A Critical Study of Characters in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot with Special Focus on The Theatre of Absurd

Volume 2 Issue 1 Winter Edition 2022

Abstract

Aim: The paper explores the aimless existence of individuals post World War II. The Second World War shattered the religious faith of mankind, and this became the staple theme of writers. The twin bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki left an indelible scar in the minds of people all over the world. Though the third-world countries gained independence, the world was moving from one crisis to another. The unemployment problem was at an all-time high, and people started losing their religious faith leading to questioning their very own existence. Existentialism became popular in the twentieth century due to the contribution of 20th-century existentialists like Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Camus, and others. In these circumstances, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot was published in Paris in 1952. This paper makes a critical study of characters in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot with a special focus on the Theatre of Absurd. Methodology and Approach: The Study is based on the play Waiting for Godot (1952) written by Samuel Beckett. The study has employed a text-based approach to understanding the subtle nuances of the text. Outcome: -The play highlights the problems faced by modern man as he comes to grips with the Post World War Scenario. The play also satirizes the difficulties of man due to problems created by himself in the name of ambition, greed, avarice so on and so forth. Conclusion and suggestion: The characters Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot from beginning to end but still, Godot never arrives. Despite the non-arrival of Godot, the wait continues. Unless the mindset of modern man changes, it's very difficult for him to accept the changes in the Post World War Scenario.