...First Meetings 1) ‘Estragon: [pretending to search] Bozzo… Bozzo…’ - Estragon hasn’t listened to Pozzo’s introduction of himself. Usually when meeting someone you pay attention to information about the other person such as names and where they are from. 2) ‘Pozzo: … Does that name mean nothing to you?’ - Pozzo expects Vladimir and Estragon to already know who he is, which puts him at a higher class. Usually when meeting someone, you make the conversation as equal as possible, noting the other person’s class without mentioning it. 3) ‘Estragon: [Timidly to Pozzo] you’re not Mr Godot, sir? - Estragon and Vladimir are intimidated by Pozzo. This is shown by the way Estragon adresses Pozzo, calling him ‘Sir’ and asking him timidly. When first meeting someone it is usual to try and make the other person feel comfortable talking to them, not intimidated. 4) ‘Pozzo: [Halting.] You are human begins none the less. [He puts on his glasses.] As far as one can see. [He takes off his glasses]. Of the same species as myself. [He bursts into an enormous laugh.] Of the same species as Pozzo! Made in God’s image!’ - This large chunk of text shows that Pozzo is prolix. This means that the conversation is unbalanced and therefore uncomfortable. It is unusual in a first meeting for one person to hold most of the conversation without offering the other person to talk. 5) ‘Vladimir: Well you see- Pozzo: [Peremptory] Who is Godot?’ -This interruption shows an intimidating...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...can’t be sure if they’ve met Godot, if they’re waiting in the right place, if this is the right day, or even whether Godot is going to show up at all. While they wait, Vladimir and Estragon fill their time with a series of mundane activities (like taking a boot on and off) and trivial conversations (turnips, carrots) scattered with more serious reflection (dead voices, suicide, the Bible). "We always find something," Estragon casually remarks in Act II, "to give us the impression we exist." The tramps are soon interrupted by the arrival of Lucky, a man/servant/pet with a rope tied around his neck, and Pozzo, his master, holding the other end of the long rope. The four men proceed to do together what Vladimir and Estragon did earlier by themselves: namely, nothing. Lucky and Pozzo then leave so that Vladimir and Estragon can go back to doing nothing by themselves. Vladimir suggests that this is not the first time he’s met with Lucky and Pozzo, which is surprising, since they acted like strangers upon arrival. Then again, Estragon can’t even remember a conversation ten lines after it happens, so we’re not going to depend on memory in this play. So the nothing is interrupted by the...
Words: 985 - Pages: 4
...Austin Druckemiller Period 4 Waiting For Godot Waiting for Godot has been my main thought for about two hours now. While considering the work, its author, and the comments I have found about the play, I have come up with three hypotheses as to the meaning and theme. As I will explain my three hypotheses in my next few paragraphs, I would like to put forth my most accepted theory, and the answer that Samuel Beckett, the author of the play, put forth when questioned about the meaning of his strange little piece. I think many people put this theory forth as the true meaning of Waiting, and there are many aspects of it by which they can make their point. The most obvious is the title character, Godot, because the root word of the name is God. The many references to Christianity also create a close connection between the storyline and many important stories from the Bible. From the very beginning Vladimir and Estragon think about their salvation, consider death, and draw a parallel between themselves and the two thieves that were crucified along with Jesus, according to the Gospels. The general attitude expressed throughout the play is the hopelessness, or maybe the meaningless-ness of life. A good example of the hopelessness I am talking about is on page 3 when Vladimir is searching through his hat and says “Sometimes I feel it coming all the same. Then I go all queer. How Shall I say? Relieved and at the same time… appalled. AP-PALLED. Funny. Nothing...
