Waiting for Godot Themes: Death & Suffering

“Waiting for Godot” reflects the sentiments of these quotations to quite a large extent. In the first quotation, the idea of finding something meaningful is explored, we see this on numerous accounts in Waiting for Godot.

In the second quotation, the expectation of life is being explored. In Waiting for Godot we know that the characters are in essence expecting that Godot will come, but in the end, this expectation isn’t fulfilled.

With these points, it can be understood that the quotations are a reflection of the sentiments of Waiting for Godot. The two predominant themes in Waiting for Godot are death and suffering.

The socio-political times of Waiting for Godot are in the midst of suffering. It was a time where the nuclear holocaust was still rife and people were depressed and hopeless.

We can see this hopelessness in Waiting for Godot with Vladimir and Estragon. What they are doing is actually hopeless because of the facts that are supporting them waiting, they not even sure if they are at the right place.

The characters are depressed with not much to say and hardly anything to do. The actions in the play are a representation of this hopelessness. On numerous occasions, we see that the characters say “Let’s go,” but they end up doing nothing. This is also related to futility.

Their worlds are futile, and so is the whole play. Nothing is being achieved. In the beginning, the characters are waiting for Godot to arrive, and at the end of the play, nothing has changed.. We can also see the futility in Lucky in the second half; he is the slave of a man who is incapable of punishing him.

Lucky is perfectly able to run away but he never does, because he is despair in his situation.

Beckett’s intention was to show the hopelessness and futility of the world. In the second quotation, suffering is being explored. The expectation isn’t being fulfilled.

We see this blatantly in Waiting for Godot. It is known to us that Vladimir and Estragon idea’s of how things ought to be are common to ours. In that sense, we can relate to them as humans as well, which kept the realistic quality of Beckett’s intention. We can see the ‘attachment’ between Estragon and Vladimir, and Lucky and Potso.

They are dependent upon each other and are therefore attached; this is where the suffering comes in. To find the lasting relationships and opportunities which might result in lasting life, but in actual fact, there isn’t any. Beckett achieved his intention through Lucky and Potso of futility and hopelessness by showing us their relationship.

Lucky is Potso’s slave and they are heading to the market where they can sell him. Lucky’s life here is hopeless. Relating to the quote that ‘you ideas about how things ought to be…”, we see that Lucky ought not to be Potso’s slave in the second half, where he actually holds the power, yet he still is.

In Waiting for Godot the major themes being explored are death and time. Death is a way of escape. If you die you escape of life and all the suffering and negatives of life, clearly highlighted in the Waiting for Godot script. Death is the perfect escape. In life there is only one thing we know and that is death.

Referring to the second quotation, possible reasons for suffering can include relationships. It is the desire of the people to replace relationships with material things that can cause this pain.

We also suffer because our whole life is spent looking for some sort of meaning. When our expectations of the world in which we live, aren’t fulfilled there is no meaning.

The theme of time is also a major theme as we can see in the title of the play: Waiting for Godot. Time can be seen as a test of their ability to endure throughout the days because there is nothing to do and the challenge is to fill the time.

The time is cyclical and often so much of the action is repeated, which leads to the characters suffering inside. There is nothing new to be done or nothing exciting happening in their lives.

That’s why the idea of hanging themselves to get an erection is so appealing because it will pass the time and add some excitement to their dull and miserable lives.

It is quite clear to see that the sentiments of suffering and expectations not being fulfilled in the quotations are relevant to Waiting for Godot to a very large extent.