced here by the paradoxical or contrasting physical ailments of each character. Estragon has sore feet which hurt him, and Vladimir has some type of painful urinary infection which causes him to suffer; one character hurts and the other one suffers. Ultimately, the physical disabilities characterize the two men and also symbolize the various spiritual disabilities of the two characters.

Estragon has not taken his boots off, and he looks inside it to see what was causing the difficulty. Vladimir then chastises Estragon for one of man's most common faults: blaming one's boots for the faults of one's foot. This accusation, of course, refers to the tendency of all of mankind to blame any external thing - boots, society, circumstances, etc. - for deficiencies in one's own nature. It is easier for Estragon to blame the boots for his aching feet than to blame his own feet.

The idea of Estragon's foot hurting and Vladimir's suffering, combined with their appalling human condition, causes Vladimir to realize again that there is "nothing to be done." This suffering and lack of hope turn Vladimir's thoughts to the suffering of the two thieves on the cross and their lack of hope. Then from the Old Testament proverb about hope, Vladimir's thoughts turn to the New Testament and the possibility of hope expressed in the story of Christ and the two thieves on the cross.

There were two thieves, as there are now two tramps and one of the thieves was saved. Therefore, maybe there may be hope for either Vladimir or Estragon if they repent - but there is nothing to repent of, except being born. This remark causes Vladimir to break into a hearty laugh which he immediately stifles and he reminds Estragon that one daren't even laugh any more one may merely smile. This comment is another early indication of the seriousness of their condition. Vladimir's apprehension over laughing suggests that they both have a nagging awareness of the precariousness and insecurity of their condition, a condition that extends beyond their physical concerns.

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett portrays a few human beings and some nonhuman characters or objects. All these characters play important roles for spotlighting on the message the playwright extends to the readers or viewers. The human characters of the play expose their feelings and thoughts through their dialogues and gestures with one another. On the other hand, the nonhuman characters or the objects also deserve to be noted for their figurative implications. An analysis on this issue is presented in the following description.

Of the two main figures in Waiting for Godot-Vladimir and Estragon, Vladimir makes the decisions and remembers significant aspects of their past. He is the one who constantly reminds Estragon that they must wait for Godot. Even though it is left uncertain, all indications suggest that Vladimir knows more about Godot than Estragon, who tells us that he has never even seen Godot and thus has no idea what Godot looks like.

Vladimir is the man who often sees religious or philosophical implications in their discussions of events and he interprets their actions in religious terms. Vladimir links up some of their actions with the general activities of human beings. In Act II, when Pozzo and Lucky fall down and cry for help, Vladimir interprets their cries for help as his and Estragon's chance to be in a unique position of' helping humanity. After all, Vladimir says that they are needed and should respond to the cries for help. Similarly, it is Vladimir who questions Pozzo and Lucky and the Boy Messenger, while Estragon remains, for the most part, a silent listener. Essentially, Vladimir must constantly remind Estragon of their destiny - that is, they must wait for Godot. Vladimir also takes care of himself and Estragon. He seems to be more mature than Estragon in the play.

Estragon is not a deep thinker like Vladimir according to Waiting for Godot. He prefers a carrot more than a radish or turnip, his feet hurts, and he blames his boots. He constantly wants to leave and Vladimir has to convince him all the time that he must wait for Godot. Estragon remembers that he was beaten, but he sees no philosophical significance in the beating. He is willing to beg for money from a stranger and he eats Pozzo's discarded chicken bones with no shame.

Estragon does not think much about religious or philosophical matters. Estragon's basic nature is illustrated in Act II when he shows so little interest in Pozzo and Lucky that he falls asleep. Moreover, he sleeps through the entire scene between Vladimir and the Boy Messenger. It seems to be the fact that he has no interest in such things.

