Essay: "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”
reflects the fears and the attitudes that were perpetuated throughout the cold
war period. Such fears stemmed from the spheres the influence that emanated
from the “western ideals” reflective of the USA and its allies and the “soviet
ideals” that were reflective of the USSR and its bloc. This was a period in
time that followed the horrific and shocking Word War II that saw many
atrocities, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity being revealed. In
addition, the dropping of the atomic bomb onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused
people to question the very essence of humanity and our capacity to kill,
especially due to the destructive power of the bomb. This existential crisis
astonished many people and this lack of catharsis, caused people to question their
own purpose and their inherent humanistic traits.
Beckett has used this context of fear and
confusion to construct the atmosphere and mood in “Waiting for Godot”. The play
is set in an unknown region with little to no description of its surroundings “A
country road. A tree. Evening.” This basic description is repeated throughout
the play with the act two starting similarly “Next day. Same time. Same place.”
This lack of adjectival description shows the true affects in regards to the
ways of thinking of people during the cold war period, and can even be said to
reflect modern perceptions and values, as it reflects a sense of being lost and
abandoned in the world. The repetition, in conjunction with the repetition and
lack of movement of Estragon and Vladimir “Yes, Lets go…[they do not move]”,
further highlights the timelessness and cyclical nature of our world causing
the responder to question the very meaning of time and advancement/progression,
suggesting that regardless of what happens, history will repeat itself. Such a
fear was codified in the people during the cold war period with high tensions
surrounding the mass proliferation of nuclear arms and socio-political tensions
between states and their ideologies.
Furthermore, this questioning of existence
and the social & political constructs of the cold war period, made its way
into the cultural and religious elements of life. Due to the fact that many
religious doctrines outlined specific way of thinking and behaving as well as
providing a sense of faith of something greater than humanity, many people,
following the aforementioned atrocities, questioned and philosophised over the
meaning of religion as well as its truth in the modern era. People were
confused at the very fact that if there were to exist a higher being, why did
they let such atrocities occur?
This is reflective in “Waiting for Godot”
through the numerous religious allusions, namely allusions to the bible and the
Christian faith. The name of the play is called “Waiting for Godot” and is a
play on words of ‘Waiting for God’. This, in addition to Godot never appearing
in the play, has been used by Beckett to suggest the scale of dissatisfaction
and dissent among religious communities in regards to the existence and power
of God. Sarcasm and satire has been used by Beckett as well to highlight the
slow dissipation of belief “Why don’t we hang ourselves?”. Typically,
particularly so in Catholicism [under the Roman Catholic Church], the act of
suicide was not allowed as it was in breach of the commandment ‘Thou Shalt not
Kill’. The use of black humour in this regard highlights the fickle nature of
this commandment to the people of the time and undermines the very nature of
religious doctrine, further highlighting this loss of faith during the cold war
period.
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