Words: 696 - Pages: 3
...Pastiche on Waiting for Godot The Theatre of the Absurd is a style of writing which portrays human life as a meaningless and futile existence resulting in one’s inevitable death. Similar to the Lost Generation movement created as a result of the death and destruction of World War I, the Theatre of the Absurd is a reaction to World War II in which the war survivors felt as though death was inevitable and therefore nothing in one’s existence mattered since material possessions would not travel with one after death. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot exemplifies the characteristics of the Theatre of the Absurd, not only through its content and dialogue, but also through its language and structure. The structure of dialogue chosen by Beckett, mixes short and concise sentences with meaningful ideas and opinions about the human condition. Although the dialogue appears to be an illogical banter, it would be a mistake to make the assumption that it has no meaning. For instance, throughout the play, Estragon and Vladimir repeat the lines “nothing to be done” and “nothing happens.” Such references along with the cyclical nature of the dialogue, suggest Beckett’s vision that human existence is bleak and that nothing significant ever really happens in our lifetimes, but instead the same situations are repeated throughout life. Beckett’s style revolutionizes the traditional play as he deviates from the orthodox playwright by creating a play with no central plot or storyline. There is no...
Words: 1145 - Pages: 5
...UNWELL INTRO: A,D,F#m,E (2x) D E ALL DAY A F#m STARING AT THE CEILING MAKING D E F#m FRIENDS WITH SHADOWS ON MY WALL D E ALL NIGHT A F#m I'M HEARING VOICES TELLING ME D THAT I SHOULD GET SOME SLEEP E BECAUSE TOMORROW MIGHT BE GOOD FOR SOMETHING (Pre Chorus) C#m D HOLD ON A E I'M FEELING LIKE I'M HEADED FOR A C#m D BREAKDOWN A E I DON'T KNOW WHY (Chorus) A D I'M NOT CRAZY I'M JUST A LITTLE UNWELL I KNOW RIGHT NOW YOU CAN'T TELL F#m E BUT STAY AWHILE AND MAYBE THEN YOU'LL SEE A DIFFERENT...
Words: 1138 - Pages: 5
...can’t be sure if they’ve met Godot, if they’re waiting in the right place, if this is the right day, or even whether Godot is going to show up at all. While they wait, Vladimir and Estragon fill their time with a series of mundane activities (like taking a boot on and off) and trivial conversations (turnips, carrots) scattered with more serious reflection (dead voices, suicide, the Bible). "We always find something," Estragon casually remarks in Act II, "to give us the impression we exist." The tramps are soon interrupted by the arrival of Lucky, a man/servant/pet with a rope tied around his neck, and Pozzo, his master, holding the other end of the long rope. The four men proceed to do together what Vladimir and Estragon did earlier by themselves: namely, nothing. Lucky and Pozzo then leave so that Vladimir and Estragon can go back to doing nothing by themselves. Vladimir suggests that this is not the first time he’s met with Lucky and Pozzo, which is surprising, since they acted like strangers upon arrival. Then again, Estragon can’t even remember a conversation ten lines after it happens, so we’re not going to depend on memory in this play. So the nothing is interrupted by the...
Words: 985 - Pages: 4
...Logan McGeady 14 October 2014 ENG 121-020 Essay #2 Nothing To Be Done The play Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett engages the idea of what it means to be human and how meaningless life can really be. Beckett uses literary techniques to show that human life is based on chance, time is meaningless, and that people will impose meaning on life to distract themselves from the fact that their situation is unalterable. The realization of this drives the characters to rely on outside forces, which may or may not be real, for order and direction. The basic proposition Beckett imposes in the play is that chance is the main factor behind existence and human life. Therefore life is determined by chance and there Is nothing Vladimir or Estragon can do that can influence their life. This is established when Vladimir alludes to the story of the two thieves from the Bible. "One is supposed to have been saved… and the other…damned” (Beckett 4). The idea of percentage is important because this represents how the fate of humanity is determined randomly and without any reason. There is a percentage chance that a person will be saved and sent to heaven or damned and sent to hell, taking away meaning of human life and simply categorizing people into those who are saved, and those who are damned. Vladimir continues by citing the fault in the Gospels on the story of the two thieves. "And yet…[pause]…how is it that of the four Evangelists only one speaks of a thief being saved. The four of them...