Estragon, however, is dependent upon Vladimir, and he performs what Vladimir tells him to do. For example, Vladimir looks after Estragon's boots. He gives Estragon the carrots, turnips, and radishes. He comforts Estragon's pain, and he reminds Estragon of their need to wait for Godot. Estragon sometimes suggests that it would be better if they departed but he never leaves Vladimir for long. Estragon is characterized as a less intelligent person in the play compared to Vladimir.

Pozzo and Lucky together represent the opposite characteristics of each other. Still they are strongly connected with each other. If Pozzo is the master or parental figure, then Lucky is the slave or child. If Pozzo laughs, Lucky cries. Thus these two characters look much different from each other. The play Waiting for Godot portrays several contradictions between Pozzo and Lucky though they remain deeply interrelated with one another. These dissimilar matters about Pozzo and Lucky signify the contradictory ups and downs of human life.

Pozzo appears on stage after the appearance of Lucky. They are tied together by a long rope. Thus their destinies are fixed together in the same way that Pozzo might be a mother figure, with the rope being an attachment which keeps a mother and her child connected. Pozzo and Lucky seem to be minor characters in the play but actually they show the unpredictability and strangeness life is made of.

In contrast to the towering presence exhibited by Pozzo in Act I, a significant change occurs between the two acts. The rope is shortened, drawing Pozzo much closer to his antithesis, Lucky. Pozzo is now blind. He cannot find his way alone. He stumbles and falls. He cannot get along without help. He can no longer command. Rather than driving Lucky as he did earlier, he is now pathetically dragged along by Lucky. From a position of strength and confidence, he has fallen and has become the complete fallen man who now supposes that time is irrelevant and that man's existence is meaningless.

The Boy Messenger: The boy, who plays the role of a messenger in the drama, appears at the end of each act to tell Vladimir and Estragon that Godot would arrive that night. This is how the boy signifies the influence of disappointment on human life. Vladimir and Estragon have been waiting earnestly for Godot's arrival while the boy is a sign of hope for them. But the same boy turns into a conveyer of pessimism when he turns up at the closure of every act to say that Godot would not come. 

According to Wikipedia, "Whether the boy from Act I is the same boy from Act II or not, both boys are polite yet timid. In the first Act, the boy, despite arriving while Pozzo and Lucky are still about, does not announce himself until after Pozzo and Lucky leave, saying to Vladimir and Estragon that he waited for the other two to leave out of fear of the two men and of Pozzo's whip; the boy does not arrive early enough in Act II to see either Lucky or Pozzo. In both Acts, the boy seems hesitant to speak very much, saying mostly "Yes Sir" or "No Sir", and winds up exiting by running away."

Godot is the most important character in Waiting for Godot. Vladimir and Estragon frequently talk about him and they keep on waiting for him throughout the play though he remains unseen. But fortunately or unfortunately Godot does not arrive at all. Thus Godot remains unknown to the readers or viewers of the play. We can make some presumptions about Godot but cannot determine for sure who he is. In this way Godot is a mystery throughout the drama. As the play comes to an end, readers feel sad for Vladimir and Estragon because they continued to wait for someone who does not at all come to them.

At the same time it is important to be noted that Godot is a vivid reflection of the endless incidence of waiting that takes place in people's life every now and then. Human beings wait for happiness, good news, success, achievements etc. People also wait for the men and women they like most but in many cases their waiting lead to nothing. This sense of nothingness is located at the heart of Waiting for Godot.

Vladimir informs that he was told to wait for Godot by the tree. This should be reassuring-it means the men are in the right place. On the other hand, Estragon points out that they are not sure if this is the right tree. Even at one point Vladimir and Estragon begin to doubt whether it is a tree or something else. Thus a touch of puzzlement strikes the minds of readers.

       The tree is an implication of the skeptic thoughts that influence our minds while we are in the middle of a confusing situation like the state that Vladimir and Estragon go through when they keep on waiting for Godot without any sign of certainty.

