—Veronica Chu
“Endgame” by Samuel Beckett was a very interesting short story. The story was about two male characters named Clov and Hamm who lived together and had a complicated relationship and of course there are their parents too. These parents were not treated with the best care and they seem very sad. When I first read the short story, it was very difficult to understand and picture what was happening in the story. I have decided to choose this text because I want to talk about why the text was hard to understand and how it was not as enjoyable for me until we did group discussions. I was having trouble picturing what was happening and the darkness of it all because they were trapped in the room with no way out. So, I watched the play for “Endgame” to get a better understanding. The play gave me a better picture of the room and it made the scenes more vivid. Without watching the play, I couldn’t really understand what was happening, and the scenes were a little repetitive to emphasize on why Clov couldn’t leave Hamm even though they despise each other. The text was very dark and relatable considering what happens in the real world. People are mistreated every day and trying to leave that kind of toxic relationship may be hard for some people. It isn’t as easy because we all crave for someone to be there when we are all alone. I didn’t find the text as enjoyable; I think that it is too real and too close to home due to the reality of life. The way the parents were thrown in the trash bins and left there with no real care made it really sad for me. Also, I didn’t understand why they were treated that way because I don’t think I would ever do something like that to my parents and having my grandmother around in the house with me is honestly the best thing ever. After discussing this with my classmates I found the text more enjoyable because reading their personal responses helped a lot since it was very personal and seeing that people can relate to the short story in many aspects made it more enjoyable. The way they would want to be treated when they grow old helped me understand that it may not be as dark as I think and understand the trash bins are like nursing homes. Everyone has their own way that they want things to be done and that we tend to throw away things that will only drag us down or that is not useful to us anymore. The discussion gave me a better understand of not just the story but also my classmates that I don’t get to see anymore because we are also trapped in our house just like they are in the story. It gave me a different perspective to life. Therefore, this is why I choose “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett.
