Examples Of Existentialism In Waiting For Godot

Introduce the Theme
Upon reading many literatures in order to deepen and reflect our understanding about who we truly are, and why do we exist, “ Expressions of Existentialism” seems to be one of the possible themes that can best describe the above questions by conveying us, the readers, to learn the real meaning of our existence through each main character’s actions. Existentialism, from my interpretation, refers to how people in the society attempt to create meaning of their life to justify their existence and to give themselves a reason to live as a force to push them further. In this case, Godot is the reason for Vladimir and Estragon to stay at that place, and is a force that push them to wait longer. While, money is the reason for Harry

And many events that occur in the story “Waiting for Godot” and “Chinese Coffee” explains how crucial it is for the main characters to be recognized. However, there are some differences regarding the theme “Expression of Existentialism” in both story. The first difference is that in “Waiting for Godot”, every characters seem to have forgotten the identity of both Vladimir and Estragon, while in “Chinese Coffee”, Harry, however, was regarded with the identity although that identity may several time be mistakenly regarded as a can collector or a serial killer, which in fact provoke his anger and make him, every time, feel anxious about his existence. In short, identity recognized is the first difference. Another difference is that in “Waiting for Godot”, there seems to be no character development in terms of achieving their goal. To illustrate, we can see that even at the end of the story, Vladimir and Estragon are unable to move on and is stuck with the feeling of waiting for somebody to come and claim the existence of their beings. While in “Chinese Coffee”, we can see the development of Harry, who from the beginning of the story seems to be nervous about the feedback of the book, the repayment of his money and the trembling body, but at the end of the story, we can see the light of Harry future that he will become a popular writer with money, reputation and perhaps a better place to live in. In short, identity recognized and character development are the main differences between the main characters in “Waiting for Godot” and “Chinese Coffee” under the theme of