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
...1. I believe what makes this play different from conventional plays is the setting and basic plot. The entire setting of the play was shown in the same location, you do not see this in the average play. Setting change is necessary to keep the viewers interested but the intense dialogue and message kept the audience watching. the best way to describe this play is boring. Little happens, not action, very few twist and character changes but when you finish this play you really think and changes how you think about your life. The average play is for pure entertainment while this is more of a life lesson within a script. Some similarity between this play and the average is the use of repetition. The main c characters repeatedly say dialogue such as “were waiting for goat” and seeing the boy twice to empathize the importance. 2. I think The overall theme is this play is existentialism. The human struggle to find meaning in a meaningless life. Most importantly to find fulfillity in life, lack of purpose: the uncertainty of life. The characters are both anxiety driven men who wait around for the mysterious Godot. They believe waiting for him in necessary for them to take action. They are waiting for something external to give them meaning. Their is also an religious interpretation in the sense people wait for religion to give them direction to the next course of action they should take. They rely on God to give their life purpose who could be an interpretation of Godot. 3...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
... Vladimir and Estragon, who endlessly wait for another man named Godot to appear. In this play, there are several binary oppositions that contribute to the overall meaning of the play. Through the use of three binaries: forgetfulness/memory, active /passive, and despair/hope, it appears the meaning of this play would be that by waiting or being inactive one will eventually gain success. However, by reversing the binaries, it becomes apparent that the true emphasis of this play is that people need to be active in order to accomplish something. Throughout the play, Vladimir and Estragon repeat the same activities over and over. They forget events that have happened in the past while waiting for Mr. Godot to arrive. "And Pozzo and Lucky? / Pozzo and Lucky? / He's forgotten everything!" (Beckett 67). Not only are Vladimir and Estragon affected by this "amnesia," but several of the other characters also do not remember having previously interacted with the two primary characters. "Do you not recognize me? / No sir. / It wasn't you came yesterday. / No Sir" (Beckett 105). Although the audience knows that the same boy came and delivered a message to Vladimir, the boy refuses to acknowledge that fact. By reversing the binary of forgetfulness/memory, these moments create meaning. When another character forgets something, the others become angry, so the idea that forgetfulness is more valued does not make sense. The interactions of the characters when someone forgets something clearly points...
Words: 816 - Pages: 4
...Deconstruction is a mode of interpretation which works by a careful and cautious entering of each layer within the story: “ The deconstructive critic seeks to find the thread in the text in question which will unravel it all or the loose stone which will pull down the whole building”. Deconstructive literary criticism uses binary oppositions. Binary oppositions can be defined as “ a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.” “Waiting for Godot”, a classic of modern theatre, is a tragicomedy in two acts which tells the story of two men, Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting to meet a man named Godot. By using deconstructive literary criticism, the play can be analyzed threw the following binary oppositions: passive/active hopelessness/hope, forgetfulness/remembrance and staying/going. Vladimir and Estragon are in a constant state of waiting for Godot: “Nothing to be done. / I'm beginning to come round to that opinion."(Waiting for Godot). Although they are being passive they try to occupy themselves while waiting for Godot. Derrida states that in binary oppositions there is a unspoken hierarchy in which the first term functions as superior to the second term which is considered inferior: “ Derrida’s procedure is to invert the hierarchy in which the first term functions as privileged and superior and the second term as derivative and inferior. By showing that the primary term can be made out to be derivative from or a special case of the secondary term”...
Words: 1146 - Pages: 5
...In 1965, Otis Redding wrote and released the song “Respect” which two years later became a smash hit for Aretha Franklin. The stories told by Franklin’s version are significantly different from Otis Redding’s original. Otis Redding’s version describes a man who will give anything to his woman as long as he gets respect. However, Aretha Franklin’s cover demands respect not only from her man as well as the man. “Respect” is not only a catchy song about relationships, but has an underlying meaning that focused on the social movements at the time. The song was able to have multiple meanings due to Aretha Franklin making noteworthy changes from the original. Aretha Franklin reinvented the song, “Respect” with notable revisions to the music, lyrics and delivery. Aretha changes to the music focused on the melody and the use of different instruments in the recording. Franklin used blue notes more distinctly than Redding, causing the melodic structure to change in regards to pitch and rhythm. Additionally, she used background vocalists and guitar to feature syncopation throughout the song, while Otis Redding used vocals and horns. Revisions to the lyrics include the addition of phrases for background vocalists as well as rewording several of the lead vocalists’ lines. In Victoria Malawey’s journal article, she suggests that Aretha is responding to the original lyrics with her revisions. Furthermore, Franklin’s delivery of “Respect” uses more power and soul that created a bigger emphasis...
