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CHAPTER 1
Introduction

Samuel Beckett’s plays “Endgame”(1958) and “Waiting for Godot”(1953) are

paradigmatic examples of absurd theatre, characterized by the portrayal of a bleak and absurd

existence. With its sparse setting, repetitive dialogue, and existential themes, “Endgame” and

“Waiting for Godot” presents a world devoid of meaning and purpose. Through the use of

various examples, Beckett highlights the absurdity of human existence and the futility of our

search for meaning. In this project paper I am going to deal with the elements of dark humour,

Satire and the nihilism which is beautifully portrayed by Samuel Beckett. Samuel Beckett was an

Irish born playwright but later went to Paris and spent rest of his life there as an assistant of

James Joyce. He was a great and pioneer writer of the ‘Theatre of Absurd’ and he used to write

in French language instead of English so that it becomes difficult for the reader to understand.

The Absurd theatre is a rejection of the convention of Aristotelian well- made play. It is not a

story that is conveyed but an atmosphere of feeling and experience. Basically in both the two

plays Samuel Beckett show the audience and make them aware about the meaninglessness of

life. Both the drama has minimalistic setting and gloomy atmosphere with strange characters.

The language of the play is absurd and makes no sense but still has deep meaning in it. The

dialogues used in it are humorous and satirical which compliments the writing of Samuel

Beckett. Absurdism is a literary movement that explores the absurd and creates nonsensical and

bizarre fiction. The terms ‘nonsensical’ and ‘absurd’ are interchangeable in many instances. The

Absurd is even associated with the avant-garde, which is any experimental use of a technique.

The use of absurdity in literature is a vehicle for writers to explore those elements in the world
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that do not make sense. It examines questions of meaning and life, and writers often use absurd

themes, characters or situation to question whether meaning or structure exists at all. Absurdism

is a result of the two World wars and it’s after effects which lead people question the existence

and meaning of life. All the set ideologies, belief system, and faith on God destroyed after the

result of world wars. Absurdism refers to the literary works produced from the 1950s to the

1970s that present and explore the absurd nature of existence. Absurdism is the philosophical

theory that the universe is irrational and meaningless. It states that trying to find meaning leads

people into a conflict with the world. In these plays through the nonsensical dialogue and gloomy

minimalistic environment Samuel Beckett had portrayed the conditions of human society in his

time.

Although the concept of absurd is first given by Albert Camus, he was a French

philosopher and novelist whose work examine alienation inherent in modern life and the term ‘

the theatre of absurd’ is coined by Martin Esslin in 1961 . Albert Camus first discussed

absurdism in his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” which was published in 1942. The Myth of

Sisyphus by Albert Camus explores the absurdity of human existence and our search for meaning

in a world that seemingly lacks any inherent purpose or value. It offers a philosophical

investigation into the human condition and the role of free will. The central concern of The Myth

of Sisyphus is what Camus calls "the absurd." Camus claims that there is a fundamental conflict

between what we want from the universe (whether it be meaning, order, or reasons) and what we

find in the universe (formless chaos). It analyzes the philosophy of nihilism —the idea that there

is no inherent morality and existence is without meaning or purpose—while simultaneously

advocating for an absurdist point of view. Camus uses the Greek myth of Sisyphus to highlight

his point on the struggle of man against the universe. In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned to
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forever push a rock up a hill only for it to always fall back to the bottom of the hill; this is an

endless cycle of repetition which he can never escape.

Absurdism is often closely connected with existentialism, which is a philosophy that

states that there is no inherent meaning in the world. As such, humans are inherently isolated

from each other and are not bound by universal external moral standards. This can make people

more easily controlled and manipulated. Writers like Albert Camus are associated with both

absurdism and existentialism. Absurdism can be found in prose, poetry, and theatre, though each

medium has its own distinct approaches to the genre.

According to Camus, the search for meaning in life is doomed to fail since there is no

inherent meaning to life or anything else. In fact, the very idea of trying to find meaning is

laughable in the face of an utter lack of evidence for any real design or objective morality. The

individual—the central character in existentialism—can and will struggle against this concept to

try and find some sort of morality or ethical set of rules despite religion and society assigning

rules to certain behaviors. However, the individual will never find happiness or meaning unless

they impose it themselves. Freedom, then, can only exist when the individual finally lets go of

the search for morality and meaning, as these things are artificial human constructs. True

freedom exists in the knowledge that one should not be bound by terms and ideas that are held to

be absolute when they are not. Existentialism is a philosophical concept first developed in mid-

20th century France. The theory was developed in the aftermath of World War II and the horrors

of the conflict. After the war, people were forced to come to terms with the concepts of death,

freedom, and meaninglessness after so many people were killed in such short order. The

movement was actually an outgrowth of the concepts developed by 19 th-century philosophers

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Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, but it took the concept of meaninglessness and

moved it beyond the academic and into popular culture and art. Modernist writers like Ernest

Hemingway and Jack Kerouac embraced its teachings and created works based on its tenets. This

was the beginning of the Modernist movement. As a philosophy, existentialism encompasses a

variety of viewpoints, but the part Camus used in his essay has to do primarily with the absurd.

