Thinking activity on Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

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●What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?

Ans 1)
 This  painting  by David Friedrich . In both ,there is country road ,a tree and evening. The title of the play is waiting and of painting is longing. The road and tree present the idea of barrenness.
It presents meaninglessness and nothingness of life. In both the picture around that two tramps we can not find human life  and other people.

●The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves ?

Ans 2)
Tree is important in both of the setting. In  act 1 ,there are no leaves on the tree but in act 2 there are few leaves on the tree which represent hope in life .In whole play , there is no hope but on the tree there are some leaves which presents hope in life.

● In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?

Ans 3)
Evening falls  in to night and moon arise mean it present the routine of nature. They both are waiting for Godot but nature never wait for anything or anybody. Night present the darkness of life . Change press t by night that night to day and day to evening then another night but there is no change in their waiting. They are still waiting for Godot.

●The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?

Ans 4)
Yes, debris present the situation of world after  world war 2. The street of city were full with debris. It present the fallen  situation of human life. When the time of falling begins in human life, then nothing  will be remain in life. All the thing are cluttering.

●The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?

Ans 5)
The paly begins with the dialogue between Estragon and Vladimir.

As before.
Enter Vladimir.
ESTRAGON:
(giving up again). Nothing to be done.
VLADIMIR:
(advancing with short, stif strides, legs wide apart). I'm beginning to
come round to that opinion.

So here 'Nothing To Be Done '  present nothingness and meaninglessness of human life .These 2 tramps and other two man  Lucky and Pozzo have nothing to do in life . They have no ambition in life so their life is meaningless. They are doing nothing but waiting for someone(Godot) that he will come and take them in heaven.
But the waiting is also represent nothing because Godot will never come and still they are waiting.

●How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?

Ans 6)
The significance of boot ,it is a symbol of ignorance. Boots took of every day means leave material things day by day.
Hat presents intellectual mind and thinking of Vladimir. He thinks a lot and can not forget the things. So both have different symbol and signify the importance of it.
In the world  there are 2 types of people like fool and intellectual. Foolishness presented by boots and intelligence presented by hat.

●“The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?

Ans 7)
Main theme of the paly is not Godot , but waiting.  They are waiting for Godot. They know that Godot is just given time that today he is not able to come so he will come tomorrow  though they are waiting. It symbolized that in  human life , we are waiting for something or someone. For example if I got good result then  I am waiting for job, then I will waiting for promotion etc. So our waiting has no end. We are living the life but actually we are not living, we are  just waiting for death and passed the day.  Humans are Waiting for salvation.

●Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?

Ans 8)
They are thinking about hanging themselves but they can not do that because they have no proper tools for do that.
In life , after facing so many problems  human think about committed suicide but he or she can not do it very easily because it also needs courage for doing that.  We are tied with each other which stops us to do that.

●Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?

Ans 9)
Lucky is slave in the paly. He has not rational thoughts in his life .So his obedience is extremely irritating and nauseating. When in second act Pozzo is blind , still Lucky has not sense that now he can be from from slavery. But he can not do that because he is habituated now for slavery.
In myth of Sisyphus , he is also habituated for slavery of God . So he also done one thing again and again.

●Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or ..

Ans 10)
I think Godot is an object of desire of  our goal. We are waiting for succes in life . We are doing hard work and after that waiting for result. Day by day our desire is increased. So according to me , my goal is my Godot.

●Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
o   Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting
   Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
o   Conversation of Vladimir with the boy.

Ans 11)
I like the conversation between Boy and Vladimir because the boy also does not know about Godot and Vladimir also not they are still waiting. It present the idea of human mind that sometimes we know about our act , that it is meaningless though we do that. It symbolized nothingness and meaninglessness of human life.

All the sequence which are given above present nothingness and meaninglessness in life.

●Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?

Ans 12)
Yes , while watching the movie  I felt existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence by these four' s life. On the earth they are doing nothing ,their life is meaningless. They have no ambition in life. The question in our mind is that why we are exist? Why we are on the earth? What is the significance of earth ? Why God made this earth and human being?
They know that no one will come though they are waiting for Godot which presents nothingness in life.