Waiting For Godot with Religious Interpretation

Waiting For Godot with Religious Interpretation

"To Evaluate My Assignment, Click Here"

Waiting For Godot with Religious Interpretation

Name:  Pritiba B. Gohil

Roll No. :  21

Course No. 9: The Modernist Literature

Topic :- Waiting For Godot with Religious Interpretation

M.A. English Semester - 3

Batch: 2014 - 2016

Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Submitted  to :

Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad,

Head of the Department,

Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction :-

                             Here I am talking about Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot  with religious interpretation. Waiting for Godot  is commonly interpreted within the context of the Theater of the Absurd, existentialist literature, or Christian allegory. After reading this play within the context of Christian Existentialism, new insights are uncovered as to what the play may be saying about the existential dilemma.

About Author Samuel Beckett :-

              Samuel Beckett was born on 13 April, 1906 at Foxrock, Dublin, Ireland and died on 22 December, 1989 in Paris. His pen name was Andrew Belis. He was a novelist, playwright, poet, and essayist. Some of his remarkable works are:

1.  Murphy (1938),

2.  Molloy (1951),

3.  Endgame (1957),

4.  Malone Dies (1951),

5.  The Unnamable (1953),

6.  Waiting for Godot (1953),

7.  Watt (1953),

8.  Endgame (1957),

9.  Krapp’s Last Tape (1958),

10.                   How It Is (1961)

           He was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in literature. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy. He is one of the most influential writers of the 20^thcentury.

Waiting For Godot with Religious Interpretation

The Christian Explanation of Waiting for Godot :-

"The human predicament described in Beckett's first play is that of man living on the Saturday after the Friday of the crucifixion, and not really knowing if all hope is dead or if the next day will bring the life which has been promised."   --William R. Mueller

Influence of ‘Bible’ In Waiting For godot :-

Story of Two Thieves is referred by Two Main Characters Vladimir and Estragon :-

It is the shape of the idea that fascinated Beckett. Out of all the evildoers, out of all the millions and millions of criminals that have been, executed in the course of history, only two had the chance of salvation in so unique a manner. One happened to make a hostile remark; he was damned. The other happened to contradict that hostile remark; and he was saved. How easily could the roles have been reversed! These, after all, were not well-considered judgments, but chance exclamations uttered at a moment of supreme suffering and stress. As Pozzo says about Lucky: “Remark that I might easily have been in his shoes and he in mine. If chance had not willed it otherwise. To each one his due.”

VLADIMIR
Our Saviour. Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other . . . (he searches for the contrary of saved) . . . damned.

ESTRAGON
Saved from what?

VLADIMIR
Hell. (1.64-6)

Vladimir’s story is practically begging us to equate him and Estragon with the two thieves. In the Biblical tale, the two thieves are saved from Hell.

VLADIMIR:

When I think of it . . . all these years . . . but for me . . . where would you be . . . (Decisively.) You'd be nothing more than a little heap of bones at the present minute, no doubt about it. - (Reference from Bible)

VLADIMIR
Did you ever read the Bible?
ESTRAGON
The Bible . . . (He reflects.) I must have taken a look at it.
VLADIMIR
Do you remember the Gospels?
ESTRAGON
I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That's where we'll go, I used to say, that's where we'll go for our honeymoon. We'll swim. We'll be happy. (1.50-3)

The heavenly image that Estragon presents here only heightens the dismal nature of his current situation.

Relation of God and Man In Waiting for Godot :-

                         In Waiting for Godot, both Vladimir and Estragon on stage, and Godot, who is away from the vision of the audience,bear a certain symbolic significance. Relationship between them suggests that of God and man.Needless to say, Godot is similar with God in pronunciation, which is enough to trigger the audience's association with God. Of course, other descriptions of Godot in the play can also make the readers consider him to be God of Christianity.

                      From the description of appearance, Godot has similarities with God. The boy, a messenger, in the play is from Godot’s place and he is the only one who has seen Godot. The two tramps once asked him what color Godot’s beard is. There is a conversation between them.

Vladimir: Has he a beard, Mr. Godot?

Boy: Yes, sir.

Vladimir: Fair or… or black?

Boy: I think it’s white, sir.