Existentialism states that since nothing is inherently of value or has any meaning, embracing the

absurd is the only way to make sense of things. In essence, things have value only when we

assign value to them. This, to an existentialist, is what makes the absurd so appealing: realizing

the inherent meaninglessness of reality allows people to find happiness by giving value to the

things in their world.

Samuel Beckett is known for his minimalist writing style, characterized by spare prose,

fragmented dialogue, and an emphasis on existential themes. He often employs repetition,

ambiguity, and absurdist elements to convey a sense of the human condition's absurdity and

futility. One of the prominent themes in Beckett's work is the exploration of existential despair,

often portrayed through characters which are trapped in seemingly hopeless situations, grappling

with the meaninglessness of existence, and facing the inevitability of death. His plays, such as

"Waiting for Godot" and "Endgame" epitomize this theme, as characters engage in futile

activities while waiting for something that may never come, reflecting the absurdity and

uncertainty of life.

Additionally, Beckett frequently delves into themes of memory, identity, language, and

the breakdown of communication, using these elements to highlight the limitations of human

understanding and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic and indifferent world. Overall, his
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writing style and themes combine to create works that challenge conventional notions of

narrative and provoke profound reflections on the human condition.

Irish playwright, novelist, theatre director and poet, Samuel Beckett is considered to be a

prominent absurdist playwright whose works have been translated into over twenty languages. In

his plays, he usually deals with human suffering, the subject of despair and survival, with his

characters generally grappling with meaninglessness in an incomprehensible world. “Characters

engage in dialogue or dialectical monologues that go nowhere. There is no progression, no

development and no resolution”. Absurdity which is, according to Beckett, the essence of human

existence, is the main way he uses in order to depict the emptiness and alienation in the modern

world. Further-more, centering upon silences and repetitions, Beckett doesn’t follow a traditional

theatrical form and procedure in writing his plays. Worton explains Beckett’s writing style as

follows: instead of following the tradition which demands that a play have an exposition, a

climax and a denouement, Beckett’s plays have a cyclical structure which might indeed be better

described as a diminishing spiral. In this spiral descending towards a final closure that can never

be found in the Beckettian Universe, the characters take refuge in repetition, repeating their own

actions and words and often those of others – in order to pass the time .
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CHAPTER 2

The Representation of Dark Humour and Satire in ‘Endgame’ and ‘Waiting

for Godot’

Dark humor and satire are central themes in Samuel Beckett’s plays “Endgame”(1958)

and “Waiting for Godot”(1953) In “Endgame” Beckett uses dark humor to explore the absurdity

and futility of existence. The characters, Hamm and Clov, engage in bleak, often comical

dialogue as they grapple with their hopeless situation. Through their interactions, Beckett

satirizes the human condition, highlighting themes of loneliness, dependency, and the inability to

find meaning in life.

Similarly, “Waiting for Godot” is characterized by its dark humor and biting satire. The

play follows two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait endlessly for someone named

Godot who never arrives. Beckett uses the absurdity of the waiting to comment on the human

condition, portraying the characters’ futile search for meaning and purpose. The play’s humor

often arises from the characters’ absurd conversations and futile attempts to pass the time.

In literature, this term is often associated with tragedies and is sometimes equated with

tragic farce. In this sense, it makes the serious incident or event bit lighter in intensity. Although

it is often inserted to induce laughter, it plays a significant role in advancing the action of the

play or novel. Etymologically, black humor is a phrase of two words black and humor. The

meanings are clear that it is a humorous way of treating something that is serious. It is also called

black comedy, dark comedy or gallows humor.

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Satire is an artistic genre or form that uses various types of humor such as parody,

sarcasm or irony to ridicule a person or situation, usually with the intent of exposing harmful

beliefs and actions, and inspiring change. It has been used throughout human history, in many

cultures, and in various types of art. This lesson focuses on the use of satire in literature, which is

defined as the use of humor in prose and poetry to ridicule and criticize behavior. However,

satire has also been effectively employed in music and the visual arts.

