Waiting for Godot.

   Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” is a wonderful piece of literature focusing on the
repetitive daily life of the two main characters Vladimir and Estragon. Upon first sight, the play
seems to be written in gibberish. There is no plot, setting, or anything the reader can use to
connect with the story. It is not until the reader finally finishes the play that any dissection of
theme begins. In fact, as a member of the theater of the absurd, the play does not have an
intentional theme it wishes to share with the reader. The whole point of a play of this nature is to
not have anything, it is merely to break the rules. Written in the 1940s the play is heavily
influenced by World War Two which happened just before its creation. The loss of faith in rules
is one of the main impacts the war had on the remaining civilians. This play reflected just that.
However, even if no intentional theme is present in the play the presence of a theme is not
impossible and to many readers, it is powerful to reshape their lives. Waiting for Godot does a
great job at distracting the reader with absurdity, enough absurdity that the truth behind the
words is easy to hide.
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   Before any truth can be revealed sense must be made from the words in
the play. Plot, location, time are all unnecessary when the focus is displayed on one key
component of the play; the two main characters are waiting for a man who never seems to come,
but they are willing to keep waiting for him. This idea of waiting, without ever knowing when it
will finally be over is equally as present in the play as it is in the real world. People go to work,
waiting for the weekend, and then once the weekend is over, they wait all over again. People
work jobs they hate and spend all their life waiting for retirement until they can grow old and
stop working, they wait until a theoretical time of freedom to begin living life. Life,
unfortunately, makes no such promise that all the waiting is worth it in the end. There is also no
promise that there is even tomorrow to wait for. Nobody knows what they are waiting for,
they believe they will know it when they see it. The end is supposed to justify the means and the
longer everyone is waiting it becomes more and more impossible for this to be true.

   Without knowledge of what life has to offer many people still find themselves waiting.
The idea of putting off happiness until a day that may not exist is absurd as the play itself. There
is so much emphasis on the “end goal” which is one of happiness, freedom, relaxation and
overall paradise that there is little chance the fruition of everyone’s waiting will live up to the
idea. There is no guarantee that tomorrow will happen, not enough hope in the world can change
the universe. Many people find themselves unlucky enough to have their patience tested; either
their lives are cut short or the end of their waiting simply did not live up to the hype placed upon
it. Waiting for Godot is an attempt to open our eyes to the truth. Not only do rules not promise
stability but waiting does not promise happiness. Unfortunately, many do not see through the
absurdity and get lost in the mismatched words and lack of plot to understand the hidden
message of the play.
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   Waiting for Godot is a cautionary tale which everyone should pay attention to. While the
text, when taken literally, can be comical in its absurd nature; the unintentional theme is one to
be taken seriously. It is also just as important to realize waiting comes in many forms. One can
be waiting for change, happiness, romance, etc. with which someone believes is just out of their
reach. If anything the idea of waiting showcases a fear of rejection and a fear of the unknown.
There are little commitment and risk in waiting, there is also no reward. While Samuel Beckett
may have unintentionally written the theme into existence, the message still stands; many put off
their happiness for a time that may not exist.