Vladimir: Christ have mercy on us! (Beckett, 2006, P372)

It can be concluded that Godot wears a long white beard, which is in line with what God is like in the Holy Bible.

Breaking the contract

                                 Keeping promise is the theme in Old Testament and New Testament. There are five agreements between God and Man and God would gradually complete the plan of salvation for man if man follows the contract. They are agreement of Noah, agreement with Abraham, covenant with Abraham, covenant with Moses, covenant with David and New Testament, that is, the covenant of Christ and man. Covenant needs the agreement of both parties.

                           

                             It has constraint force and certain obligations to fulfill. But as for the relationship between God and man, God is the creator, and man is the subject of creation. The covenant between God and man is the gift from God.” (Sun, 2006, p.306). The gift and the blessing from God can ensure man to live a comfortable life. But why man is reduced to waiting for salvation?

                           It seems that the two tramps are waiting for Godot to be saved according to the promise, but

Godot does not come. Actually the reason does not lie in Godot for his rudeness but in man, who breaks the promise first. It is just because man broke the promise first and they will receive the punishment of endless waiting from God. It can be seen that the breaking of the covenant by man is vividly demonstrated in the play by Beckett.

Estragon: You are it was this evening?

Vladimir: What?

Estragon: That we were to wait.

Vladimir: He said Saturday. (Pause) I think.

Estragon: You think.

Vladimir: I must have made a note of it.

Estragon: But what Saturday? And is it Saturday? It is not rather Sunday (Pause.) Or Monday? (Pause.) Or Friday?

Vladimir: It is not impossible.

Estragon: Or Thursday?

Vladimir: What’ll we do? (Beckett, 2006, p. 246).

                             According to the Bible, it was on Saturday that God made man. And it was on Saturday that Jesus passed away after he was crucified on Friday. He would revive on Sunday so on Saturday man is waiting his reviving. Such an important day becomes vague in the mind of human beings and the solemn date between God and human beings is abandoned.

                        Man cannot remember the date with God or even cannot know which day he is alive. How can human beings obey the covenant, obtain the trust and understanding from God? Of course, they would not be saved by God.

Waiting for salvation

                                   Waiting is the theme throughout the play. Although Godot breaks his promise, the two tramps have shown perseverance. Despite the heavy blow of painfulness, frustration and disappointment, they still keeps on waiting because that is their only hope for they believe only Godot can save them.

How to get salvation? Drama that the story of two thieves.

Vladimir: Our Savior. Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other… dammed.

Estragon: Saved from what?

Vladimir: Hell. (Beckett, 2006, p. 242)

It is recorded in the Holy Bible that together with Jesus two prisoners were crucified.

Two Divisions of Mankind with the reference of Bible :-

                The chance bestowal of grace, which human beings cannot comprehend, divides mankind into those who will be saved and those who will be damned.

         When in Act II, Pozzo and Lucky return, and the two tramps try to identify them, Estragon calls out:

“Abel! Abel!” Pozzo immediately responds. But when Estragon calls out: “Cain! Cain!” Pozzo responds again. “He’s all humanity,” concludes Estragon

A Religious or Christian Play :-

Waiting for Godot then seems to be concerned with the hope of salvation through the workings of grace. And this view supports the belief that it is a Christian or a religious play. Vladimir’s and Estragon’s “waiting” might be explained as signifying their steadfast faith and hope, while Vladimir’s kindness to his friend, and the two tramps’ mutual interdependence might be seen as symbols of Christian charity.

HOPE is at the centr in this play

VLADIMIR
(musingly) The last moment . . . (He meditates.) Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that? (1.32)

                    Actually, Vladimir, the line is, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life," and it’s a Biblical proverb. If Didi and Gogo’s hope is for Godot to show up, then this is a hope perpetually deferred since, as we know, Godot never comes. As for the tree of life, there is a tree on stage when Vladimir utters his line, but it’s not so much a tree of life as it is dead, shrub-looking thing.

Conclusion :-

“Tied to Godot! What an idea! No question of it. For the moment”.

                          So, at the end we can conclude this topic with the help of all the things that this play is very much connected with Christianity. 

                             After every single line we can find references taken from Bible. So we can say that this play Waiting For Godot is very religious play. Title itself reflects idea of God.

(God+ot) =Godot

"To Evaluate My Assignment, Click Here"