Monday, October 5, 2009

Is it God or just a mad man?

Is it about waiting for God or just about a man who has multiple personalities? I do not know. From the very beginning of the play I was convinced that this was a story about two personalities inside one person’s head, Estragon and Vladimir. Throughout the play the two cannot seem to separate from one another even though they claim numerous times that they would be better apart. Their anxiety seems to rise when they are separated for a time and sometimes Vladimir has to speak for Estragon because Pozzo doesn’t hear him. Estragon doesn’t remember anything outside of the interaction with Vladimir, almost like he doesn’t exist without him. Towards the end of the play when they saw Pozzo for a second time the idea of maybe this was an allegory for those who are waiting for God popped into my head. The men stay in the same place and are waiting for this person, they do not remember when he is coming, or details for it but they continue to wait. A couple of instances it talks about how nothing happens in their lives, it’s the same things over and over again and sometimes they want to give up. Also throughout the whole interaction with Pozzo it gave the illusion that time had passed between them, more than just the couple of days they talk about. So I am stuck with a dilemma. What does this play mean to me? Is it a deeper story about the journey of those who wait for God to appear or is it just a simple yet entertaining play about one man with two personalities? I believe it is both. This play just like other stories I read, it is what I need at the time. I believe that our unconscious mind makes stories we read fit into the situation we are in at the time and this time I think I needed both. 

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