Words: 932 - Pages: 4
...Of all the books I’ve ever read, I don’t think I’ve ever been as confused as I was in “Waiting for Godot”. This is because there is nothing to be confused about, as there is little to no substance in the book to consider at all! Because of this, it is quite confusing to me that “Waiting for Godot” is such a critically acclaimed, award winning book. The only explanation for why the book is so popular is the fact that no one and everyone understand it, simultaneously. The empty plot line and lack of story allows each individual to, in a sense, write the book themselves. That theory explains the reason why there are so many different interpretations of the same text. One person could read it through their filter, and get something entirely different than another person with a different background. This book is full of deep symbolism. The most important, Gadot, I think symbolizes an escape, or a release from a variety of difficulties. The book has plenty of instances where the characters act in a bizarre manner, where they do things that go against common sense. They are acting this way because they are such lost, bored, confused, broken characters that are just waiting for Gadot to come so they can escape their situation. A particular instance that makes me think that Gadot symbolizes an escape is when they all fall down and cannot get up. This shows absolute hopelessness and lack of understanding. They cannot get up on their own because they are trapped in their situation, and...
Words: 604 - Pages: 3
...Jordan Young Durand INQS 125 November 8, 2015 What is a Tragedy? What makes a tragedy tragic? The plays Waiting For Godot, Exit the King, Oedipus the King, and Othello were all written in different time periods, different themes, with different writing styles, and from different parts of the world yet they all have the common theme of tragedy. How are four different plays so similar? In all four plays the characters are confronted with a change in identity, they are given false hope believing that they are going to succeed in achieving their ultimate goal, and they have human characteristics that make their story relatable to the audience making it more tragic. Most people would agree that tragedy is the demise of a character that is prefaced with false hope and ends with a change in the main character’s self-identity. What makes it tragic is that it created by human characteristics which make it relatable to the human experience. Hope keeps a person pushing forward. They have confidence in their actions and believe it will eventually lead them to the achievement of their ultimate goal. When faced with the fact that the hope you had is false hope it blocks your ambition and makes it harder to be able to strive for success. Oedipus and Othello are both given hope by their sense of nobility and by their desire to overcome an obstacle. To them it looks like things are going to get better and that they will keep their position above the people. Its human nature to want and...
Words: 1810 - Pages: 8
...(The World is Mine) Today, upon taking a bus, I saw a very beautiful woman, And wished I were as beautiful. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg and wore a crutch. But as she passed, she passed a smile. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two legs; the world is mine. I stopped to buy some candy, The lad who sold it had such charm, I talked with him, he seemed so glad, If I were late, it'd do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, "I thank you, you've been so kind. It's nice to talk with folks like you. You see," he said, "I'm blind." Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two eyes; the world is mine. Later while walking down the street, I saw a child I knew. He stood and watched the others play, but he did not know what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, "Why don't you join them dear?" He looked ahead without a word, I forgot, he couldn't hear. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears; the world is mine. With feet to take me where I'd go, With eyes to see the sunset's glow, With ears to hear what I'd know. With loving family & friends to enjoy life Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I've been blessed indeed, the world is...
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
...21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires - by Brian Tracy 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires by Brian Tracy Presented by EmpowerMe!Online at http://www.empowermeonline.com 1 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires - by Brian Tracy 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires Presented by EmpowerMe!Online at http://www.empowermeonline.com Hello, I'm Brian Tracy and welcome to this program. What you are about to learn can change your life. These ideas, insights and strategies have been the springboards to financial success for millions of men and women, from every walk of life. These principles are simple, effective and fairly easy to apply. Each of them is based on exhaustive research and interviews with thousands of self-made millionaires. They have been tested and proven over and over again, and they will work for you if you will take them and apply them in your own life. We are living at the greatest time in all of human history. More people are becoming wealthy today, starting from nothing than has ever been imagined. There are more than five million millionaires in America, most of them self-made, and the number is growing by 15% to 20% each year. We even have self-made ten millionaires, hundred millionaires and more than two hundred billionaires. We have never seen this type of rapid wealth creation in all of human history. Here's the good news. Virtually everyone starts with nothing. Probably 99% of all financially successful people...
Words: 9690 - Pages: 39
