Waiting For Godot Character Analysis

There are many well-written plays that represent life situations. Some plays consist of trials and tribulations, love and betrayal, while others represent heroicness, redemption and vengeance. Samuel Beckett’s play published in 1952 Waiting for Godot, takes a different approach when it comes to life situations. Beckett’s play represents not only a hopeless struggle through every day living but it also brings out struggles of mental illness that also correlates with being homeless.
The two main characters in the play Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for someone by the name of Godot. Through out the whole play while they wait for Godot in the same spot day after day, the men are consistently battling within themselves by loss of memory, suicidal …show more content…
Severe depression is one mental issue that Estragon and Vladimir are facing. According to the article “Toxic Causes of Mental Illness Are Overlooked,” written by Stephen Genuis, symptoms of severe depression are the following; lack of ability to gain pleasure from activities, cognitive mood symptoms such as irritability, lack the ability to concentrate and make decisions, loss of interest and thought of death (Genuis). Both characters show a variety of symptoms when it comes to being severely depressed. One significant symptom is the fact that both of them have suicidal thoughts. As both men wait for Godot, they see a tree near by and Estragon says to Vladimir “ What about hanging ourselves?” (Beckett 2627). Rather than Vladimir being surprised at his remark he was quick to think about the situation and respond back with “From a bough? I wouldn’t trust it” (2627 Beckett). Instead of Vladimir being taken back by Estragon’s thoughts on hanging themselves in the tree they see from a distance, he as well had interest in hanging himself and was thinking more realistic about the tree not holding their weight. The characters suicidal thoughts is mentioned more than once in the play, once in the beginning and another time towards the end of the play in Act 2. The second time Estragon’s suicidal thoughts occurred he suggest that they both hang themselves again with …show more content…
When you narrow in and start to analyze Vladimir and Estragon’s disordered life, you start to see the many troubles they go through on a day-to-day basis. Their lack of mental stability and a solid home to go too gets them to rely and depend on each other as they go through tough times, which also shows how relationships form. The both of them are in a constant repetition of their non-productive life waiting for somebody by the name of Godot that never arrives yet they do it together. If both men had never collaborated together to work through their life, one would have already committed suicide. The friendship that they have formed throughout there years together is the only solid foundation they have and according to Sterk “Friendship symbolizes the voluntary nature of relations, which are subject to provide negotiation between two individuals, each of when considered the relationship as valuable” (Sterk 237). They don’t have much in life but what they do have is a committed friendship. The play not only showed the struggles of being homeless and having a mental illness but on a lighter note it showed how to men can help each other in ways that are worth more than materialistic things. They have starved together, slept on the streets together and discussed their suicidal thoughts amongst each other and there is never any judgment just acceptance, which is true