Look for images of mobility and immobility in Act I. What effect does on of these images have on Beckett’s text?
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Look for images of mobility and immobility in Act I. What effect does on of these images have on Beckett’s text?
Comments are closed.
Throughout Act I of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, there are recurring images of mobility and immobility, as the characters seem trapped in a sort of static loop that they are unable to break out of. Estragon and Vladimir first meet beneath a tree on a country road, a locale that remains the setting for the entirety of the drama. Early on in the play, Estragon snaps at his counterpart, “I’m going,” while the stage direction directly contradicts him, explicitly stating, “He does not move.” Often, one of the men remarks to the other that they should get up and leave, and while they discuss mobility in theory, neither actually moves off-stage. At one point, Vladimir even tells Estragon that if they were to part, “You [Estragon] wouldn’t go far.” This says just as much about the codependence between the men as it does the actual thematic element of immobility within the play. Estragon comments, “Don’t let’s do anything. It’s safer.” The men are confined, trapped by a lack of will combined with paralyzing fear. In essence, they seem stripped of their free-will, though, paradoxically, their choosing to stay and wait for the mysterious Godot is, in itself, a decision they have made. They contemplate action and discuss decisions, but never truly make a conscious choice. In the conclusion of Act I, the men decide that it is “not worth” it to part and move along, and shortly thereafter, as the duo decides to go, again, neither moves an inch. These repetitive images reinforce themes of confinement and restraint. The characters reside in personal prisons, locking themselves into a routine that they have mentally deemed compulsory. While Lucky, the servant boy of Pozzo, is quite literally a captive without free-will, the other men of the tale are confined by their own decisions, or lack thereof. This lends an air of distressing stagnancy to the play, making the reader squirm for action, for purpose, for some semblance of excitement. However, this is Beckett’s intended effect, and it forms a very striking relationship between author and audience. The uncertainty, immobility, and apathy that drive Godot are forces very much reflected in our own lives and perhaps that is what the discomfort in reading the text arises from; not so much a desire for action, but a reflected fear of our own immobility and stationary existence.
At the very beginning Estragon is under a tree, trying to relieve himself of his boots and thats when Vladimir walks up to him. Vladimir and Estragon are under the tree throughout the act and this shows that the setting is not moving. That would give the reader an immobile image of two friends just hanging out in one spot waiting for another friend who is taking his time to come meet them. The only physical movement would be the part where Pozzo and Lucky pass by them. This image gives the reader a course and Beckett may have introduced two characters who would help the plot take it’s course.
(Ignore previous comment please)
At the very beginning Estragon is under a tree, trying to relieve himself of his boots and thats when Vladimir walks up to him. Vladimir and Estragon are under the tree throughout the act and this shows that the setting is not moving. That would give the reader an immobile image of two friends just hanging out in one spot waiting for another friend who is taking his time to come meet them. At one point
Vladimir thought he heard Godot coming at page 11 where Vladimir says “Listen!” and they heard a hissing noise which turned out to be the wind. The only physical movement would be the part where Pozzo and Lucky pass by them. This image gives the reader a course and Beckett may have introduced two characters who would help the plot take it’s course. Vladimir and Estragon go through some weird moments mostly in immobility, such as the part where Estragon fell asleep and after Vladimir awoke him, he started talking about his nightmare. Sometimes when good friends wait on another one, they start making conversation and talk about random events.
Throughout the play, there are many moments of immobility. Towards the beginning Estragon says “I’m going” but then does not move. This repeats a few times throughout the act. Then again at the end of the first act they finally decide to go but then do not move. They are there to wait for Godot and seem to struggle to leave their post before meeting him. They can, but won’t, similar to how Lucky may leave Pozzo but doesn’t. There is a lack of individualism that connects all characters. Actually, the only character who is presented alone is the boy, though he is under Godot’s command. In each relation there is a power dynamic, Pozzo is Lucky’s master, Godot is the boy’s master, and Estragon is presented as inferior to Vladimir. When Pozzo comes across Estragon and Vladimir he seems to be influenced by their immobility. When he gives his goodbyes and prepares to leave (and needs a whole drawn out running start to actually leave), he says “I don’t seem to be able….to depart.” It is this inability to leave that suggests a non-progressive existence in these characters, or in all humanity. By confusing the boy who brought the message this day with the boy who brought the message yesterday, it is known that they have been waiting there, caught in the same scene, day after day. It is the scene itself, the country road with the tree, what is displayed on the stage, that has this inescapable quality. The reader, along with Vladimir, Estragon, and Pozzo, becomes stuck in this scene. Time is unable to be marked; when day turns to night it is instant. This takes away the importance of time, blurring a sense of history. This connects the present moment to the moment of the first man (Adam), equating this scene with all other past scenes; one repetitive plane of existence.
@Alanna: I agree with your analysis about this fear of immobility and stationary existence that is evoked by the play. The instances of mobility, whether on the stage and temporally are indeed in this “static loop.” According to your analysis, there’s this desire to move and go somewhere – a possibility that is implied by meeting Godot – but the impasse of what is unknown keeps them from following through with their intentions. Pozzo was on his way to the fair to sell Lucky and yet they return again the next day together. There is security in the mundane, familiar, routine and surely, from those memories of the past in Rhone or Paris to their current situation has warned them against making the next move and not knowing where they will end up.
Well, they are in a road near a tree. It’s an open space outside where they can easily go anywhere they desire, but yet don’t move too far throughout act one. Then we have the rope Pozzo uses to keep Lucky close to him. Even though the rope is keeping Lucky within a certain radius, it seems to be a long rope because when they first enter the stage Lucky walks all the way across before the audience can see Pozzo. On the other hand, Estragon is not tied to a rope, but somehow he seems to be tied closer to Vladimir than Lucky to Pozzo. Here you have someone who is tied to a rope and wishes to stay tied to that rope near his master, then you have Estragon who is free to walk away and desires to do so, but cannot seem to get away from Vladimir. Estragon and Vladimir have been in this “relationship” for so long that at this point they are just comfortable with each other, but not necessarily happy. Pozzo’s relationship with Lucky is somewhat similar to Vladimir’s and Estragon. One is always putting the other down and holding them back because they know they would probably be better off without them.
@gc152847: I think that’s a really interesting point you bring up about movement being entrenched in not only the hierarchy of power in this play, but how much these characters rely on each other as well. Whether through embracing and supporting each other, or belittling and beating each other, the characters are really the ones preventing each other from moving on and getting where they need to go. While Pozzo seems to be Lucky’s master, the truth is that they are literally tied to each other, and neither can move without each other. This is especially poignant when Pozzo reveals that Lucky was the one “who taught [him] all… beautiful things” [24] and then dissolves into tears, “He used to be so kind… so helpful… and entertaining… my good angel… and now… he’s killing me.” [26] The “static loop” Alanna mentioned continues because the power play is so complex.
This whole play is about immobility. Vladimir and Estragon spend so much time waiting in the same location for Godot. Granted, they do not know what Godot looks like or when exactly he is supposed to show up, but they allowed that to keep them from moving. Vladimir and Estragon actually had the chance to meet with Godot instead of waiting for him and not being sure when he was going to actually show up (or if he would even show at all). When the young boy who minds Godot’s comes to tell them that Godot would not be arriving that day, instead of questioning the boy about things that did not matter in that moment, they could have followed him back to Godot’s place. They did not think of this and instead chose to continue to wait.