In the Endgame text and performance both had a very dark and deep story line. In both, I felt the loneliness and the sadness that each character expressed. The big difference for me was when I was reading the Endgame, I felt as though Clov was a very sad man. I felt as though he had dark humor and was only even communicating to Hamm because Hamm would initiate the conversation. However, in the performance Clov was not as sad, he almost had a very bubbly personality and made light of some situations. Only when he become flustered by some of Hamm’s request was when he seemed to be sad or angry. Also, in the performance I felt a lot of sympathy towards Hamm, that I did not in reading the text. I felt as though he did not get along with his parents but in the same sense, they did not get along with him. I felt like Hamm was trying to communicate to each character because he craved their attention. For example he had to bride his father to listen to him when he was telling his story, and even than Nagg did not really care about what Hamm was saying. While in the text I thought of him as selfish and ungrateful, which he is in the performance as well, but I felt more sympathy towards him.
-Kelly Kay
I completely agree with Clov perceived as a bubbly character during the play. I was expecting Clov to be a grumpy or moody character. I assumed Hamm’s character and behavior would take a huge toll on Clov. Despite that, watching the play gave me a better understanding on each character’s perspective. I didn’t realize that Hamm craves his parents’ attention, but you do bring up a good point about his father. On the other hand, Hamm had a very indifferent attitude with his parents. His parents are placed in trash cans and this doesn’t seem to bother Hamm.
As Kelly says:”I felt as though Clov was a very sad man.” I couldn’t agree more. When I was reading the text, I imaged Clov as a tall Russian spy wearing some dark color knee length overcoat, constantly wearing a motionless face and speaking in low pitch so that the emotions are perfectly covered. However, in the performance, there was a Clov who seems super energetic and always speaks in a high pitch. I would say that they were not just different, they were the two poles of a magnet. But now I have come to understand why in the performance Clov acts like a naive young boy with positive emotions all the time. It is actually quite realistic because many people would do the same thing: conceive the absurdity of life and then, act like nothing happened.
Zeyu.