Below are some of your more poignant comments about themes and motifs that connect all three of these works to Endgame. Think about these comments carefully, as it will help you to put this half of the semester in perspective, and also greatly help you for the final exam.
Themes/idea that connect all (or most) of these works:
The idea of isolation, that we are all essentially isolated from each other and the world around us; the struggle to find meaning (and the idea that there is, perhaps, none); the idea of existence being nothing more that a routine, or a vicious cycle (and Radia calls this “an exhausting and constant cycle,” which is interesting); the idea of being trapped in a world (not really meant for us?); the idea that life is essentially suffering; that the “darkness” of the world far outweighs any “light” (but do these works also show some hope?); there is essentially no real meaning to our existence, but we have to exist: So what does that mean about the way we should live our lives? Mel asks this question, and I think it is an important one, and she points out, too the interdependence of Clov and Hamm and asks: “Is this need of dependence really necessary?”
Many of you point to the line, “The horror of the earth will remain where it lies,” Chi offers the idea that “That horror will stay where it is as long as the characters themselves do not choose to actually go out and break their routines”; the idea that we have nothing of our own but our own loneliness (a bleak thought!).