Samuel Beckett’s Endgame is a one act play, written in French as “Fin de partie” and

produced and published in 1957. It was translated into English by the author. “Endgame” has

four characters: Hamm, the master, who is blind, wheelchair-bound, and demanding; Clov, his

resentful servant, physically incapable of sitting down; and Hamm’s crippled, senile parents,

Nagg and Nell, confined to garbage cans. They all live in one room with two windows. The

complex relationship between Hamm and Clov is the principal subject of the play. As is

characteristic of Beckett’s plays, the setting of Endgame is spare and the stage directions are

copious.

The play begins in a pessimistic setting with “bare interior” and “grey light” , which

reflects the post-apocalyptic scenario. The minimalistic play has a circular plot and begins with

Clov uttering “finished” and ends in the same situation as it began. Hamm is unable to move and

is blind and his parents Nagg and Nell have no legs and live in ashbins. Like a dead body

covered with shroud, they are covered by an old sheet. With a handkerchief over his face and a

whistle hanging in his neck, Hamm looks very comical whereas inside ashbins his parents appear

funny. Hamm’s dog has only three legs. Only locomotive character Clov also has problem with

walking and he walks reluctantly. These physical deformities in characters portray the condition
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of people after the nuclear war which brought irreparable damages to their physiology and

psychology. Moreover, Clov describes the outside atmosphere of the room to be “zero” and dry

as “it won’t rain”. Clov also comments that “outside of here its death” signaling the remnants of

war. The nature and ecosystem is also all barren and destroyed due to atom bombs. “Hamm:

Nature has forgotten us. Clov: There is no more nature”. Amid such a gruesome and horrible

atmosphere, the playwright surprisingly twists the characters and their inactions and makes it

more humorous. Hamm repeatedly asks Clov if it is time for his painkiller six times in the play to

which Clove always replies no. When Hamm, suffocating too much from his mundane life asks

Clov, "Why don't you kill me?". Clov comically replies, “I don't have the combination for the

cupboard". Later in the play, Clov makes a paradoxical statement, “If I don’t kill that rat he’ll

die”. Whether he kills or lets it go, both the way rat dies. Such is the comical situation of the

characters too, destined to die. The rescue attempt is all futile and useless. When Nell and Nagg

try to kiss they cannot as their heads fail to meet in the separate dustbins. Such kind of stupid and

funny situations make the audience burst into laughter throughout the play.

The post-war human condition is so severe and full of sufferings that life does not make

any sense at all. Locked in a gray room, the characters are living routine life. They have no free

will and have no control over themselves or their surroundings. Hamm tries to control and

silence his parents and Clov but he ultimately fails to do so. He wants his minion Clov to keep

staying with him, or he wants to go away with him to the south but he becomes a left-out isolated

character at the end of the play. The play satirizes how human beings are pathetic creatures and

are living a meaningless life full of absurdities.

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In fact, in Endgame and most of the absurdist plays, language is used to show that it has

lost its function; as nothing certain exists in the world, it’s impossible to get through to certain

meanings.Another point that should be set forth is the fact that, in absurdist plays, silence, pause

and repetitions are important dramatic elements from which the audience get the meaning.

Throughout Endgame, one can observe these elements of the plays of the theatre of the absurd.

For instance, in a dialogue between Hamm and Clov, pauses and silences form the basis of their

conversation:

Hamm: Outside of here it’s death!

(Pause.)

And the rat?

Clov: He’s got away.

Hamm: He can’t go far.

(Pause. Anxious.)

Eh?

Clov: He doesn’t need to go far.

(Pause.)

Hamm: Is it not time for my pain-killer?

Clov: Yes.

Hamm: Ah! At last! Give it to me! Quick!

(Pause.)

Clov: There’s no more pain-killer.

(Pause.) (126-127)
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In this excerpt and other similar passages in the play, silences and pauses break the

continuity of words, thus creating an effect of not being able to communicate and fostering the

sense of meaninglessness. Furthermore, according to Worton, silences in the play have different

aspects: The pauses [...] enable Beckett to present: silences of inadequacy, whencharacters

cannot find the words they need; silences ofrepression, when they are struck dumb by the attitude

of their interlocutor or by their sense that they might be breaking a social taboo; and silences of

anticipation, when they await the response of the other which will give them a temporary sense

of existence.

Another point that should be set forth about the conversations between Hamm and Clov

is the fact that their conversations are continuously stunted by the fact that whenever one of them

says something, it is countered by the other character. Then the first speaker agrees with the

argument and the conversation immediately ends. Just after that, they start to talk about another

thing, as can be seen from their following statements:

Hamm: How are your eyes?

Clov: Bad.

Hamm: How are your legs?

Clov: Bad.

Hamm: But you can move.

Clov: Yes.

Hamm: (Violently) Then move!

(Clov goes to the back wall, leans

against it with his forehead and hands.)

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Where are you? […]

Clov: Here.