Vladimir, Estragon, Lucky, and Pozzo all wear hats and at times seem oddly preoccupied with them. Lucky, for instance, needs his hat to think, and stops his long monologue once his hat is taken off.

The hats that the characters in the play wear represent the instability of individual identities in Waiting for Godot. As Pozzo and Lucky don't remember having already seen Vladimir and Estragon in act two, Vladimir begins to wonder whether the Pozzo and Lucky of act two are the same as those of act one. Estragon, for one, does not recognize them, and calls Pozzo Abel. Estragon can't even remember his own past, and at one point tells Pozzo that his name is Adam.       

 
Moreover, it is not clear whether the young boy in each act is one boy or two different ones. The boy also calls Vladimir Mr. Albert, which may or may not actually be Vladimir's name. With all of this unclearness regarding people's identities, the scene of the hat exchange playfully represents an exchange of identities, as Vladimir and Estragon wear different combinations of hats. They ultimately return to wearing their own hats, but it is uncertain whether they are being themselves throughout the play, or if they even have stable selves they can be.

Since the hats keep on moving all the time, it signifies the duality in people's thoughts. Everyone does not all the time keep up the same approach to life-the rapid movement of hats in Waiting for Godot is Samuel Beckett's illustration of this idea.

The boots belonging to Estragon are important objects to be analysed in Waiting for Godot. These boots signify the condition of human life when life seems tough to lead. Estragon's boots are tight on his feet and these boots hurt him in the same way social system sometimes puts unwanted restrictions on people and make people's life painful.

Estragon continues to struggle with his boots like the way men and women all over the world are trying hard to adjust to inappropriate things and to accept the hardship of realities.

Realizing the significance and roles of symbols is one of the most vital things for a deeper look into literature. All literary works come with a broad number of direct or indirect symbols. Symbols include materials, events, human beings, words and so on. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett illustrates a remarkable number of symbols which need to be interpreted for a wider understanding of the text.

MH Abrams defined literary symbols in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms in the following way, "In the broadest sense a symbol is anything which signifies something; in this sense all words are symbols. In discussing literature, however, the term "symbol" is applied only to a word or phrase that signifies an object or event which in its turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself (311)."

While analysing the symbols found in Waiting for Godot, readers principally take a look at the following things.

The tree in Waiting for Godot symbolizes a wide range of meanings and messages. First of all, the tree is a symbol of hope because Vladimir says that Godot told him to wait by the tree. So, the tree is a sign of optimism for Vladimir. As long as the tree is there, Vladimir keeps up his hope to meet Godot. Since the whole play is all about waiting, so waiting by the tree carries a great deal of importance.

The tree is the particular spot where Vladimir continues to wait for Godot's arrival. Human beings depend on true or false hope throughout their life. Hope keeps human beings in good mood even in the middle of tremendous crisis and uncertainty. Godot does not arrive in the play but Vladimir stands close to the tree with hope.

On the other hand, the tree is a symbol of doubts as well in Waiting for Godot. Estragon is not so confident in the drama about the coming of Godot. Therefore, he seems suspicious about waiting by the tree. He is not so hopeful about meeting Godot under the tree. Even at one point confusion arises in the drama particularly in the mind of Estragon about the very existence of the tree which is a sharply symbolic approach to Samuel Beckett's vision of existential philosophy in Waiting for Godot. According to T Z Lavine's book From Socrates to Sartre: A Philosophic Quest, the philosophical approach to existentialism emerged in Europe through the ideas reflected from the discourses of Jean Paul Sartre from France, Soren Kierkegaard from Denmark and Friedrich Nietzsche from Germany (284).

K. C. Lalthlamuani wrote, "Existentialism is of two dimensional ideologies, but their foundational structures are of the same criteria. Their discrepancies lie in centering for the structure. The dimensions are Theistic and Atheistic existentialisms. Accordingly, the existentialistic interpretation of the play Waiting for Godot can be based on the same as Vladimir represents theistic existentialist and Estragon atheistic existentialist. They both are trying to find sense and meaning in life, in a manner of which Vladimir seeks meaning through a belief in someone he does not know and Estragon through the experience in life itself. Therefore, it is within the main existential domain itself there is a dormant clash of clans between the two existential creeds. The play can mostly be regarded as a reasoning conflict between the concept of meaning in life or existence (3)."

