Waiting for Godot

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely loved it!
Review: I could read this book again and again, and still laugh as much at the characters' "stupidity". I found that there is a lot of depth to this book and that the story somehow imitates our lives... sometimes. It is so easy to pass this book as completely useless, so you'd better make sure that you let your imagination go with the book!!

Rating:
Summary: i'm still waiting .....
Review: this past week i've had the good fortune to work backstage at a production of "Waiting for Godot." During that time I heard and saw this play many many times, and I've had a lot of time to think about the characters. Truth be told, this is one of the most intricate, deep works of literature i've ever come into contact with. It has so much relevance, and so many valid interpetations.

The production that I was a part of was very good, and extremely well acted. This is definitely a play that needs to be seen, not read. There IS a lot of humor in the acting that is lost just reading stage directions.

I would now like to talk about the characters and symbols of this play. If you're not interested, you can stop here.

Some see it as a play about the inability of man to give meaning to his own life. Others see it as a poignant treatise on god's non-involvement with human affairs. As for myself? I found each of these views valid, but what intrigues me the most is the idea that Gogo and Didi are stuck in purgatory and are waiting for the end of the world. This is not far fetched, as Samuel Beckett was an Irish writer, and would have been very familiar with Catholic dogma. Also, the character of the "boy" uses symbols from the book of Revelations. He says that he takes care of the "goats" and that his brother takes care of the "sheep." These are symbols for the unsaved and saved souls, respectively. In this interpetation, Gogo and Didi are both unsaved.

There are symbols in the nicknames of the characters as well. There's alot to be said for the names "Gogo" (a command and concerned with the future) and "Didi" ('i did' backwards, a name of authority and commmandING, and concerned with the past). The relationship of Pozzo and Lucky parallels that of Gogo and Didi as well, but in exaggerated form. Pay close attention to this. It says a lot about their characters.

There are very specific reasons that the two main characters are eternally stuck. Didi's problem is that he's conceited and he's never satisfied. This can be seen in his very first statement, and in the treatment of his hat. In other words, there is nothing to be done b'c anything he can do is 'beneath' him. Gogo's vice is that he's too stuck on self-interest. He's always concerned with the pain in his legs, food, and ways to take advantage of a situation. For him, there's nothing to be done b'c he has no care for anything that does not immediately effect him.

Finally, I would like to mention that there ARE scenes where Gogo and Didi have memories that go very far back in their lives. They're usually muddled or ignored by the other character, though, so the memories become useless.

Rating:
Summary: keep trying, it's worth it
Review: The first time I picked it up I read 20 pages and put it down, unable to understand a thing. The second time I read half the book and gave up. Because I heard so much about it, I tried again and the third time I loved it. It's an incredible mix of sad hopelessness and almost slapstick style humor, at times I laughed aloud. A frighteningly stark look at the human condition. From the first, almost every line of the play can be interpreted on at least 3 levels.

One, on the shallow level of the daily lives of the two main characters, about the banal objects of their existence, their shoes, games, desires, and stories, etc.

Two, on a deeper level, about the deeper meaning of their existence, the search for a frame of reference (Godot), the hopelessness, the hope that is always dangled in front of them, forcing them to stay in the cosmic game, yet never attaining the things hoped for.

And on a third level, as 2 actors on a stage, wasting time, trying to think up lines to fill the time until the end of the play (note the part where one of the actors directs the other off stage to the restroom, to relieve himself), thus forcing the audience (or reader) into the exact position portrayed by the two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, to wait for meaning, for some sort of overall sense that will give rationale to their puzzling existence (or this puzzling play).

Tragic, comic, sad, terrifying, poignant, and at times, oddly enough, hilarious. The best play I've read yet.

