Chance plays a major function in Samuel Beckett s tragic comedy Waiting for Godot. In human life, opportunity instead than ground is the chief influence on our lives. Harmonizing to Beckett, life of worlds is wholly dependent on opportunity and as a consequence of this clip would be nonmeaningful. Opportunity has an impact on the value of clip and it is besides the implicit in factor behind being.
In Waiting for Godot it is suggested that being is based on opportunity and by extension, human life is based on opportunity. Beckett established this really early on in the drama. One of the stealers was saved. It s a sensible per centum ( Beckett, 5 ) . Vladimir here refers to the fable of the two stealers from the Bible. Possibly Beckett s intended means that the destiny of worlds is determined indiscriminately. There is an unknown per centum opportunity that one will be damned. There is no form behind it all and one does non cognize how large the opportunities of being damned or saved are. Therefor one can state that a life based on opportunity has no significance.
Redemption is determined by opportunity every bit good. Harmonizing to the Gospel the hr adherents of Jesus were present during his crucifixion and saw the two stealers, which were crucified with Jesus, being saved or damned. All four adherents were present, but merely two of them provinces that something out of ordinary happened. how is it- this is non tiring you I hope- how is it that of the four Evangelists merely one speaks of a thieve being saved. The four of them were there- or thereabouts- and merely one speaks of a thieve being saved ( Beckett, 6 ) . One of the two said that merely one of the stealers was damned, while the other said that both stealers were banned. It might non look of great importance, but does he opportunity for redemption non vary a great trade here? If all stealers were saved, so opportunities for redemption would be a 100 per centum, but if three of the four stealers were damned, opportunities of redemption would be no more than 25 per centum. Redemption therefor is determined by opportunity.
One can see the arbitrary of opportunity in the two male childs. One of them gets beaten by Godot and the other 1 does non He beats my brother, Sir ( Beckett, 55 ) . There seems to be no ground for Godot to crush one of the male childs but non the other. This symbolizes the opportunities of being saved or damned. If one of the male childs gets beaten by Godot while the other has it good, opportunities of being saved would be 50 per centum.
Harmonizing to Beckett, clip is based on opportunity. There seems to be no ordered form in Waiting for Godot. Vladimir and Estragon s universe is one of pandemonium and no existent order. The tree, which is the lone scene, is barren on one twenty-four hours and full of leaves the following. Every twenty-four hours Vladimir and Estragon return to the same topographic point to wait for Godot, who ne’er appears. And if he doesn t come? We ll come back to-morrow. And the twenty-four hours after to-morrow. Until he comes. ( Beckett, 9 ) . No 1 seems to retrieve what happened the twenty-four hours before What did we make yesterday? ( Beckett, 9 ) . Neither Vladimir nor Estragon seems to be certain of what happened in the yesteryear. They merely make premises such as In my sentiment we were here ( Beckett, 9 ) .
The scene of the drama therefor represents that clip is based on opportunity, and as a consequence human life is based on opportunity, which determines being. Therefor clip is nonmeaningful. Hence yesteryear, nowadays, and future mean nil and it does non count for how long Estragon and Vladimir have been waiting for Godot or how much longer they will go on waiting.
Because clip is based on opportunity and is therefore meaningless, life is randomly and meaningless every bit good. Pozzo and Lucky are a perfect illustration of this. On the first twenty-four hours Pozzo is healthy and kicking about his slave Lucky, who is acquiring old and
non as strong and entertaining as he used to be. As Pozzo said He used to dance the farandole, the crack, the bash, the gigue, the fandango and even the hornpipe. He capered. For joy. Now that s the best he can make ( Beckett, 42 ) . As opportunity wanted it, Pozzo is bolt while Lucky has long white hair. As Pozzo exclaimed I might every bit good have been in his places and he in mine. If opportunity had non willed otherwise. ( Beckett, 31 ) .
By opportunity, Vladimir and Pozzo meet once more the following twenty-four hours. The state of affairs has changed drastically. Lucky is mute now while Pozzo has turned blind and does non retrieve when it happened. Pozzo has perfectly no remembrance of the old meeting, and even claims that Lucky has ever been deaf-and-dumb person, even though merely the twenty-four hours before he gave a long philosophical discourse when commanded to believe. Vladimir inquiries Pozzo about his sightlessness and gets as an reply I woke up one all right twenty-four hours every bit blind as Fortune. ( Beckett, 99 ) . Vladimir remains funny and inquiries Pozzo farther about his doomed sight, but Pozzo is unable to give much information Don T inquiry me! The blind have no impression of clip. The things of clip are hidden from them excessively ( Beckett, 99 ) . After a piece Pozzo adds, I don t retrieve holding met anyone yesterday. But to-morrow I won t retrieve holding met anyone to-day. ( Beckett, 101-102 ) . Beckett uses Pozzo s state of affairs to typify the effects clip has on human existences. Human life, which is based on opportunity, makes life meaningless as an extension of the meaningless of clip. Have you non done torturing me with your accurst clip. It s detestable! When! When! One twenty-four hours, is that non plenty for you, one twenty-four hours he went dense, one twenty-four hours I went blind, one twenty-four hours we ll travel deaf, one twenty-four hours we were born, one twenty-four hours we shall decease, the same twenty-four hours, the same second, is that non plenty for you? ( Beckett, 103 ) . A life based on opportunity is worthless.
Due to the arbitrary nature of life there is a human inclination to look for intending amongst random events. Vladimir and Estragon make an effort to stay unmindful to the fact that life is nonmeaningful. They try to deflect themselves by reasoning, speaking to Lucky and Pozzo, and kiping. Their ground for hanging on to Godot is simple. Godot gives them a ground for life, but Godot might non even exist. They rely in him to work out their jobs and offer them a better life. Equally long as they believe in Godot s being and that he will look someday, they have a ground to travel on and non hang themselves. Ah Gogo, Don T go on like that. To-morrow everything will be better ( Beckett, 57 ) . He said Godot was certain to come to-morrow ( Beckett, 57 ) . Godot is their unknown outside force that gives them hope.
If life is based on opportunity, worlds need to trust on a Godot to give their lives a significance. Vladimir and Estragon need Godot for that same ground. They need him to get by with their meaningless lives. No 1, including Vladimir and Estragon, knows if Godot really exists or if he will of all time look. However, it does non count. Their believe in him gives them a significance, a ground to populate for, which is all they ask for. What are we making here, that is the inquiry. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to cognize the reply. Yes, in this huge confusion one thing entirely is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come ( Beckett, 91 ) . Vladimir is stating that Godot is the lone 1 that makes sense in this large confusion and every bit long as they can trust on him to come, they have a ground for life.
Waiting for Godot is a tragic comedy about the universe, the manner it is based on opportunity and the consequence opportunity has on human life. A universe strictly based on opportunity has no orderly clip sequence, and as an extension has no significance. If clip has no significance, as a consequence, life would hold no significance. Humans therefor have to trust on a greater unknown force to supply them with a significance. Godot is such a force.
