Wen | Yilu Qiqi
In the past week or so, we have read Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" together, followed the protagonistSladimir and Estragon to feel the taste of waiting, and studied the way of getting along and the philosophy of passing away boredom, but the lingering doubts in our hearts have always been there.
So, what message does the writer really want to convey to us about Godot, about waiting, and even about life and creation? Today, let's briefly review the plot and analyze the idea of the play, and try to find the hidden answers together.
01
Unlike other plays that divide scenes in "curtains", show the progressive growth of characters, or become more intensely conflicted, Beckett's Waiting for Godot has only two acts, and many of the scenes, language, and actions in both acts are repetitive, which makes it easy for viewers and actors on stage to fall into boredom.
For example, whenever Estragon wanted to leave, Vladimir always intervened to stop them, and the content of their dialogue was almost unchanged.
Let's go.
We can't.
Why?
We are waiting for Godot.
Or, when they've exhausted all the boring tricks, there's always a conversation like this:
What are we doing now?
I do not know.
No, we can't, we're waiting for Godot.
In addition, there are three other characters in both acts, as well as bridges that want to hang and the protagonist tries to separate from each other, so that the cycle is so repetitive and irritating that if we don't dive into the heart, all we see is repression and suffocation.
However, is this really the case? Beckett worked hard for a long time, just to share the boredom with a wide audience?
The answer, of course, is no, and we might as well look for the answer from the details of the play.
02
The suspense was lost early between the first and second acts, of course, because a considerable proportion of the content was similar. However, if you can study with the heart to watch ordinary dramas, do not make prejudgments before watching, and look at it from the perspective of plot development, it is not difficult to find that in the seemingly funny and funny plot, there are actually a lot of tragic colors.
From the perspective of time, in the first act, before the two protagonists met Pozzo and Lucky, their boredom time was actually not that long, and at that time, they had not experienced the distress of the little boy passing on Godot's message, and naturally there was no disappointment after hope. Therefore, the two protagonists appear more carefree in the first act than in the second act.
From a character point of view, in the first act, although Vladimir and Estragon witnessed all the abuses that Pozzo carried out on his slave Lucky, at least at that time Lucky had a moment of resistance and a moment of impressive admiration. In the second act, one of them becomes blind, the other becomes dumb, and there is no longer a chance to express themselves, and since then, there is only one posture in the life of the lucky one: passive acceptance, eternal obedience.
Judging from the message, at the end of the first act, the little boy tells them that Godot will not come tonight and will come tomorrow, although the two protagonists will be suspicious, but at least there is hope, when the idea of leaving, is still not willing. Before the end of the second act, the little boy appears again, our protagonist has learned to prejudge and preemptively answer, and even tried to carry a letter to Godot, behind the seemingly funny, in fact, there is a hint of despair, for Godot, their trust value is further reduced. In the end, he did not go, not because he believed that Godot would come, but because he had to keep his promise and honor the waiting itself.
Looking at the development from the first act to the second act, in fact, it is more and more sad, the protagonist's mentality changes little by little, thus doubting the necessity and feasibility of waiting, and the meaning of waiting begins to dissolve little by little.
03
As far as the character is concerned, in fact, some metaphorical effects can also be glimpsed.
Vladimir is enthusiastic and persistent, and when he encounters embarrassment, he is always the first to resolve it, when his companion ignores him, he thinks of hugging, his companion is angry and rushes to persuade him, and even when his companion wants to separate, he will worry about who will protect him if he is not there. Although his approach is inevitably suspected of brushing the sense of existence, but in general, he is the warm heart of those around us who are more and more frustrated.
Estragon was both decisive and indecisive, on the one hand, in order to be able to leave, he did not hesitate to say harsh words to his companions, and did not hesitate to separate from his companions; on the other hand, when he really wanted to leave, he did not leave his companions and leave. When he was hurt, he was jealous and hateful, dared to love and dare to hate, and when he looked back on the past, he chose to use sleep and other ways to forget, to avoid adding to his troubles, and I have to say that he is a reliable and dare to return to zero God of War.
As for Pozzo and Lucky, who also occupy more space, one is an exaggeration, likes to bully others, and his personal interests are greater than everything. The other is usually resigned, but also has an amazing explosive power, like every one of you and me who is forced to carry a full heart and continue to move forward under pressure.
Each of us can find our own shadow in them, so that in the dead of night, we are often tortured from the soul, which leads to thought.
Like what:
Isn't every wait worth it? Silly persistence, silent waiting, can it really usher in the blossoming of the garden? If you meet a partner in the process of traveling, how should you maintain this rare friendship? If you encounter temptation, how do you face it?
We may not all be able to quickly answer these questions in a moment, but in the people in the play, we seem to be able to find some tricks:
Waiting, whether it is worth it or not, at least be prepared for a long time, to be persistent and determined, just like the two protagonists.
The partners they meet on the way of life, no matter how long they accompany them, should cherish the time they have traveled together, just as Vladimir and Estragon, although they also have contradictions and differences, are more often they have love.
The so-called temptation of life's journey is nothing more than a floating cloud, and in the end, we should return to the right track and return to the original intention. Just like Mr. Fo and Brother Love, they did not go astray by coveting Bodro's money, nor did they leave with Pozzo, but chose to continue to wait.
04
Since the title of the play is "Waiting for Godot", the action of waiting has always been understandable, but who Godot is has always been the focus of controversy in later generations.
In response to this problem, it is natural that the playwright himself has more say. Someone once asked Beckett Godot what it was, and he said that if he knew, he would have written it in the play. Such an answer seems meaningless, but it is actually the great wisdom of Beckett who has caused thinking with nothingness after he has understood the world.
Not knowing what Godot is, not knowing what you are waiting for, is the confusion and confusion of every modern person when facing modern society. And even if you wait, it may not meet expectations. The Godot you are waiting for is never the Godo you want to wait for, and the happiness you pursue is never the happiness you want in your heart, which is probably the true portrayal of many people's hearts.
Some people say that the reason why we are not happy is because we want too much and always feel that we have too little. The so-called existence, the so-called meaning, seems to have to be filled by many things, money, fame, status... No one can be less, and those who only do one thing in their lives, no matter how big or small, are often easily regarded as not rich and beautiful enough.
When commemorating Lu Xun, the Zang Ke family said: Some people are alive and he is dead, and some people are still alive when they are dead. In the final analysis, it is probably that some people have been searching for meaning all their lives, but in the end they have to go to the end of their lives because they are too involved and do not understand it. Such a person is doomed to be unable to hold fast to his convictions, as Beckett opened in his 1980 play A Monologue: "Birth is his death."
05
Beckett is a man of ideals and convictions, and he lives in an age that may not be open enough to be accepted by most people. But now, as Waiting for Godot is staged over and over again on the theatrical stages of various countries, we should understand that the death of this great playwright of world renown is not the end, but a new beginning.
Following his footsteps, Gao Xingjian gave the waiting people from all over the world the beauty of hope in "Station", and the German Franz Mircer Theater Troupe exaggerated the poetry of the cycle of life in "Life is Infinitely Good", all of which tried to take us back to the original starting point and find the original and original intention.
In this sense, it does not matter who Godot is, whether he has been here or not, what is important is that everything should be in their own direction, have the courage to stick to it, and maintain childlike innocence and persistence even after experiencing pain and helplessness. The road ahead is long, up and down the search, may each of us not forget the original heart, appreciate the beauty of the world.
(End of series)