SUMMARY
After
Pozzo and Lucky depart, Vladimir once again tells Estragon that they cannot
leave because they are waiting for Godot. They argue about whether Pozzo and
Lucky have changed, and Estragon suddenly complains of pain in his other foot.
A
boy enters timidly, saying that he has a message from Mr. Godot. Estragon
bullies the boy, who reveals that he has been waiting a while but was afraid of
Pozzo and Lucky. When Estragon shakes the boy, badgering him to tell the truth,
Vladimir yells at him and sits down and begins to take off his boots.
Meanwhile,
Vladimir talks to the boy. He asks him if he is the one who came yesterday, but
the boy tells him that he is not. The boy tells Vladimir that Mr. Godot will
not come this evening, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir then
asks the
boy
if he works for Mr. Godot, and the boy tells him that he minds the goats. The
boy says that Mr. Godot does not beat him, but that he beats his brother who
minds the sheep.
Vladimir
asks the boy if he is unhappy, but the boy does not know. He tells the boy that
he can go, and that he is to tell Mr. Godot that he saw them. The boy runs off
the stage and, as he goes, it suddenly becomes night.
Estragon
gets up and puts his boots down at the edge of the stage. Vladimir tells him
that the boy assured him that Godot will come tomorrow. He tries to drag
Estragon offstage to shelter, but Estragon will not go. Estragon wonders if
they should part, but they decide to go together. As the curtain falls, they
remain still.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This
section begins with the most commonly repeated dialogue in the play, in which
Estragon wants to go and Vladimir tells him that they are waiting for Godot.
This section provides evidence for a religious reading of the play as Estragon
compares himself to Christ when he decides to go barefoot. When Vladimir tells
him not to compare himself to Christ, Estragon responds that "all my life
I've compared myself to him."
Vladimir's
statement that he pretended not to recognise Pozzo and Lucky suggests that he
has met them before. This indicates that the actions presented in the first act
of the play may have happened before, calling attention to events that occur
outside the frame of the play. The same thing occurs when Vladimir asks the boy
if he came yesterday, revealing that they were waiting yesterday with the same
result. This suggests that the same events have been going on for some time;
the two acts of the play are merely two instances in a long pattern of
ceaselessly repeating events.
The end of Act I
establishes Vladimir and Estragon's hopelessness. Even when they both agree to
go, and Vladimir says "Yes, let's go," the two men do not move. Even
their resolution to go is not strong enough to produce action. This inability
to act renders Vladimir and Estragon unable to determine their own fates.
Instead of acting, they can only wait for someone or something to act upon
them.
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