Hamm: why don’t you kill me? (95-96)

As it can be seen, their conversation about one topic suddenly ends and they start to talk

about another subject. A dialogue in the middle of the play also exemplifies this:

Hamm: […] imagine if a rational being

came back to earth, wouldn’t he be liable

to get ideas into his head if he observed

us long enough. […] …we ourselves…at

Certain moments… (Vehemently)

To think perhaps it won’t all have been

For nothing!

Clov: (Anguished, scratching himself.) I

Have a flea!

Hamm: A flea! Are there still fleas?

Clov: On me there’s one.

In this conversation, the topic suddenly changes from a philosophical thinking to a flea,

indicating that they cannot have a properly progressing dialogue; they’re always interrupted and

stunted. Apart from this, the language used in absurdist plays isn’t the language of a certain

social class or group of people. Not having cultural connotations, the language used in these

plays is a general language that may be used by everybody in the world, as the one inEndgame in

which the audience cannot see any particular cultural usages or peculiarities related to a specific

group of people.
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Beckett is an extraordinary playwright who transforms the postwar human condition to

next level in his representation. Instead of presenting it in serious and traditional way, his theatre

of absurd frames it loaded with black humor which best reflects the ethos of time. In his other

plays like Waiting for Godot (1953), dark humor is his prominent tool. As the contemporary

humanity lacked morality and seriousness, the playwright presented them in their tattered and

comical form. Nell and Clov repeat the rhetorical question, “Why this farce, day after day?”

symbolizing the recurrence of their plight to eternity. In the theatre of absurd, the plight and

suffering of characters are comical like farce. Similar to Sisyphus, the characters of Endgame are

accursed to suffer forever. At the end of the play, we are hinted of Clov leaving and Hamm dying

but there is still considerable amount of doubt regarding this. Its hard to believe Clov can leave

the place as in the first place, there is no outer world and moreover, he does not seem compatible

to the outer world. As he says earlier, he lives as a servant to Hamm because he has nowhere to

go and no one else to live with. Furthermore, Hamm is so much rooted in suffering that it is

tough to believe that he will get salvation by death. Absurdity and futility along with suffering

and pain are transcribed in the gene of the characters to which there is no escape at all. Black

Humor becomes most appropriate tool for Beckettian tragedy to represent this human condition

of postwar period.

Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is a tragicomedy in two acts, published in 1952 in French as

“En attendant Godot” and first produced in 1953. Waiting for Godot was a true innovation in

drama and the Theatre of the Absurd’s first theatrical success.

The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for

the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but who
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never does. They encounter Lucky and Pozzo, they discuss their miseries and their lots in life,

they consider hanging themselves, and yet they wait. Often perceived as being tramps, Vladimir

and Estragon are a pair of human beings who do not know why they were put on earth; they

make the tenuous assumption that there must be some point to their existence, and they look to

Godot for enlightenment. Because they hold out hope for meaning and direction, they acquire a

kind of nobility that enables them to rise above their futile existence.

The opening scene of “Waiting for Godot” t is a country road setting with a single tree,

and we find Estragon trying to remove his boots with both his hands. After much struggle, he

says “Nothingto be done” as if removing his shoes was such a profound thing to be doing and

therefore nothing could be done about his inability to remove his boots. A little later, as

throughout the play, each of them exchanges dialogues that do not correspond or even connect to

each other in any way.

“Estragon: Ah, stop blathering and help me off with this bloody thing”

“Vladimir: handing hand from the top of Eiffel tower, among the first. We were presentable in
those days. Now it’s too late. They wouldn’t even let us up.” (11-12)

All of these dialogues would have sent the audience into splits but they also resound with

the inability of Vladimir and Estragon living a full and meaning life.

Another example of black humor in this play is the part where Estragon talks about the

Dead Sea and how the very thought of it made him thirsty. This creates a roar of laughter

amongst the audience as Estragon talks about the Dead Sea in context to the Gospels. But, the

reality is that the water form the Dead Sea will quench no thirst, as it is highly saline. This brings
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out Estragon’s naïve character as he talks about the Dead Sea in comparison to the Gospels

“Estragon: The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty”.

The entrance of Pozzo and Lucky on stage undoubtedly thrives on dark humor. Lucky is

being led by a rope tied to his neck and pozzo says, “Lets say no more. Up pig! Every time he

falls, he falls asleep. Up hog! Back! Stop! Turn!” These staccato instructions, almost army style,

seem to evoke a laugh or at least smile amongst the audience or readers. However, the slavish

Lucky seems to be put into a demeaning situation, which doesn’t fail to catch the audience’s

attention. The return of Pozzo held by Lucky on a rope seems to create a reverse image of the

earlier situation. This image brings a certain satisfaction to the audience, a laugh no doubt, and

yet makes the audience aware of how fortune is fickle and can change with such a strong impact.

