Waiting For Godot: The Film

The film Waiting For Godot is a lot easier to understand then the novel.  The camera shots, the scenery, and the acting allow the reader to see what is going on and not get so confused with the dialogue.  For example, Lucky's speech on page 45 is a lot easier to understand watching it than reading it.  

One things I noticed in the film is that the viewer can always see the tree.  It doesn't matter who is speaking or what is going on in the film.  The tree is always present.  In the novel, the tree is also mentioned many times.  In Act 1, Estragon and Vladimir ponder hanging themselves using the tree and a belt.  In Act 2, Vladimir points out that the tree has more leaves than the previous day.  Every important detail is strongly expressed and shown in the film.  

"Let's Go." "We Can't." "Why Not?" "We're Waiting for Godot"

Estragon: Let's go.

Vladimir: We can't.

Estragon: Why not?

Vladimir: We're waiting for Godot.

This play can have many different meanings, but in my opinion it shows the true meaning of human life.  In both Act 1 and Act 2, the two main characters wait for Godot.  Is he God? Is he a prophet? While reading the play and discussing it in class, I came to realize that maybe he is a form of God.  Many bible references are made.  One example is the story of Cane and Abel.    Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for this god-like character to come and save them.  Isn't that what we are waiting for?  Many people in the world believe that there is some type of God.  He is our savior.

In Act 2 there are many things that describe how hopeless Vladimir and Estragon are.  Their dialogue helps, but so do some specific words.  One of the many examples is:

"Vladimir: Where are all these corpses from?"
" Estragon: These skeletons." (page 71)

Corpse: (n.) A dead body, especially the dead body of a human

Skeleton: (n.) The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton.

Both of these words describe something dead. Something that is just there.  Both of these characters' lives are basically that.  They go and stay in the same place day after day just to wait for Godot.  He never comes.  Although another character in the play gave them the bones, they have meaning.  Just like the bones, Estragon and Vladimir just sit there doing nothing.  They may as well just be two corpses or two skeletons waiting for Godot.  

Choices, Stress, and The Stranger

"Life is a series of choices, creating stress."

Whether someone agrees or disagrees with this statement depends on the person's beliefs.   I personally think that it depends on the choice.  Almost all the choices someone has to make during their lifetime include stress, but some silly ones do not.  Life is definitely a series of choices because the choices you make defines you as a person and your lifestyle.

Many existentialists, like Albert Camus and Meursault, most likely believe that choices do not create stress.  Like mentioned in my previous blogs, they basically live on the phrase YOLO.  Who cares about what may happen to us? We live and then we die.  This is what Camus makes the reader believe through out the book until Meursault goes to jail.  From that point on, he regrets many of his decisions and eventually the trial focuses more on his soul then of his actions.  He constantly repeats that he should have fixed things and respected the death of his mother a lot more than what he did.  During the various trials, the judge and witnesses mention his past decisions.  For example, they mention him smoking during his mother's funeral.  When the jury mentions him shooting the Arab, Meursault blames it on the hot sun.  He was stressed and he pulled the trigger by mistake.

You decide whether the choices you make create stress for you or not.  It is something you can decide, but regardless, choices do make you and your life.  You will suffer the consequences for absolutely everything you do.  Some may be rewarding while others not so much.