Character Analysis Of Pozzo In Waiting For Godot

In Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, the reader is introduced to a prominent man named Pozzo. Pozzo first appears after Vladimir and Estragon see Lucky, the servant of Pozzo, tied to a long rope with him holding onto it. Pozzo is dominant and is viewed as a person of authority. Vladimir and Estragon mistook Pozzo for Godot because of this, but it is established that he is not Godot. In Act two, however, his dynamic in the play changes. He becomes blind overnight and is reliant on those around him now. Pozzo in the first Act of the play goes from being the man of power to the second act of the play, now relying on the assistance of others, mainly from his servant Lucky. Pozzo speaks to others as if he is at a higher standard …show more content…
As his character develops, he becomes blind and is no longer the towering figure that was established in the beginning. Furthermore, he has to rely on the help of others to get by. This is signified when he enters the scene again and the rope was much shorter. These changes illustrate his new reliance on Lucky to guide him, whereas, in contrast from before, he would control Lucky and command where he goes. Not only did his actions and relationship with Lucky change but, Pozzo had become weak and pathetic for when he stumbles he cannot get himself up and desperately calls for help. Consequently, he goes as far to offer money in exchange for the assistance of Vladimir and Estragon. As a result of going blind,Pozzo went from the confident man that had viewed himself as superior to all, to the pathetic shell of a man that has no recollection of time. Pozzo states that, “the blind have no notion of time. The things of time are hidden from them too” (Pg.56). Pozzo was a person who focused and emphasized on time, but after becoming blind he loses his power and advantage of being able to recognize the time of day. Although Pozzo admits his down fall of being blind, he does not understand it. He then goes off to say, “Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It 's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, …show more content…
It is unclear whose death this is foreshadowing. Yet this showed Pozzo’s fears the inevitable, that the heart is the true clock of the world and once it stops beating then it is all over. Pozzo is obsessed with measuring the time on his pocket watch; it, however, does not matter because at the end of the day, measuring time is meaningless and irrelevant. Tragically, we will all die someday. In order to come to this conclusion Pozzo needed to lose his watch and become blind in the second act so that he can disregard the burden of understanding