The technique of contrast used by Beckett in Waiting For Godot is another attempt to bring out

humor and reveal character. Estragon’s constant worry of who Godot is and when he will come

and Vladimir’s attempt to constantly calm his nerves,

“Vladimir: He said Saturday. I think.

Estragon: You think.” (22)

Pozzo’s initial arrogance and later his dependence on Lucky while he crawls onto stage

are humorous ways of representing the characters.

Beckett’s constant use of repetition of language and actions are humorous but stagnant.

This is further intensified when Vladimir and Estragon have nothing to eat but a single carrot and

a rotten turnip,

“Estragon” I’m hungry

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Vladimir: Do you want a carrot?

Estragon: Is that all there is?

Vladimir: I might have some turnips” (32-33)

They seem to be holding on to their dignity later in the play when they meet Lucky and

Pozzo. They do not show their hunger nor do they ask for food. But the moment Pozzo and

Lucky leave the stage, Estragon picks up the eaten chicken bones, trying to get some sustenance

out of it, “Estragon makes a dart at the bones, picks them up and begins to gnaw on them”. All

these action and dialogues used by Beckett derive a sense of black humor but reveal to us

simultaneously the sterile, meaningless and unfulfilled life of its characters.

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CHAPTER 3

The Impact of Meaninglessness of Life and Nihilism in the Selected Plays of

Samuel Beckett

Samuel Backet is an Irish writer whose tragicomedy “Waiting for Godot” is a two act

play, published in 1952 in French as “En attendant Godot” and first produced in 1953. Waiting

for Godot was a true innovation in drama and the Theatre of the Absurd’s first theatrical success.

The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the

arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but who never

does. They encounter Lucky and Pozzo, they discuss their miseries and their lots in life, they

consider hanging themselves, and yet they wait. Often perceived as being tramps, Vladimir and

Estragon are a pair of human beings who do not know why they were put on earth; they make the

tenuous assumption that there must be some point to their existence, and they look to Godot for

enlightenment. Because they hold out hope for meaning and direction, they acquire a kind of

nobility that enables them to rise above their futile existence.

The Waiting for Godot script Is rather unusual compared to most traditional plays. It has

a very small cast of characters and very little actually happens in terms of advancement of the

plot. Instead, the play is taken up by the characters’ interactions with one another and their

attempts to understand themselves and their situation. Much of the meaning of the play comes

from the way that the actors inhabit their roles; a Waiting for Godot summary may sound strange

and empty as a result. Certainly, the experience of reading or watching Waiting for Godot can be

an unsettling one, which is normal for Theatre of the Absurd.

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Waiting for Godot is a nihilistic play. Nihilism expresses the idea that life is ultimately

meaningless. There is no greater purpose to peoples’ endeavors than to pass the time before

death arrives. Vladimir and Estragon never accomplish anything in the play. They are just trying

to keep themselves distracted until they can finally work up the motivation to kill themselves.

Since Godot never arrives, the audience never learns the reason behind the protagonists’ daily

vigil. Even elements of the play that on the surface seem to carry a promise of meaning, such as

Lucky’s speech about divinity, are ultimately revealed to be utterly pointless.

In Waiting for Godot, Beckett conveys the meaninglessness of life by undermining

meaning generated in communication, through repetition. In Waiting for Godot the repetition of

words does not achieve assertion of a fact as in common prose, but becomes semantically

satiated. The repetition of “You want to get rid of him?”(52) by Vladimir after five times

becomes “You waagerrim?”(52) an utterance that is devoid of meaning. The illogicality thwarts

any meaning that the audience may have been trying to extract from the line prior to this

repetition. Upon first hearing the phrase, one may interpret “You want to get rid of him?”(52) as

an incredulous outburst by Vladimir, which conveys his view on the importance of human

companionship. However, the later slurred line of “You waagerrim?”(52) subverts this

interpretation. The futility in attempting to uncover any meaning within the exchanges of the

characters is an attempt by Beckett to portray the meaninglessness of relationships and social

exchange in real life. Jak Peake analyses that in Waiting For Godot “Conversation occurs, but

the arrangement of words, poor starved strings, do not bridge the gulf that exists between them.”

