Essay on "waiting for godot"

“Vladimir and Estragon are complementary characters, as are Pozzo and Lucky”.

From the very beginning, we are told that Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ is a play where nothing happens. “Nothing tobe done”, a recurring phrase along the play, essentially describes the hopelessness and despair of the characters’ lives. The play is centered around its characters. Vladimir and Estragon are metaphorsfor the universal man, and through their endless wait, they reflect the man’s inherent necessity to find a higher purpose or meaning to existence. Also, as well as Pozzo and Lucky, they are presentedas complementary characters.

Vladimir and Estragon represent the two sides of men. The former usually represents the mind, and the latter the body. Vladimir is the thinker, the meditative one, theone concerned with spiritual salvation. He is also the more eloquent of the two. Estragon on the other hand, is the more physical one; he is the one who eats, sleeps, sits, falls, battles with hisboot. He acts in response to his physical needs and uses his body to express himself. They give further evidence of this difference also when relating to others. When they meet Lucky for instance,Estragon wants him to dance, while Vladimir wants him to think.

Another sign of this complementarity between the two of them is that Estragon cannot remember anything. He needs Vladimir to remind him ofhis history. By doing so, Vladimir is in a way establishing and validating Estragon's identity. On the other hand, Estragon serves as a reminder for Vladimir of all the things that they have donetogether. In this way, both men serve to remind each other of their very existence. This is obviously important for them, since no one else in the play ever seems to remember them:

Vladimir: We metyesterday. (Silence) Do you not remember?

Pozzo: I don't remember having met anyone yesterday. But tomorrow I won't remember having met anyone to-day. So don't count on me to enlighten you.

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