Introduction
According to the Cliff Notes critical analysis of the play “Waiting for Godot”, the story has no definite conclusion or resolution. The notes also highlight that the play is not an ordinary traditional play since its setting is a little vague. However, the main aim of the absurd theater is to present something out of the ordinary. The absurd movement sought to move out of the status quo and present literature in its most unique form. In the case of “Waiting for Godot,” the resolution is found within the main themes of the play. The two vagrants resolve to wait for the unknown Godot in an unknown place as they do not even know Godot physically or know where to meet him. Out of hopelessness, they cling to the little hope they have that they will be able to meet Godot someday. Even though the two men have doubt of whether they will be able to meet Godot, they have no other source of hope and have to cling to that. It is misleading to say that the story is vague and has no resolution. The main aim of the story is to bring about a picture of hopelessness and meaningless as seen in the lives of the two main characters.
The question to ask in this analysis is whether meeting Godot would have brought out the main message of the story. Had the two met Godot, would the story still be absurd as it was meant to? Would the Becket have been able to present the meaninglessness of the characters out for the audience to experience? The answer to these questions is No. Meeting Godot would have brought out certainty to the play and would have killed the absurd nature of the play. The fact that Godot never came keeps the play alive. It retains the main picture created in the minds of the audience about the two main characters. Vladimir and Estragon live a miserable life and have virtually nothing to hope for rather than an unknown Godot. Meeting Godot would change their lives and give it a meaning. If Godot came, it would change their lives one way or another. Therefore, the resolution for the play is to keep the little hope alive and keep waiting for Godot. At the end of each act, they resort to come back the next day, (Beckett 40).
Another misconception is that the setting of the play is vague. Given that the setting of the play is an unknown country road under a tree does not make it vague. First, the story to presents the hopelessness and meaningless of the two characters. However, presenting a full setting with a given community would give the characters’ lives a meaning and a sense of belonging. This would change the whole absurdity of the play. Vladimir and Estragon cannot even remember which day of the week it was, (Beckett 11). Their lives have been reduced to the time they spend together under the tree. The setting has to present that exact image of the lives with no clear direction. It has to be one with no association to any given society or location. Becket ensures that this image appears perfectly by presenting a setting that cannot be associated with any society or location in the mind of the audience. The lonely isolated tree alongside the unknown country road presents the complete picture of the loneliness of Vladimir and Estragon.
One of the themes in this play is time and repetition. This is meant to represent the never ending agony experienced by Vladimir and Estragon. First, Estragon is beaten by unknown assailants in both acts and Vladimir has to put up with Estragon. They have been brought together by the similarity in their meaningless lives. They need each other in one way or another and they have to put up with one another. They have no direction, no one else to go to, they only have one another. The essence of repetition in both acts is to bring out the continuous nature of the miserable wait that Vladimir and Estragon have to endure. Not even the passersby including the boy, Pozzo, and Lucky can save them from it. The fact that the agony is unending means that it has to happen again and again. This highlights the importance of presenting the play with no certain expectation or results. However, play has a resolution, to wait. Even though Vladimir and Estragon think of suicide, they still hope to do it tomorrow. Instead of looking for a rope the same day and make good their intention to commit suicide, they opt to carry the rope the next day, (Beckett 39).
Conclusion
The idea that the play has no resolution is a misguided understanding of its main themes. This is an absurd play and cannot resemble a traditional play. If it does, then it would lose its meaning and purpose. Cliff Notes’ critical analysis aims at presenting the play as a deviation from the traditional play. By doing so, the notes tend to bring out the idea that plays should be written in the traditional format with a clear conclusion and setting. However, Beckett opted to deviate from that tradition and present a rather absurd play in order to probably make it more interesting by creating an epiphany in the mind of the audience forcing the realization that Godot will never come as the two have been together for fifty years and still Godot has never made it.
Work Cited:
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Retrieved from: http://www.iisbachelet.it/biblioteca/503_WaitingForGodot.pdf