The loss of meaning in Vladimir’s language due to repetition creates a sense of divergence

between the characters. Vladimir is attempting to communicate, but the effectuality of it no

longer exists, since Pozzo fails to acknowledge him until the illogicality becomes obvious, when
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Pozzo questions, “I beg your pardon?”. In the play, Vladimir and Estragon are seen to rely

heavily upon each other, exemplified strongly in act 1 when they discuss suicide plans. Neither

wants to be left alone in case one of them is unsuccessful, deciding not to “do anything. It’s

safer.” Therefore, if Vladimir and Estragon are unable to do the one thing, that is to

communicate, which connects or “bridges the gulf” between them, and they rely so heavily upon

each other to live, then the purpose of living for them becomes meaningless. Beckett’s nihilistic

tone in this further reflects upon the attitudes of post-World War Two society. The War had

caused loneliness for the people who had lost family members and friends. By creating a sense of

meaninglessness in communication, Beckett reflects upon the despair and loss of purpose for the

people who had lost the sense of companionship after the war.

At the very beginning of the play the theme of nothingness is fore grounded through the remark

of Estragon: “Nothing to be done”(10). Later on Vladimir also repeat the same remark. It is one

of those lines that are repeated throughout the play. The repetition of the line reminds us the

nothingness of human life again and again. When the play first opened, it was criticized for

lacking meaning, structure, and common sense. These critics, however, failed to see that Beckett

chose to have his play, “Waiting for Godot”, capture the feeling that the world has no apparent

meaning. In this misunderstood masterpiece, Beckett asserts numerous existentialist themes one

of which is nothingness. So we should consider the theme of nothingness in Waiting for Godot

Carefully.

Waiting for Godot is a play made up out of nothingness. The spectator or the reader is

fascinated by the strangeness of what he witness, hoping for a turn in the situation or a solution,

which never comes. The play holds the audience from beginning to end, and the audience
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remains riveted to the two tramps who do nothing and say practically nothing. The two tramps

are incapable of anything more than mere beginnings of impulses, desires, thoughts, moods,

memories, and impressions. Everything that arises in them sinks back into forgetfulness before it

arrives anywhere. They both live, to a large extent, in a twilight-state and though one of them,

Vladimir, is more aware than his companion, complete physical listness prevails throughout.

Their Incapacity to live or to end life is intimately linked with their love of helplessness and of

wish-dreams. They are full of frustrations and resentments, and they cling to each other with a

mixture of inter-dependence and affection. They do different types of odd things to pass their

time which are totally meaningless.

Nihilism, suggesting the theoretical doctrine of extreme pessimism toward the intrinsic

fundamentals of human life, and, in contrast, idealism, advocating the philosophical canons of

belief in a structured transcendental realm, are the two paradoxical dominating themes in Irish

avant-garde dramatist Samuel Barclay Beckett’s famous absurd play Waiting For Godot. These

two issues are responsible for the suffrage of mind. The major characters especially the

megalomaniac Vladimir and less-intelligent Estragon who are waiting for unidentified Godot,

demonstrate the clash of these two theories through epistemological, ontological and poetic form.

According to Nietzsche, there is no objective order or structure in the world except what

we give it. Penetrating the façades buttressing convictions, the nihilist discovers that all values

are baseless and that reason is impotent. For him, nihilism requires a radical repudiation of all

imposed values and meaning to be perished and it is a matter highly concerned with self

destruction. The caustic strength of nihilism is absolute, Nietzsche argues, and under its

withering scrutiny the highest values devalue themselves. The aim is always lacking, and the
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question ‘Why’ finds no answer. Inevitably, nihilism will expose all cherished beliefs and

sacrosanct truths as symptoms of a defective Western mythos. This collapse of meaning,

relevance, and purpose will be the most destructive force in history, constituting a total assault

on reality and nothing less than the greatest crisis of humanity. Such a subjective furore becomes

stern in the mind of nihilists. He further says:Nihilism, however, is to be treated as a pathological

transitional stage: we move from one extreme position (nature and the world have a meaning and

a purpose) to another extreme position (all is devoid of meaning and purpose). If nihilism comes

to us now as an uncanny guest it is not because the unpleasant character of existence is any

greater than before, but simply because we are now mistrustful of any meaning in existence and

everything appears to us to be in vain.

Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame”(1958) is an interesting play which deserves a serious

analysis in terms of nihilism and existentialism. The play is in search of the meaning of man’s

existence amid uncertainty in the world. This play is certainly different from other major plays of

Samuel Beckett in which most of the characters are crippled and helpless like other characters of

