[PySSyCaT]

WAITING FOR GODOT & THE DUMB WAITER & END GAME BY SAMUEL BECKETT AND HAROLD PINTER

Firstly, I want to criticize Samuel Beckett’s play and Horald Pinter’s play. In both plays, characters have not got any good communication. In Waiting For Godot plot is static. There is a lot of repetition, stability and progress.(Vladimir & Estragon are together, Pozzo & Lucky came, Pozzo& Lucky go, Boy comes, Boy goes, Vladimir & Estragon are together.)

Dialogues are structureless and without any sense:

“Let’s contradict each other”
“Let’s ask each other question”
“Let’s abuse each other”

They speak but they don’t communicate. We see the nothingless in the conversation. The dialogues are rubbish, non-sense and absurdity. If they speak we understand that they are living. They are very non-sense sentences. It doesn’t matter how useless and banal the conversation.

All the characters know find an escape from their condition in killing time through conservation:

” Estragon: I’m tired. Let’s go.
Vladimir : We can’t
Estragon: We are waiting for Godot.
Estragon: Ah! What will we do, what will do!
Vladimir : There is nothing we can do
Estrogan: But I can’t go on like this!”

They never stop to talk. Because if they stop silence makes them think about existence.

Another point is low and quality characters and symbolism: Lucky is humanity, follower, slave and Jesus. He doesn’t say anything. He hasn’t got his own idea. Pozzo is the force that controls Lucky’s life. Pozzo is God, ruler and master. And we see the symbol of slavery. The person is unlucky who became a slave. There is a free-will problem. Somebody tell you “go” and you “go”. Whatever the power say you do it, you have to do it. Lucky is the ironic name here. Boots are the symbolic of a lack of aim. If you don’t have boot, you can nao walk. Boot means movement, making progress, walking and developing.

When you are waiting you can’t do anything else. Wait means nothing, empty. Vladimir and Estragon never get their desire. There is nothing to do, no aim, no God. His opinion of religion is that there is no God. So you don’t need to wait God. He is making fun of God. Beckett believes that the body is a trap and a prison cell. You can’t escape, you can’t kill yourself because you afraid. He doesn’t want to be in the world. He is atheist. Beckett’s God never appears but always promise to come. He is liar. His God is like a human, friend.

The relationship which Clov and Hamm, Pozzo and Lucky which alternate between slave/master. We see the particular theme as finishing. Finishing represents death. Vladimir and Estragon always had hope that God would come. End game is a play about despair.

In Pinter’s play; The Dumb Waiter; dialogues are non-sense of conversation. We see the scene as a room is his view of world. It is identical with Beckett’s view of the world. The world is going down, the drain. We see the toilet which smells very bad, dirty.

Again the same idea. Man, who is upstairs, has the power over them and control them. Ben and Gus send food to upstairs. Ben is the conformist person but Gus is the non-conformist person. He is weak. The conformist kills the non-conformist. People who against the system are the looser.

Ben is logical and clever. He is leader, dominant, bully, bossy. Gus is mixed person. He is unable to act, hard to understand. Also he is sensitive. He is humanistic and questioning. Gus can’t put on the boots so he can’t go anywhere. Time is horrible for Gus. He has not got any hoby to do. They don’t think about their existence. Exactly same as Estragon but Ben is conformist he doesn’t want to go anywhere. Pinter has big influence on Beckett.

Ben is happy with the room, with the world. Gus is questioning the room, walking in the room. The room is associated with life. Gus is dominated by Ben. Although he is more intelligent. Ben always stop him. Giving him many orders.

In Waiting For Godot they do nothing. Sometimes crazy dialogues take place in the play. Both of them are absurd conversation. They can’t understand each other. They are disappointingly religious making decisions, giving his orders. In both plays, all characters want help from God and religion but they can’t see any help. They are trying to give him what he wants. He is not happy. So we understand that Beckett and Pinter mocked God and Christianity. We see God as unsatisfied. Their waiting is a never-ending fate without no purpose.

Samuel Beckett interested in metaphysical. Also his plays are lack of action. He mentioned the relationship between people and God. He did mocked God. He thought that you don’t need God.

In Waiting For Godot, there is no start so there is no end. Waiting For Godot means waiting for Death, god and Jesus. We are wasting time in the world. God is laughing with us. They are complaining about existence. Life is meaningless. So they do nothing in the paly. They have no home, no job. According to Beckett, world is rushed job. Creation of world is crazy thing. So it becomes spiritual meaningless. Death will happen to you. You can’t kill yourself. There is no escape. Time seems very long but not. It is very short. In the time Pozzo and lucky has changed but Vladimir and Estragon do not progress.

In Beckett’s play the humanity relatinship is more important. We possibly learn the relationship between God and Humanity. Samuel Beckett brought absurdity to English theatre. Harold Pinter, he is interested in politics in every play. Room is the trap in the Dumb Waiter.

Beckett’s style is Absurd. Pinter’s is Naturalistic and Realistic. Pinter is interested in man’s role in life, man’s relationship with God and the vision of the world. Beckett thinks that the world is a trap.

Pinter’s opinion of god is the man upstairs. He is the boss. He is the ruler, master. They are the figure of power. He comes with them and leave. He doesn’t get in touch. It could be anytime. This is direct influence of Beckett on Pinter.

In the play, praying means contact with God. And Pinter was affected by Beckett’s ideas. Especially his absurdity. Pinter’s plays are more relistic.

Absurdity can define as nonsense and as meaningledd. According to Absurdist idea there is no aim or hope in life. It is Atheistic. There is no God to control your life and destiny. We are trapped in the world. You don’t need God to control you. According to Beckett and Pinter, we are nor puppet. So all the characters are absur. They have no hope no aim. Their life is non-sense and meaningless.



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