BOOK BLOG ONE- Pages 1-12 from the script Waiting For Godot

 

            In the first twelve pages, the only characters are two gentlemen named Estragon and Vladimir. They appear to be homeless, wearing heavy-duty clothes that are meant to shield them from the outdoor elements. These two characters have a strong spouse-like relationship. They spend the majority of the time bickering, comforting each other, and showing each other great care.

            The dialogue is laced with Charlie Chaplin humor and an atmosphere that reminds me of the Marx Brothers. Things like struggling to take off a boot and searching your hat every time you take it off remind me greatly of the old black-and-white movies from the early twentieth century.

            Estragon takes off his boot he peers inside it. I pondered this for a while until I realized that Estragon was only looking for a pebble or a deformity inside the boot that would justify the pain in his foot. This has a greater significance. The boot is repeatedly compared to life and the wild wrestle to remove the boot was referred to as ‘the struggle’. After the boot is removed Estragon airs his foot as it swells up. Vladimir then says: “There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the fault of his feet.”  This quote to me is a metaphor for life. Perhaps the discomfort that we experience in life is not life itself, but the way we live it. There is a way to ware a boot correctly so it doesn’t damage your feet but Estragon does not comply with the rules and is stuck with this struggle and discomfort.

            Vladimir also tells Estragon a Bible story when they are waiting. It is about the two thieves that are crucified at the same time as Jesus. Vladimir is pondering the fact that one thieve had survived when he remembers that only two of the four Evangelists mentioned the thieves when recalling the events of the crucifixion. He then says that of these two, one said that the thieves had abused Jesus and were both damned. I think this was brought up to show how society views people in their situation. To some Evangelists, the thieves were inexistent in their eyes, and to the other they were both hideous creatures, but it is revealed by one that the thief was saved.  Vladimir is trying to say that some people are thought of more highly and genuinely then others and are held at more importance than those who are criminals or squatters (just like themselves).

            Continuing the story of the thief, it also sounds as if Vladimir also makes the case that humans are more drawn to the positive. Even though three of the four Evangelists said the thieves were both damned, people grasped to the story where the thief was saved because it had positive connotations.

            Estragon and Vladimir are constantly forgetting things. They are often clueless to why they are there, what they did yesterday, and when exactly Godot would be coming. I believe this is hinting that they spend a great deal of their time waiting for Godot. The blandness of this lifestyle and the lack of stimuli have made days morph together and memory harder to recall.

            Godot has not yet revealed itself yet. It has been talked about as a it, or a he. One refers to object, the other to man; both refer to god. So what is Godot? Is it god? An object? Or an human?
 

10/29/2012 09:10:23 am

I think Godot is an idea. The way it is spoken about I am led to believe that Godot is more of a greater truth or symbol than a person.

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10/29/2012 09:12:30 am

I also agree with what you said about the boot being a symbol for life itself. I would like to add that I think it is saying if you live life unconventionally you will be more likely to be unhappy. In other words, if you wear your boot "wrong" you will be uncomfortable.

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