Beckett subject to suffering, frustration and absurdity in life. The play also delineates the sub-

themes of existentialism like authenticity, death, bad-faith and nothingness with the help of these

characters. Moreover, the play develops in the tradition of absurd play challenging the classical

norms of unities and plot. The stage setting in Endgame seems strange reflecting the theme of

existentialism and nihilism. Lastly, the play gives the concept of absurd and cyclical time which

presents the uncertainty of man’s existence in the world. Thus, the play is a typical one for

existentialist study.
 21

Beckett alludes to Genesis and the Bible throughout the play, referring to God’s creation

of the world as a parallel to his characters’ desire to end it. Hamm, placed in the centre of the

room, is a God-like figure, and his obsession with ‘finishing’ shows his desire to die and be at

peace. Не repeatedly insists on Clov looking out of both windows for him, one of which shows

the sea and the other the earth. This is reminiscent of Genesis 1:9, where land and water are

created by God: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let

the dry land appear: and it was so”. This way of mirroring God’s first actions is appears almost

as an attempt to reverse them, to bring the universe back to a state of un-creation. Furthermore,

Hamm comes up with an idea to make a “raft”, for him and Clov to sail away and find “other

mammals”- this echoes the tale of Noah’s ark in Genesis 6-8, with a dark twist- Beckett has

made it clear that Clov, Hamm and his parents appear tobe the only ‘mammals’ left in the world,

putting another absurd spin on the creation story. Finally, the final scene of the play sees

elements mirrored from the very start of Genesis: Hamm flings his various possessions away

from him in the belief that Clov has left him, exclaiming “good!” each time he does so. This is

vividly reminiscent of the beginning of the creation in Genesis, where the words “God saw that it

was good are used each time something new is created. Thus, we see Hamm’s desperate attempts

to reverse God’s creation of the world in the face of Beckett’s apocalypse, and the futility of his

efforts contribute to the tragicomic nature of the play.

A prevalent theme throughout the play is that of isolation and suffering, highlighted

through the relationships between each of the four characters, and reinforcing arguments that

Endgame belongs to the tragic genre. Clov and Hamm, a submissive-dominant pair typical

ofBeckett’s writings, are both consumed with the idea of being without the other, yet neither can

bear to lose the other. Hamm repeatedly tells Clov to leave him alone – “why do you stay with
 22

me?” – to which Clov replies, “why do you keep me?”, and they both agree they each have no

one else. This codependency reflects humanist theories that any other human presence, however

trying, is preferable to complete isolation. Moreover, Hamm frequently calls on his father,

waking him for no apparent reason but to help assuage his loneliness- he even bribes him with

“sugar-plums” to force him to keep him company. Nagg resents this, and claims that had he

known Hamm would be his son, he would never have allowed him to be born – “I didn’t know…

that it’d be you”. Nagg also recalls the times when Hamm was a child and would cry out for his

father, and compares this to Hamm’s unnecessary need to have him “listen to his story whilst he

was asleep. He tells him that one day he’ll truly need him again, like a child, and relishes in the

thought ofHamm being truly alone and afraid- despite the horrors of his morbid existence in

Beckett’s post-apocalyptic world, Nagg’s greatest worry is his isolation and irrelevance.

On the other hand, as Clov is the one character who can actually walk and therefore

leave, his suffering is arguably self-induced. He constantly says things like ‘If I could kill him

I’d die happy”, yet is never able to even leave the room for long, let alone actually leave the

house. Thus, Beckett again argues that isolation is the worst form of human suffering, and that

the human condition makes us unable to isolate ourselves, even when death is the entirely

preferable alternative.

Living in a dark and brutalizing century had a profound influence on the intellectuals of

the time and particularly on Samuel Beckett, who was one of the towering playwrights in

representing the absurdity of the situation of his time. There is a remarkable pessimism and

human suffering in Beckett‘s work. The time that the plays “Waiting for Godot” and “Endgame”

were written by him was the era when the whole of Europe was overwhelmed by the fear of
 23

nuclear attack. Hundreds of thousands were killed when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked

with atomic bombs in 1945 by the U.S Air Force near the end of World War II. People around

the world, especially Europeans, shared the horror of experiencing what happened in Hiroshima

and Nagasaki. There were some TV programmes in England and a few other European countries

to train their peoples in what they should do if they were attacked by atomic bombs. European

were trained to live in dim and damp air-raid shelters during World War II, and were prepared to

have fallout shelters to live in for a longer time if another World War were to break out. This fear

was an influential factor especially when Beckett wrote the play, Endgame, and when it was

performed, in 1957. The scene of the play can also be viewed as a fallout shelter, since much of

the outer world has been destroyed by a nuclear attack. The characters in Endgame are aware

that the outer world has been destroyed, and that they are safe, temporarily, in their gloomy

shelter, yet soon their lives are going to end:

CLOV: [He gets up on ladder, turns the telescope on the without.] Let‘s see. [He looks, moving
the Telescope.] Zero…[he looks]…Zero…[he looks]…and zero.

HAMM: Nothing stirs. All is –

CLOV: Zero –

HAMM: [Violently.] Wait till you‘re spoken to! [Normal voice.] All is… all is …all is what?
[Violently.] All is what?

