— Alexandra Shyklo
One text that we’ve read “in class” that I feel as though I did not thoroughly understand, and therefore could not thoroughly enjoy, is “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett. I put “in class” in quotation marks because my class analyzed this text as a portion of our distance-learning curriculum, during the pandemic. It was originally supposed to be a group presentation and discussion with the class, but, due to the circumstances, the group that was going to present had made up questions for us to answer instead. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world, though, because the situation made me more inclined to read and analyze the text thoroughly.
Endgame is a complicated text and, in my opinion, can very easily be misinterpreted. There is a boat-load of information throughout, and some of the minor details mentioned seemed super irrelevant to the plot. Certain points in the text seem to act as hyperbolic metaphors, when, in reality, the author means everything very literally. For instance, when my group discussed the text for the first time, one of the members said they didn’t realize that Hamm’s parents were actually in trash bins, and I can understand why someone would think that. Beckett made it seem as though he is trying to imply something else because this is such an unrealistic scenario in real life. The group who made up the questions for the class actually asked us if we think the trash bins represent or can equate to a nursing home, and I thought that was a really interesting question to think about. Hamm treated his parents as if they were old and useless, and put them in trash bins to not have to worry about them, which I guess is kind of similar to a nursing home. I’d rather be in a nursing home, though, since he treated his parents like actual garbage.
What really helped me understand the text a bit better, though, was my group member’s suggestion to we watch the play as we read it. It made the plot and context a lot easier to grasp. The way the play is written as a text makes it extremely difficult to picture the story since it’s written with insignificant details about the performance itself. The narration differs from that of a short story. Therefore, I do recommend watching the play on YouTube as you read it. Watching the characters’ expressions and being able to visualize the technical elements made it more enjoyable for me as a reader.
Even after watching the play in action, I did have some questions and uncertainty. One thing I couldn’t fully comprehend was what was going on outside of the room they were in. Maybe this was Beckett’s intention, but it was continuously implied that something happened in the world that deemed the characters unable to go anywhere. Clov didn’t seem to be very reliable with the things he saw, and I feel like the story could have been stronger if the audience had a bit more knowledge about all the other elements outside of the room. I also wish we knew more about some characters and why Hamm treats them the way he does because it made his character very difficult to like. Overall, the plot didn’t seem to have a very deep meaning to me and could have been stronger, but I did end up enjoying it a bit more after watching it online.