The existential shadow on literature seems to have convinced Samuel Beckett too which is why readers come across quite a noteworthy touch of existentialism through symbols in Waiting for Godot.

Estragon's boots are very important symbols in Waiting for Godot. Estragon finds his boots very uncomfortable and tight. He feels hurt while wearing these boots. These boots are the symbol of the troublesome things that people face in life. There are lots of problems, limitations, sufferings in everyone's life but people continue to live with all these painful parts of their life which are like the tight boots of Estragon. Estragon does not throw away his boots. The boots are always with him. Similarly, there are many critical disadvantages in everybody's life which cannot be removed. Judging from this point of view, the boots are very much lifelike symbols in Waiting for Godot.

Almost all the characters in the play wear hats. Sometimes they interchange their hats. Sometimes they put on hats and sometimes they take off their hats. The restlessness in the characters is portrayed through these hats in Waiting for Godot.

It cannot be exactly explained to what extent hats are necessary for Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo or Lucky but they all put on hats. These hats seem to be unnecessary to the readers or not directly connected with the story of the play. But still all these people wear hats. Thus the hats stand for the irrationality of life. Irrationality means those matters in life which do not have any logical grounds. Why all these people in the play wear hats-there is no clear answer to this question. So, the hats signify the fact that everything people do in their life is not driven by appropriate reasons.

The hats on everyone's head in Waiting for Godot are a feature of absurd literature too. Absurd literature always shows irrelevant and peculiar things which cannot be supported logically. The same thing can be said about the hats. The hats put Waiting for Godot in the category of absurd literature.

The dual characters like Vladimir and Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky can be described as symbolic presentations as well. These dual figures show sharp distinctions from each other. There are vivid contradictions between these pairs of characters which make them look opposite to one another. There are two acts in the drama which is an instance of duality too.

Dualism is very closely bonded with life. Everything in life has two opposite sides like coins. There is happiness and sorrow, love and hate, patience and impatience, big and small, high and low, right and wrong all the time present in human life.

Samuel Beckett strongly depicted this duality of life through these double characters in this play. Human mind is also influenced by duality. There are opposite thoughts and views in all people's minds including the characters we find in Waiting for Godot.

Waiting is located in the central part of Waiting for Godot. It would not be an exaggeration to say that waiting is the biggest of all symbols in this play. Vladimir and Estragon keep on waiting for the arrival of Godot throughout the drama both with and without doubts.

Waiting cannot be separated from anyone's life. People wait for one thing or another in each and every part of their life at home or outside. Everything we wait for does not arrive like Godot does not appear in the play at all.

As far as the plot of Waiting for Godot is concerned, the point about waiting seems to be very much disappointing. Waiting is a symbol of depression, nothingness and fruitlessness in this play.

Godot, the most frequently discussed character of the play remains unseen to the readers or spectators. Thus Godot is a symbol of unrealistic or unobtainable aims in Waiting for Godot. However, despite the fact that Godot does not at all have any physical appearance in the play, he does not lose importance. Godot remains the main subject matter of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon. Readers may question whether Godot really exists or not. Even if Godot does not exist, still he cannot be dropped from any discussion about Waiting for Godot.

Things which perhaps have no physical form in reality may also put deep impact on someone's life. For example, Godot does not arrive but Vladimir believes in Godot firmly. He does not want to presume that Godot would not come at all.

Godot symbolizes how broadly we are preoccupied with unproven presumptions, remote thoughts and imaginary goals which most of the time do not come true.

Tanjina Ferdaus is a student of Metropolitan University, Sylhet.