CLOV: What all is? In a word? Is that what you want to know? Just a moment. [He turns the
telescope on the without, looks, lowers the telescope, turns toward HAMM.] Corpsed. [Pause.]
Well? Content? (107)

The horror of the World Wars, especially the systematic displacement and killing of vast

numbers of persons, created a crisis of conscience among many of the world‘s intellectuals. Post-

war Europeans found themselves in a grim and featureless landscape without any signs to guide

them, without any hope that they could go on and, by their efforts, bring about a better world;
 24

they found themselves with an existence and a responsibility foisted upon them which they had

not chosen and did not particularly want. Traditional values seemed incapable of coping with

such dilemmas and, more significantly, to rest on no sol id foundation. World war had threatened

people‘s lives, so they lost their human qualities. When they faced such destruction and

annihilation, their faith in God, as a superpower, was crushed. In this context, life was

meaningless, and there was a belief that either God did not care about people, or that He did not

exist at all. This aspect of ruin must also be recognized as forming an integral part of much of the

literature of the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was a landscape which provided a metaphor for

broken lives and spirits.

 25

CHAPTER 4

Conclusion

As a matter of fact, literature is the mirror of the society that reflects the day to day life,

the human condition, social and political scenarios of the time, Beckett as a playwright aware of

the blights of the recent wars and its terrible consequences to present his masterpiece ‘Waiting

for Godot’ and ‘Endgame’ in the mid-twentieth century to show the nature of European human

miserable life and the condition of the society at that time. In both the plays Beckett had

beautifully presented the after effects of the two World wars, using dark humour and satire.

‘Endgame’ and ‘Waiting for Godot’ are the best examples of ‘the theatre of absurd’ or ‘absurdist

plays’, the settings of the play is very minimalistic and gloomy and the characters are also

strange. In both the plays we see continuous repetition of dialogue which has not meaning and

unnecessary talks are going on among the characters. The plays are also considered as

existentialist play because it deals with the theme of meaninglessness of life. After the

destruction caused by the two world wars people lost their faith in god and got afraid and started

thinking that anything can happen to anyone at anytime. The hopelessness of people for a better

life is depicted in these plays.

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” is often considered a seminal work of

existentialist literature. Existentialism is a philosophical and literary movement that emerged in

the 20th century, and it explores themes related to human existence, meaning, absurdity, and the

individual’s struggle to find purpose in an indifferent and often chaotic world. One of the central

tenets of existentialism is the idea that life lacks inherent meaning. In "Waiting for Godot"

Vladimir and Estragon are trapped in a seemingly meaningless existence as they wait for
 26

someone named Godot, whose identity and purpose remain obscure. This situation embodies the

absurdity of life, where characters engage in repetitive and seemingly purposeless actions. The

characters in the play grapple with the question of why they are waiting for Godot and what

purpose it serves. They engage in various activities, such as taking off and putting on their shoes,

contemplating suicide, and discussing their memories. These activities underscore their struggle

to find meaning and purpose in their lives.Throughout the play, the characters question the nature

of reality and their own existence. They often doubt whether they are waiting in the right place

for the right person, reflecting existentialist concerns about the authenticity of one’s existence

and the uncertainty that surrounds it. Godot is a mysterious, absent figure who never appears in

the play. He can be seen as a symbol of the search for meaning, purpose, or salvation that

individuals often pursue in life. The characters' anticipation of Godot's arrival represents the

human tendency to seek external sources of meaning and validation.

Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” as a typical example of Beckett’s absurdist drama, depicts the

feelings of meaninglessness and nothingness in the surrounding world and by using the elements

such as silence, pause, repetitions, unconventional dialogues, no recognizable decor and no plot,

this alienating effect is strengthened. In Endgame, it can be seen that the feeling of

meaninglessness and chaos the world is in, is made concrete by the story about a tailor. In the

story, an Englishman orders a pair of trousers to his tailor. However, when the tailor

continuously puts him off, the man gets angry and says that: “In six days, do you hear me, six

days, God made the world. Yes Sir, no less Sir, the WORLD! And you are not bloody well

capable ofmaking me a pair of trousers in three months!” (102-103). The answer that the tailor

gives is striking: “But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look [...] at the world [...] and look [...] at my

TROUSERS!” (103). This story of the trailor and the Englishman is a satirical comment on the
 27

world made by the God. Samuel Beckett was an atheist and his disbelief in God can be clearly

seen by these instances of his works. By seeing the life of the characters of his play one can

clearly how pathetic the life of the people was back then. The characters are hopeless and know

that there is no life outside everywhere there is corpses and non-stop destruction is going on.
 28

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