Beckett

Question 1

Quote

#1

Answer 1

“Happiness is a comparison to other people.”

If one stops comparing themselves to others, they will be able to enjoy what life has offered them rather than always thinking about whether another person is better off than they are.

• We, as humans, always judge ourselves and our lives against someone else. When we compare ourselves to others, we are automatically placing them in a higher position than us.

Question 2

Quote

#2

Answer 2

“People think about food as much as, if not more than God.”

For many people, the importance of food surpasses the thoughts about spirituality.

• Food plays a fundamental role in daily life.
• The comparison highlights the nature of food, which can evoke strong emotions and satisfy immediate needs, contrasting with the nature of thoughts about God.

Question 3

Quote

#3

Answer 3

“Other people serve to verify our existence.”

Interactions with others serve to validate and affirm our existence (social connections).

• People contribute to our understanding of self and our place in the world.

Question 4

Religious Allusions

Story of the Two Thieves

Answer 4

Didi and Gogo discuss the thieves and how they were crucified alongside Christ. They reflect on the fact that one of the thieves was saved, while the other was not, and they question the reasoning behind this.

• It is a metaphor for the characters’ own feelings of guilt and salvation, and their search for meaning and purpose in their endless wait for Godot.

“Do not despair one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume one of the thieves was damned.”

4 witnesses:

• One claims Christ saved one thief → damned the other
• One claims both of the thieves weve damned
• Two do not mention thieves at all

Statistically: stacked odds against anyone being saved, but it is the only story people have known
→ demonstrates mans willingness to “hope”

Question 5

Perception of Time

“Time is circular.”

Answer 5

One day is the same as the next, it is not unique in any way. It “simply repeats”.

• There is nothing unique between birth + death, “simply waiting”.

Time is not linear, it’s a circle (cycle).

The concept of time being circular is illustrated in the parallels between Act 1 and Act 2.

If all days are the same, then both acts are the same.

Ex.)

1. Gogo spends another night in the ditch atter getting beat up
2. Gogo and Didi contemplate hanging themselves
3. The boy comes back again