The Theatre of Revolt/Change, the Literature of the Absurd and the Theatre of Non-Communication: Manifestations in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
- 1 Department of Foreign Languages, College of Arts & Humanities, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Revolts lead to changes irrespective of good or bad. It is universal and fights against the basic conventions and traditions. Such rebellions manifest explicitly through arts, culture and literature. Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot ( WFG ) offers multiple narratives, divergent perspectives and intriguing aspects to the readers. During the course of man’s existence, s/he undergoes pangs of anguish, loss of life, silence and non-communication, etc., which is reflected in the literature of the absurd. Absurdity and non-communication surfaced in the aftermaths of the horrors of the Second World War due to man’s loss of faith in established institutions. Existentialism postulates that the human situation is essentially aimless, absurd and futile. Does the world necessarily appear to be so? How are these issues—purposelessness in life, simulacra, plotless play, context-less et al. tackled in WFG? What impact do these existentialist philosophies have in man’s everyday life especially in the contemporary scenario or are they decontextualized? Is the play totally nihilistic? Are there deeper layers of meanings beneath the senseless, farcical prattle? What role does silence and non-communication play in today’s postmodern world? These are the questions that this research paper seeks to find out. As a qualitative study, this article uses a normative approach—literary analysis, in seeking to find a solution.
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