Study Questions Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett PDF

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STUDY QUESTIONS WAITING FOR GODOT BY SAMUEL BECKETT 1. Reflect on the plot. Try to summarise it in one sentence. Two friends waiting for someone who does not appear. While they wait they have absurd conversation, two more people appear (Pozzo, the owner, and Lucky, the slave). They are weird, too. The conversations are absurd, but sometimes important issues are emerged. Although, not all is about conversation. There is a contrast between stillness and constant movement. That movement produces a lot of humour. We are not sure how long they are waiting for Godot, but the play only describes the action happens in two days (two evenings).

2. Repetition is central in the play. What is the most effective way in which it appears? ‘Shall we leave?’ Estragon is asking every time the same questions to Vladimir. Formal symmetry. Waiting for Godot is like a routine. They still have hope until the monotony of their lives. Time changes and no one except Vladimir percept it.

3. Can you see any intertextual connections with T. S. Eliot’s poetic contribution? The setting that it seems to be empty, there is only a tree and it’s dead. It is a waste land. A Modernism characteristic is the use of Stream of Consciousness, mainly when Lucky talks.

4. Reflect on the relationship between Vladimir and Estragon. How is each of them portrayed? Are they similar or different? Is their relationship similar to that between Pozzo and Lucky? Vladimir is one of the principal characters in this play. He seems to be more responsible than others. Estragon calls him “Didi” and the Boy, Mr. Albert. He seems to be more mature than Estragon. Estragon behaves as a child. He can’t remember anything he has done as Vladimir has to remind him everything. He puts the touch of humour to the play. Vladimir calls him “Gogo”. He seems useless and weak and always looks for Vladimir’s protection. The relationship between them is good, they seem brothers. One protects the other. I believe that their relationship is that good because they are very different. This has nothing to do with the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky; their relationship is summarized in the leader (Pozzo) being followed by the servant (Lucky). Pozzo treats him badly, not as Didi and Gogo. All characters in general are not real characters, they are not round ones. They depend on each other because Vladimir has the duty to take back to reality his friend Estragon. Estragon was a poet. In contrast, Vladimir is very reality, very practical. They are opposite but they complement each other. Vladimir is the one who realise and want to suicide, the other one is asleep and does not realise the level of the situation (literature as necessary). Estragon is the one who attributes funny to the play. Use the imagination to scape reality. The two sides of a person (the practical side and the imaginative side), for survival they need each other. Lucky is the only one that can think.

5. The act of waiting makes us more acutely aware of the passing of time. Find references to time in the play and reflect on their meaning. The constant repetition of the sentence “We are waiting for Godot” (p. 9,35...): this is the motif of the play, they are always waiting, just waiting. They were there to meet Godot, who did not appear. They allude to the sun

and the moon/dark sky to let us know that the day has ended. We can know how many days there have been there because they always come to that place in the evening.

6. Find references to Christianity in the play. Do you think religion is a relevant theme? In this play, Christianity is used like a laugh. They allude to Christ on page 39. They use the word “curate” as an insult (p. 59)

7. What do we know about Godot? Reflect on his characteristic and possible meanings. We do not know anything about Godot, only that he treats the boy well and that Estragon and Vladimir wait for him as there is no tomorrow. I believe this name, Godot, is referred to God because the two main characters wait for him to save their souls. This theory could be possible because he did not appear in the play and he is always mentioned.

8. Consider the sentences and situations repeated in the play. Make a list of them considering their different types and meanings. We are waiting for Godot/We wait for godot Is this Godot? What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir? Tell him… tell him you saw us. You did see us, didn’t you? I’m tired! Let’s go What are we waiting for.

9. Reflect on the sources of humour in the play. Which is in your opinion the most important one? This play is full of humour: allusion to the Christianity, insults and so on but the two main are the repetition and the absurd conversation, so the repetition of an absurd conversation is the most important one

10. Search on the Internet the meaning of the terms “slapstick comedy”, “mime” and “pantomime”. Reflect on the connections between these genres and the content of Waiting for Godot. Slapstick comedy is a style of humour that includes exaggerated physical activity. Mime is using gestures to perform. Pantomime is a type of musical comedy. These three terms are related to the play: We find the Slapstick style when they are not speaking but the annotations say they are manipulated their body in order to make people laugh. We also find mime in the gestures of our characters and the way they act while facing problems. Finally, we find pantomime when Vladimir sings. These songs are humoristic songs.

https://www.shmoop.com/waiting-for-godot/summary.html Tragic comedy...