1. Waiting for Godot follows Absurdist principles of setting and plotting. While some other characters present themselves and interact with Vladimir and Estragon, the entire purpose of the play is to convey a series of events in which nothing of consequence happens. he setting is never clearly defined, and the inherent silliness and nonsensical nature of what is happening and who the characters are is taken at face value. In real life, two people would not be waiting for an unknown figure and eventually kill themselves in an unidentifiable void; the fact that these extremes of the way reality is presented exists is evidence of the play's Absurdist tendencies.
2. I believe Waiting for Godot carries a strong theme of alienation, and how it can make people constantly lonely and wanting, set apart from the world. The play deals with the importance of frustration and unmet expectations Vladimir and Estragon wish for Godot to show up. This frustration comes in the form of nothingness, which is made literal in Godot. Vladimir says of their location, "You couldn't describe itit's like nothing." This is one of the fundamental tenets of Absurdism, and what sets it apart from Realism - nothing can be nothing in Realism, but the senseless nature of nothing fits in with Absurdism.
3. I believe that Vladimir and Estragon are meant to embody the 'fat guy/skinny guy' comedic duo archetype; Estagon is constantly described as having "rags" on, and he walks with a limp. Since Estragon eats all the time, it is easy to see that he should be overweight, and the contrast between him and the tall and thin Vladimir is meant to elicit comedy. His clothes are always in disrepair, and are covered in dirt. Vladimir, on the other hand, walks in "short stuff strides, legs wide apart," though he is said to be heavier in the text than Estragon.
4. I believe that Vladimir and Estragon have a very strong fraternal relationship, which borders on homosocial. They are not lovers, per se, but they know each other well enough to bicker like an old married couple. Act One sees Estragon talking to Vladimir gently and reassuringly, but backs away as soon as he gives him a hug, immediately recoiling and saying "You stink of garlic!" They refuse to actually do anything without each other, and act like a Laurel-and-Hardy fast friendship, which is intimate and contentious, just like a marriage.
5. Godot's primary theme is existentialism; the opening line of the play denotes the meaninglessness that has followed them up to this point: "Nothing to be done," says Estragon, to which Vladimir argues that nothing is actually a tangible thing, and that thing has to actively be "done." Estragon works and works to get his boot off, only to find nothing inside the boot. This can be likened to the search for meaning in life, which we often work hard to do, only to be rewarded with nothing.
6. The entire play is ostensibly about the primary two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who wait for something that will never come. The clear analog for Godot is God; as such, the two are waiting for God - their deity, their savior. Will He come? What happens when He comes? Do Vladimir and Estragon even know? As for the little boy, his constant reappearance, and his insistence that he has never met them before, makes him seem like a bit of an angel, and is also a link to Godot's true nature - when asked what Godot does, he replies with "He does nothing, sir."
Works Cited
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot.
