This is my final response paper and last assignment for my summer literature course that I finished today. I’m done with all assignments for the class now, and all I have left to do is wait for my instructor to finish grading everything and to give me my final grade.

For those of you unfamiliar with the response papers I’ve written for this class, we basically have a work of literature to read each week; then we have to write a summary, our impressions, and a critical analysis. This week we focused on the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Sometimes we are given a specific topic for our critical analysis, but this week, we were permitted to choose our own area of focus.

This response paper might be as well-constructed, organized, or developed as other response papers I’ve written because I was extremely short of time when writing this paper due to other assignments I had to finish. To read other response papers I’ve written for this class, or to read other papers I’ve written for homework in general, check out the “Academics / Homework” category index page.

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Summary:

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is a play featuring Vladimir and Estragon, two men who are waiting for the arrival of Godot. The play tells of what they do while they wait, and illustrates encounters made with others while they are waiting.

While waiting, Vladimir and Estragon come across Pozzo and Lucky, two other significant characters in the play. Lucky is Pozzo’s slave, and Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell Lucky. The four men have a discussion; throughout the exchange, Vladimir’s emotions fluctuate as he learns about how Pozzo treats Lucky. Eventually, the two men depart and Vladimir and Estragon are left alone again.

Shortly after, a boy approaches the two main characters and declares that Godot will not be coming that night, but will be coming the following day. Night falls.

The following day, Vladimir and Estragon are back waiting for Godot again. They once again encounter Pozzo and Lucky, but Pozzo has become blind, and he does not remember meeting Vladimir and Estragon the previous day. The boy also comes by again, and the boy also insists that he did not speak with Vladimir and Estragon the day before. The boy once again declares that Godot will not be coming.

Vladimir and Estragon contemplate committing suicide if Godot does not come, but they remain, and continue to wait for Godot.

Impressions:

When I read this play, I had a very difficult time coming up with what the play was actually about. The overarching plot theme was clearly that two men were waiting for Godot, but the play was laid out in such a confusing and random manner that I had a difficult time seeing how all the events came together.

I was, however, able to build a good conceptual picture about all the characters, as the way in which they speak and how they acted allowed me to pick up on implicit cues that gave me more information about their background.

After thinking more about the play and reading some discussion posts made by other students, I was able to pick up on some of the messages and morals the play contained, but the lasting impression that I have of the play is still one of confusion as to the randomness of the events.

Critical Analysis:

Forgetfulness is a recurring theme in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. It appears throughout the play and seems to hold a significant importance in the progression of the play. Because of the characters who experience forgetfulness and when it occurs, I believe that it is symbolic of the sanity that Vladimir retains because of his belief that Godot will be coming.

The first and most obvious example of forgetfulness we observe is through Estragon. Estragon is overall portrayed as a weak and frail character, and his forgetfulness contributes greatly to that, as because of his poor memory, he is seen as unable to support himself. Estragon forgets things that happen the previous day, as he states himself: “That’s the way I am. Either I forget immediately or I never forget.” He is also not sure why he is even at the location where they are waiting for Godot, as evidenced by Estragon saying “And here where we are now?” and Vladimir responding, “Where else do you think? Do you not recognize the place?” This allows us to conclude that the reason Estragon is even at the location is because he is accompanying Vladimir, who is waiting for Godot. Thus, we can state from this evidence that Estragon himself does not necessarily have an internal desire to wait for Godot.

The next example of forgetfulness is from the boy, who states that Godot will be coming the following day, but returns the next day and does not recall ever declaring such a thing. He then proceeds to agree with Vladimir stating that Godot will not be coming that night, but will be coming the next day. This repetition implies that the boy is denying the existence of Godot, and is simply claiming he will come the following day as a way to take the pressure of the question off of himself.

The item we can see in common between the two examples is that both Estragon and the boy are connected not only by their forgetfulness, but also by their lack of belief of Godot. Thus, we can make an implicit conclusion by saying that forgetfulness is symbolic of the lack of belief of Godot.

We move on to Vladimir, who contrasts both Estragon and the boy in the sense that he is able to remember things that have happened in the past, and also has faith in Godot’s coming. Based on this connection, one could argue that a message of this play is that, with the belief of a divine and higher power, such as Godot, one can retain his or her sanity and avoid being forgetful through the power of religion.

Of course, this conclusion is loosely supported, as there may be many external factors that could have affected the characters’ traits and actions, but it still provides insight into one of the possible messages the play aims to get through to the reader.