Waiting for Godot: A Criticism of God Throughout Samuel Beckett’s iconic, absurdist tragicomedy, one question continues to enthrall students and professors alike: who does the essential yet cryptic character in Beckett’s drama, Godot, represent? Since the play itself is so open for individual interpretation, many different theories have been presented for whom Beckett intended Godot to personify. One argument that is widely supported by Beckett’s history and clues embedded within the text is that Godot is representative of a higher power or particularly the Christian God. Often, when analyzing excerpts from a text, readers tend to overlook how the time period in which the author wrote can have an overwhelming effect on the author’s purpose
…show more content…
Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Beckett’s skewed perception of God distorts and mold’s Godot to represent the God with whom Beckett has had personal experience. In times of Irish persecution, Beckett perceives that God deserted his followers and left them to fend for themselves through the conflict. Another extremely relevant event during the time period in which Waiting for Godot was written is World War Two. Believing that such a horrific, bloody war could never and would never recur after World War One resulted in a deep resentment and a feeling of utter helplessness among people around the world when World War Two began. Throughout the entirety of the drama, Vladmir and Estragon wait futilely for Godot. At the very end of the first act after Vladmir and Estragon have waited for the day’s entirety, the boy approaches the two men and says anxiously, “Mr. Godot told me to tell you he won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow” (Beckett 41). In an eerily similar fashion, the boy announces at the end of act two, which is presumably the next day, that Godot will not come that evening but that he will come the next day “Without fail” (Beckett 82). The novel ends with the uncertainty of the validity of Godot’s promise. Though the ending is open to interpretation, there is never a sound guarantee of Vladmir and …show more content…
Evidence within the play supports that Godot personificates God in relation to Samuel Beckett’s history with the Church of Ireland and life during the World War Two era. In Beckett’s opinion, God abandoned him and his people in their time of need and allowed for corruption among those who were supposed to open other’s hearts to God’s love instead of confining them in monetary shackles. Godot simply exudes all the feelings Beckett could have had towards God. When asked if he was a Christian, Jew, or Atheist, Beckett simply answered, “None of the three” (Massoud). In the end, Waiting for Godot is quite literally a direct criticism of
Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Beckett’s skewed perception of God distorts and mold’s Godot to represent the God with whom Beckett has had personal experience. In times of Irish persecution, Beckett perceives that God deserted his followers and left them to fend for themselves through the conflict. Another extremely relevant event during the time period in which Waiting for Godot was written is World War Two. Believing that such a horrific, bloody war could never and would never recur after World War One resulted in a deep resentment and a feeling of utter helplessness among people around the world when World War Two began. Throughout the entirety of the drama, Vladmir and Estragon wait futilely for Godot. At the very end of the first act after Vladmir and Estragon have waited for the day’s entirety, the boy approaches the two men and says anxiously, “Mr. Godot told me to tell you he won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow” (Beckett 41). In an eerily similar fashion, the boy announces at the end of act two, which is presumably the next day, that Godot will not come that evening but that he will come the next day “Without fail” (Beckett 82). The novel ends with the uncertainty of the validity of Godot’s promise. Though the ending is open to interpretation, there is never a sound guarantee of Vladmir and …show more content…
Evidence within the play supports that Godot personificates God in relation to Samuel Beckett’s history with the Church of Ireland and life during the World War Two era. In Beckett’s opinion, God abandoned him and his people in their time of need and allowed for corruption among those who were supposed to open other’s hearts to God’s love instead of confining them in monetary shackles. Godot simply exudes all the feelings Beckett could have had towards God. When asked if he was a Christian, Jew, or Atheist, Beckett simply answered, “None of the three” (Massoud). In the end, Waiting for Godot is quite literally a direct criticism of