Jacqueline Devine:
Although these works do have a common feeling of suffering like Francesca mentioned in her post, I find the bleakness between all these pieces to be one of the most evident themes. Just like Endgame’s absurd plot, “Breath” is a rather cold and dark piece. The constant sound of breaths combined with the raw images of trash creates an empty feeling. On that same note, Mallarme’s poem leaves the reader with a bitter note as the swam is “in his exile rendered motionless” despite its “defiance,” which is similar to Beckett’s ending in Endgame for Hamm and his inevitable loneliness. Finally, Sartre’s writing on the chestnut tree and its mere basic and fundamental existence compares to Endgame through the feeling of nothingness in the reality of it all. Both Hamm and Clov exemplify this bleak emotion in their never ending, pointless actions within their stark living conditions.
2 responses so far ↓
f.zaman1 // May 4th 2017 at 9:01 pm
I agree with your perspective that the connecting theme is bleakness. All of the characters portray some sort of sign of discouragement and hopelessness. The setting of these works support this idea as well. In the Endgame for instance, the setting takes place in a dull and dark room with high windows. Not to mention the living standards of Clov’s parents. There also seems to be an indication that not only do the the main characters feel some sort of dispairment, but a sense that their lives have no meaning and no ultimate goal. This is depicted in all three works.
k.parkinson1 // May 4th 2017 at 9:43 pm
I like the connections you make with the Endgame and the rest of the works. They all express negative emotions and a bleak outlook on life. Especially with “The Chestnut Tree”, whereas Roquentin is trying to find the meaning of human existence. Eventually, he comes up with the idea that existence is free and there is nothingness behind it. As you said in your comparison with the Endgame. In a way, these stories remind me of nihilism. Whereas in philosophy it means extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence. So looking at “The Chestnut Tree” we can definitely see a bit of nihilism in there. As well as in the Endgame, where Clov tried to “stop” the “rebirth of humanity” by killing a flea.
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