— Anonymous
When I first read Samuel Beckett’s play “Endgame,” I don’t understand the meaning of the trash bin. After looking at the discussion board, I find more clear and specific understanding of the trash bin. One idea inspires me a lot is that the trash bin is a signal of generation conflict. In my generation, all my friends and I face a same problem which is we don’t know how to deal with the relationship between ourselves and parents. Taking myself as an example, I left my parents to study aboard at a young age. Sometimes I want to accompany them, but when we have a video telephone, we always quarrel with each other. It is because we have a different opinion on somethings and we can’t understand mutual opinions, rather than we don’t love each other. This problem is very usual in our generation, sometimes I even can hear the quarrel between my roommate and their parents. I will suggest them to communicate with their parents in patience. But when I talk to my parents, I also will show my bad temper.
In Endgame, I feel so despair about the theme, which showing a bad family tie. One theme of Endgame is that humans are inherently isolated. Hamm put his parents in the trash bin to let them rot. Trash bin seems like a satire, mocking the kids’ irresponsibility. There is an old saying in Chinese, that “bring up sons to support parents in their old age”. It is rather unmoral to place parents into nursing house when parents are old. In Chinese tradition’s social rule, it is very unethical to leave old parents into a nursing house, since this activity against filial piety, which is kids should care for and accompany with parents when they are old and ill. But in my generation, the traditional Chinese tradition is not very prevalent. Therefore, When I grow old, I would rather to live in nursing house, accompanying with my old friends.
Endgame seems to covey an idea that the worst things is to be born and the best thing is to be dying, which is very passive and pessimism. The death is a reality and it is better to be prepared for death. But in my opinion, even we already know everyone’s destiny, but everyone should endeavor in work and study, and pay a great effort to make the live more meaningful. “Endgame” is a certain move in chess, which describes an ending in chess where the outcome is already known. In chess, someone loses, and someone wins. But in this play, no one wins but all dies. Living the life is analogous to playing chess. All the characters are waiting for death. The negative theme really shocks me, since I don’t believe that people should squander their lives and times when they know that they will die in the end. I firmly believe that, people should trade everyday as the last day in their lives, trying their best to make the life meaningful.