Rating:
Summary: Deep Mess
Review: A "tragicomedy" in two acts, Waiting For Godot is original and like no other. This is a play in which nothing happens twice. The setting includes a tree that symbolizes the tree of life, and a road, which implies a journey, direction, and a purpose. Located on a set that is foreign, Estragon and Vladimir are hobos that wait for the authority to tell them how to live their life. While these two men wait for Mr. Godot, they meet three other characters. Among the three are Pozzo and Lucky. Throughout the two acts, Mr. Godot never comes. Estragon and Vladimir are distraught, but still insist on waiting because they are lost and need someone to tell them what to do with their lives.
The characters in the play are well developed. Because they are complex individuals, Estragon and Vladimir are good examples of realistic and plausible characters. The plot of Waiting For Godot is interpretive and original. This play has deep meaning and is not just a commercial plot. The tone of the play is one of despair, isolation and loneliness. The theme through out Waiting For Godot involves two men not wanting to make their own decisions and needing to take responsibility for their actions. I feel the author has been bold to make a statement through his play that is unique and realistic. Looking at the underlying theme of the play, anyone can relate to the situation.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for Godot
Review: Waiting for Godot is an interpretive and original tragicomedy written by Samuel Beckett. The play has many underlying meanings and can be interpreted in many different ways. The two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, are waiting for a man named Godot. It is assumed that Gogo and Didi have been coming back to their same spot day after day to wait for Godot. Every day Godot sends a messenger boy to tell the men that He will not see them today but He will surely see them tomorrow.
The theme of this play, along with many of Beckett's other works, present a comically pessimistic allegory of mans condition. Didi and Gogo have the stature of realistic and plausible characters. Their stories and actions can be related to the hardships and temptations faced in the twenty-first century.
Beckett's strengths in writing Waiting for Godot include making the problems of life into something people can laugh about. Beckett does an excellent job of portraying the human condition and vividly describing the bleakness of life. The downside for Beckett's play is its complicatedness and the depth that the reader must go to in order to find the real meaning of the story. Its repetitiveness is crucial for the hidden meanings but tiresome to read.
Waiting for Godot is a book for someone looking to distinguish certain aspects of religion and the choices people face. Godot also discredits the arguments for the existence of God through human reason and logic. However, the humor present in this play makes reading Waiting for Godot an interesting and very unique experience.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for Godot
Review: The novel, Waiting for Godot, is about two men named Vladimir and Estragon. They wait near a tree for Godot and communicate on various topics. Soon into the story, a man named Pozzo enters with his slave named Lucky, who he calls Pig. Upon finding out that he was not Godot, Vladimir and Estragon stop Pozzo and talk a while with him. Lucky is ordered to entertain by dancing and thinking. After Pozzo and Lucky leave a boy enters and says he is a messenger for Godot. He tells them that Godot will not be there today; however, he would be there tomorrow.

The next day they met at the tree again, but things were different. Pozzo and Lucky soon enter again as they did the day before. This time, however, Pozzo is blind, Lucky is mute, and they do not remember ever meeting Vladimir and Estragon. When Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and claims he has never seen them before and that Godot can't be there today, but will be there tomorrow. The boy leaves and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait.

The two characters, Vladimir and Estragon are very round characters meaning well developed and unique. They are also very realistic characters. Though this novel seems as though it is simple to understand, it actually is a very interpretive and original novel. The theme of this novel has to do with how human logic cannot explain God because he is infinite and humans are finite. It also has to do with God creating the world and leaving it alone. For example in the story Didi and Gogo are waiting for Godot to come and tell them there purpose in life.

This novel is a classic and should be read by though who enjoy
interpretive and original works.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for Godot
Review: Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot, is 'a play in which nothing happens twice,' as a critic once wrote. This tragicomedy is about two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for Godot to come and give their lives direction. During their wait, they are visited only by three other characters. First, they meet Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo is on his way to the fair to sell Lucky, his slave. The third character the men meet is Godot's messenger boy. The boy appears in both acts, as do Pozzo and Lucky. In each act, the boy brings the same news, that Godot will come tomorrow. By the end of the play, Godot never comes and Vladimir and Estragon are left waiting.
The two protagonists, Vladimir and Estragon, are round characters, meaning that they are well developed, plausible, and realistic. Through these characters, Beckett is describing our lives as being silly and pathetic. He is telling his reader that life is neither noble nor grand and that no one, except us, can give life purpose, meaning, or direction. Through these two characters, Beckett undercuts the human arguments of the existence of God. He never discredits God, but he does discredit our rational machinery of explaining God. Beckett is telling his reader that humans cannot come to a final conclusion about God, because He is incomprehensible and cannot be described in language. Other points Beckett brings across through his characters are that we have no control over our lives and we do not have the power to give our lives meaning. Beckett is telling us, as Estragon says in the play, that there is 'nothing to be done.'
The setting of the play is very plain. There is one tree and one road that disappears into the distance. The tree symbolizes time. In the first act, the tree is bare, as compared to the second act when the tree has sparse leaves. The road represents direction and neither Vladimir or Estragon chooses to follow the road.
Beckett does a wonderful job of developing his characters and making them realistic to his reader. However, a weakness of this play is that it was not entertaining, because nothing really happens. But, through this, Beckett makes a powerful statement about life in general, that it has no purpose, meaning, or direction.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for Godot
Review: Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, was surprising entertaining,
though nothing happened throughout the two acts. The two protagonists of the play,
Estragon and Vladimir, two hobo looking men, are waiting on a country road by a tree.
The setting is bare and dark. The two men discuss matters of life and religion while
waiting for a man named Godot who was to meet them there. During the play, they are
visited only by three others, a messenger boy who works for Godot, and Pozzo who has a
servant named Lucky. While Estragon insists numerous times that they leave the place,
Vladimir reminds him they are waiting for Godot. The men remain there for what appears
to be the changing of a season because leaves have grown on the once barren tree;
however, Godot never comes.
While the two men represent all mankind, Vladimir is the more philosophical of the
two. He understands the constant struggle of man to give his life meaning and he knows
that we do not have that power; he knows that they must wait for Godot to tell them what
to do. He grasps the idea that men never accept their own faults and often blame their
society. On the other hand, Estragon, or Go-Go as his friend calls him, is the more
materialistic of the men. When asked if he remembered reading the Bible, he replied that he
remembered the pictures. Both are well-developed, complex, and plausible characters.
Religious themes are often brought into Waiting for Godot. The tree which they

