The play, Endgame, by Samuel Beckett is a tragicomedy that does not have any correct meaning to it’s story, but rather is a piece of literature that can help us make sense of the world. The play helps to depict, in what I find to be a more truthful, worth view through the use of absurdness and nihilism. Through the use of the absurd, and a nihilistic tone, the play breaks away from any previous “absolute” meanings that humans have, and puts us at a zero point (the core of human purpose).

The play, from the beginning to the end, does not have a plot that would, traditionally, get developed to where it would then be concluded with a moral/ lesson. The dialogue between the characters are rather absurd, because they demonstrate meaninglessness towards life and human values. For example, when Hamm says, “But we breath, we change! We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom! Our ideals!”, it shows how growth can reasonably be viewed as losing. This is rather not logical (absurd), because growth is commonly viewed as obtaining, but here no matter how much you can learn or develop, it’s going to be lost regardless. In addition, the play exposes our human nature to avoid solidarity, purposelessness, and pain. For instance, when Hamm and Clov confront each other with the question of why they keep each other, it shows that there really isn’t clear reason as to why. Clov says that he doesn’t have anywhere to go and Hamm doesn’t have anyone to be company to him. But, then why is this the limit of their existence? It’s absurd that anyone would remain in the position of being a servant, but is this worse than being left in solidarity and have no purpose?

The challenges that the nihilistic tone of the play poses is what do humans do if life is so meaningless and depressing. From this play, it seems that there are really only two options when confronted existentialism. They are: death, or participating in a master-slave relationship. Death can go about in two different ways, that being just suffering a meaningless life till death, or choosing suicide to avoid the pain. The master-slave relationship gives purpose, only as far as a purpose for two humans. Yet, there is another option that humans can go about, that is evident in Hamm’s and Clov’s dialogues. It is to chose who we are with stories and the different fragmented ideas that are found in life. Since, we do not have any preconceived notions of meaning or self, we are then more free than ever to control our futures, and to choose our stories that will serve to be the meaning of our existence.