Josh K, Tyler, Rose and Joseph
Samuel Beckett’s play “Endgame” is an expression of absurdism. An absurdist drama usually makes an audience depressed but at the same time tries to bring the audience closer to reality. A scene of absurdism is when “Nagg knocks on the lid of the other bin…the lid lifts and the hands of Nell appear, gripping the rim” and Nagg and Nell are nostalgic about the time “when [they] crashed on [their] tandem and lost [their] shanks” (772). Both characters laugh about it at first but as they remember the past more, their laughter become more meaningless. This portrays absurdism because it is abnormal to laugh about such tragic accident and their meaningless conversation resembles their lack of incentives in living. Rather than finding this scene humoristic, the audience feels more detached from the characters. However, this scene does make the audience question about their own reality and meaning in life as they try to find their purpose of living.
Throughout the narrative one may continue to ask him/herself whether or not there is a point to the lives of the characters in the play. Is there really a purpose for their existence? Is what they do in life significant or not? These are the questions Beckett attempts to tackle in his narrative. Surely enough, Endgame is a clear depiction of absurdism. Absurdism is a concept that explains that life is likely meaningless, but because we are unsure, we live life as if it has purpose. We see that in the play Hamm actually considers whether or not life has purpose when he states, “To think perhaps it won’t all have been for nothing!” (778). Although, not stated optimistically, this statement alone shows that Hamm has considered the idea of a life with meaning by stating, “it won’t all have been for nothing”. This consideration that Hamm makes is the distinguishing factor between what is absurdity and what is nihilism, and because he is uncertain, or unsure about the meaning of life, he chooses to live it with purpose anyway, an absurdist.
Despite the fact that the main characters are able to laugh about memories of the past, it is evident that their lives are meaningless. Thus, Endgame is an expression of nihilism. While describing a despondent man that he used to show things to, Hamm states, “Look! The sails of the herring fleet! All that loveliness! He’d snatched away his hand and go back into his corner. Appalled. All he had seen was ashes” (782). This specific man is “appalled” with humanity as a whole. He was shown things like fleets and plants: things described as “loveliness,” and would only see “ashes.” “Ashes,” in particular, is a word that holds true significance. It suggests that all of life is basically nothingness; life is burnt like ash. This shows the kind of demeanor Beckett is trying to express in his writing. Clearly, he supports nihilism because he is trying to assert that life is simply a delusion: it is meaningless, just like ash.
Absurdism and nihilism go hand in hand but in the case of Samuel Beckett’s play, like most is an expression of absurdism. Absurdism is the philosophy that one will look for meaning in the world and not find it, thus creating your own meaning for it. One can argue that it is nihilism because they chose their own faith and chose to repeat the same thing over and over but the philosophy of absurdism proves that Hamm and Clov were predestined this life. The story finished just how it started, Hamm had the handkerchief over his head and Clove never left his side after talking about leaving the whole time. Their life are cyclical, meaning it’s the same thing every day, thus giving their life no purpose. “Hamm stops him before he leaves and thanks him for his services. Clov thanks him, and Hamm says they are obliged to each other. He asks him for a last favor, to cover him with the sheet, but Clov has already left…He calls out for Clov, but hears nothing. He takes out his handkerchief, unfolds it, and says “You…remain.” He covers his face with the handkerchief and sits motionless.” Clove couldn’t see himself doing anything else and came back to a life he does not enjoy which by definition is absurd.
Overall Beckett’s Endgame depicts the gray area of absurdism and nihilism. It is evident that the characters in Endgame believe that life is meaningless. However the line that differentiates absurdism and nihilism is whether these characters choose to live their lives with purposes or not. The audience might perceive them to be living without any purpose but these characters are actually aware of their absurd situations. The characters can be seen as the few pieces left in a game of chess. Chess players, who are fully aware of the game, know when they will be defeated while the less experienced player will drag out the game to avoid their defeat as long as possible. Beckett’s characters resemble the players who prolong their defeats or situations. By doing so, they make it apparent that they understand their situations and try to drag on their lives as if they are trying to attach a purpose to their lives.
1 response so far ↓
JMERLE // Nov 22nd 2015 at 11:27 am
You all do a nice job creating a dialogue about the interplay of Nihilism and Absurdism. The third response captures this sense of Nihilism quite well, as the writer points out that any beauty at all turns to “ashes”. Also, the last response captures the atmosphere of Nihilism quite nicely, as the writer refers us back to the title and the chess motif, that these characters are simply waiting for defeat, but, as the writer also points out, the very “dragging out” of their “end” is an indication of their own (hopeless?) sense of hope.
The idea of Absurdism is also emphasized nicely in the first response, as the writer notes that laughing at our own tragic fate is, after all, a way of living with the tragedy of our lives, however bleak and dark that laughter is. Also, the fourth response does a nice job pointing to the cyclical nature of the play as being an indication of Absurdism, as the play (and our own lives?) simply repeats into eternity.
Think about the ending, specifically, in these terms, as we’ll discuss that more thoroughly in class on Wed.
Well done!
10/10