wait beside is a reminder of the two trees in the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life and the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The road on which they stand symbolizes a
purpose or direction in life, somewhere to go. The general tone of the play is one of
isolation, despair, and loneliness. One of the first conversations between our protagonists
is about Estragon being beaten at night. He says no one was there to help him. There was
no good Samaritan; we do not get much help from our fellow man. Man's inhumanity to
man is constant. Vladimir ignites a conversation about four Evangelists in the Bible of
whom only one spoke of one of two thieves being saved. The two thieves are an ironic
parallel between the two hobos, Vladimir and Estragon.
Waiting for Godot ventures into the universal human conditions of life. Beckett's
Christian Existential beliefs shine through in the essential idea of his play: there is nothing
to be done. Humans do not have the power to give their lives meaning. It is a play about
hope, waiting, and meaning in our lives, mixed with irony (the existence of the name God
in Godot) and humor. Although Beckett never discredits God, he does discredit human
theories for explaining the existence of God. Our lives are unfinished. We can never
come to a final conclusion about God because language and reason fall short of
explanation. We may have certain assumptions about God, but we can never come to
logical conclusions. Nothing is ever established beyond all doubt and we must live with
doubt. Doubt becomes a motif of the play. Beckett also touches on the point that life is
short. We can never be sure of anything.
Reading Waiting for Godot is an eye opening experience. Because of the things
our society has taught us for so long, we have excepted them as truths when in reality,
there are no truths. Men were born sinners. The play's themes are both well-developed
and implied. Beckett's original, interpretive fiction deals with more than just human
conditions, it explores the consciousness of man as well as concerns beyond man.

Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Meaning
Review: Samuel Beckett wrote a tragicomedy in two acts called "Waiting for Godot". The play was published in 1953. The play is about two life long friends, Estragon and Vladimir, that spend their days waiting for Godot on a barren country road near a tree with no leaves. Although, in the second act the tree suddenly has four to five leaves. A small boy comes every day to tell Estragon and Vladimir that Godot will come tomorrow but he never does. The two men meet Lucky and Pozzo and they talk about their sad and meaningless lives.
In "Waiting for Godot," Samuel Beckett is trying to get a meaning across to the readers. The play is really about the existence of God and our understanding of Him. Beckett is not questioning the existence of God, but he questions our incomprehensibility to even begin to understand Him. Our understanding is limited and God is outside time and space.
The reason that Estragon and Vladimir wait for Godot is because they think that he might offer some meaning to their lives. Some glimmer of hope as to why they were put on Earth. In a sense, the two men represent all human beings. In the play, the two men talk about hanging themselves from the tree. Then they realize that Godot would punish them if they did. If humans turn away from God then He will punish whoever does. The reason that the tree suddenly has leaves is to show that seasons have gone by, even though no time actually has gone by in the play. In a way, the tree is supposed to represent the tree of life. This play shows the human condition and our incapability to understand God.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing was Delivered
Review: Imagine going to the theatre and expecting an extravagant production complete with stage settings and costumes and lots of actors coming and going across the stage and then being confronted with this. An empty stage except perhaps for a bare leafless tree, just a black backdrop that is never changed and only two actors costumed in dusty rags who never leave the stage. And imagine a dialogue as sparse as the setting and you have Beckett. A post WWII theatre, or perhaps post-apocalyptic depending on which production you see. But modern, there is no mistaking that. Not so much existential as absurd though of course those two definitions overlap. Existential implies a certain amount of freedom though that one does not feel except of course in an oppressive way on becketts stage. Freedom, perhaps, but there is nothing to be done with it. Absurdity. The actors go through the motions of a dialogue but they get nowhere and nothing is ever found out, least of all who Godot is. Waiting for Godot, the title, is like a zen state but graceless, a frustrated state, neither here nor there. The dialogue begins to wear down to repeated phrases and simple gestures but that is it. The experience is a less than exalting one but it is powerful in a strange anti-mythic way. Rituals exist but meaningless ones. A bitterly ironic theatre where even the value of speech itself is brought into question. But the players go on playing. Deliberately acting out their assigned roles for lack of having anything better to do. Beckett has given them no further instructions. And so the curtain closes. And the lights are turned on. And the doors to the modern world open.