Thinking Activity: Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett

Hello readers,
                       On 27th September 2018 we had movie screening of the movie "Waiting For Godot" written by Samuel Beckett in which students task is to watch movie and write their understanding of the movie of the given points by the professor. Here is the link of professor's blog click here,


The movie "Waiting for Godot" is directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. In this 2001 movie, Barry McGovern and Johnny Murphy played Vladimir and Estragon, where as Lucky and Pozzo were performed by Alan Standford and Stephan Brennan, respectively.


Q. What connection do you see in the setting("A country road. A tree. Evening.) of the play and these paintings.

Ans. The setting of the play is inspired by two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. The title of this painting is 'longing', here longing means deep desire for something. Waiting is connected with longing. In the painting two person see towards sunrise and sunset, it stand for bright hope and despair and in the play we find similar things.

Q. 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 2 on the barren tree- The tree has four or five leaves?

Ans. The tree is a symbol in the play. Many time tree symbolically presented in the play when Vladimir and Estragon try to be hebetate like tree. So, leaves stand for hope and despair. In first scene tree was destroyed so we can interpret and connect it with world war-2 because this play written just after war and in second act this tree have leaves so it stand for hope and also we can say it is changing nature.

3) In both acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this 'Coming for night and moon' when actually they are Waiting For Godot?

Ans. We can interpret this moon as brightness in the night so, I think Beckett want to convey through this moon's brightness in the night means though the darkness of night there is somewhat hope like the brightness of the moon. So, we should not lost our hope, every day is new day.

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?

Ans. The director used debris in the setting. So, it can be the influence of the World war-2 in the material world. Therefore, we can say that the meaninglessness of material world that keep on destroying, nothing is permanent in the life.

5) The play begins with the dialogue "Nothing to be done". how does the theme of 'nothingness' recurs in the play? 

Ans.  "Nothing to be done" reflects the Existentialism. This theory shows that the life is meaningless, whatever you do it has no ultimate meaning. this play starts with this idea of nothingness. Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot without knowing that he will come or not, is he exist or not, who is he? unclear theme shows the nothingness of the play.

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

Ans. Yes, I agree to the point of E.G Marshal that the play waiting for Godot is positive play in the sense of life is goes on we can not stop or kill the time. If we commit suicide or stop our breath it doesn't matter for life. We kill ourselves not the life, it must go on. So, we can say that life is meaningless though we have to live life, this lesson make us positive.

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

Ans. Samuel Beckett used many symbols in this play in which Hat and Boot are interesting symbols. We can say that hat represented the intellectual, mental ability and thinking and boot represent lower and physical appearance.

8) 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?

Ans. Sometimes we can get chance to be free from some constructed situation though we can not grab the opportunity because we are habituated with that constructed situation, it can not permit us to think beyond. Lucky knows well that his master has no power to see anything yet he do not go away from him and serving him without the question of real freedom. It is unbelievable as rational thinker but those who living sheeple's kind of life, they can be driven with the flow without questioning. 

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

Ans. This play has many way of interpretation. We can interpret this play with every given points. But, according to me Godot is God because when we read the dialogue between boy and Vladimir that time Vladimir asked to the boy that Godot is white? then the boy said yes, so we can say that they talk about Christ. Another interpretation is based on political reading in which we can say that Godot means Hitler because when Vladimir asked to the boy that he is beating or not? then boy replied yes. So, we can connect with the Hitler that he was beating many countries in world war-2.

10) "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?

Ans. Yes, I agree with the Esslin's point of view in 'A search for the self' that the subject and the main theme of the play is 'waiting' not the Godot. We can see that in the play nothing happen except the meaningless waiting. there is  no one come and go, all the characters only waiting for someone but no one come. So, we can say the heart of the play is waiting not Godot.

11) Do you think 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?

Ans. According to me the reading and viewing both can be beneficial and required of the play. Because if you only watch the movie then it can be bore. Because it has the continous dialogues and less action. For the understanding of the deeper philosophy one has to read the play. Only reading also makes you boring because you will not be able to imagine Vladimir and Estragon and their useless action. We have to done both the things in the class which enriched our understanding of the play.

12) Which of the following sequence you liked the most:

•  Vladimir-Estragon killing time in questions and conversationa while waiting
• Pozzo-Lucky episode in both acts
• Conversation of Vladimir with the boy

Ans. I liked the most the conversation of Vladimir with the boy because except this all are boring and meaningless in some extent, while the conversation with the feel the energy and curiosity in the play because that boy was the messenger of Godot and also that boy frightened Vladimir for telling about Godot. So, first conversation with the boy was the hope for Vladimir and second conversation somewhat despair and revealed Vladimir's selfishness.

13)  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?

Ans. yes, we feel the effect of Existetial crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe when Vladimir asked to the boy about Godot and he asked that Godot will come today or not? That time boy replied that Godot will come tomorrow but Godot never come throughout the play so we can find the meaningless waiting for Godot. And other meaninglessness we find in the character of Lucky that when his master go blind though he doing slavery like sheeple. Hemce, we can say that life is meaningless for Lucky because they even don't think about freedom.

14)  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?

Ans. We can find the suicide is an art in existentialism. We watched one of the video it talks about the philosophical suicide but in the play Vladimir is a strong believer of Christianity and suicide is the sin in Christianity and we also can say that Estragon and Vladimir avoid suicide because they have hope for Godot.


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

Ans. Yes, we can interpret the political reading in which Vladimir stand for Russia, Pozzo stand for Italy, Lucky stand for England and Estragon stand for France. So, we can connect this to the world war in which these all countries destroyed by Godot means Germany that is why Vladimir asked to the boy that is Godot beating? Then boy replied yes. So we connect Godot with Germany means Hitler, who destroyed many countries and killed thousands of people. And other interpretation of Pozzo and Lucky master and slave in which we connect Pozzo with England and Lucky with Ireland, so in this matter Ireland struggling a lot with England and recently we have seen Brexit pact.

16) 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?

Ans. Yes, there is change in both acts. In act1 Vladimir told to the boy that tell Godot that you saw us. So, here Vladimir taked about both Vladimir and Estragon while in second act Vladimir told the boy that tell Godot that you saw me, so here Vkadimir talked about his self he does not mention the name of Estragon. So, in act 2 Vladimir seems selfish.