Meaninglessness In Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot

The purpose of human existence is highly debated and can be thought to have no meaning at all. Many people wonder if there is any significance or value to our lives. In the play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, this idea is questioned since the play itself can be thought to have no meaning. The play centres around two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, who are out in the middle of nowhere, waiting for someone named Godot. Throughout the play, moments of distraction and lack of focus demonstrate the meaninglessness of the characters’ lives and suggest that there may be no meaning to life at all. These moments are established through the characters’ unstable memories, the flatness of the plot, and the repetitive cyclicality of the play. Throughout the play, moments of distraction or lack of focus are often related to Estragon and Vladimir’s diminished memory. There is a constant sense of confusion surrounding whether or not the characters can even remember what they did the day prior. This lack of memory makes it difficult for Estrogon and Vladimir to ever really make sense of their lives. For the duration of the play, it is often Estragon who has no memory of recent events, but this lack of focus makes Vladimir question everything he thinks he remembers. When the two characters are in the same location the next morning, Estragon appears to remember little from the day before. Vladimir attempts to remind him, trying to prove that they have done

This is shown through their diminished memories, the play’s flat plot, and the repetition and cyclicality of the play. While these moments create a sense of meaningless in the characters’ lives, they also cause the audience to question the meaning of life. Is there really no purpose to life, or is there actually something worth waiting every day