Online Thinking Activity on the Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett

My views on this worksheet : Waiting for Godot

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                                   Waiting For Godot

                                

·    What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?

Ans. Beckett has intetionally used this setting after viewing the painting in gallary. The title of the painting is 'Longing' but Beckett uses 'Waiting' here because he want to say waiting means Longing for Godot. The Tree is symbolically used here like cross where Christ crucified , they are waiting second coming of christ. 

·  In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?

Ans. In both the acts, evening falls into night and moon rises which can be interepret in a way that nature never wait for anything or time is not stop or wait for anything. It continues but human condition is to wait for Godot in a play and no any changes happen.

·       The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?

Ans. Yes, we can take deep meaning of the debris that is because of the  destruction happen after the WWII.

·       The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?

Ans. 'Nothingness' or ' Meaninglessness' is the main theme of the Absurd Theatres. In Waiting for Godot, this theme works very well that characters wait and wait , doing nothing. We are doing so many works in our life but all are meaningless in life. We also sometimes feel that we do the things though it seems nothing happens. Same way in the play the more changes happen, more remain same.

·       How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?

Ans. Hat and Boots are symbolically used in this play. Vladimir plays with Hat which seems that he is thinking somethind and Estragon plays with boots which suggests ignorense. 

·       “The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?

Ans. I agree with this point that the main theme of the play is not Godot but  'Waiting' because in life we are one or other way wait for something like most people wait for Moksh, success. Waiting is worst punishment that we can't bear and be angry , so we try to divert our mind in other things which we do in our whole life.

· Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?

Ans. In life, many time we put into the situations where we fed up of sufferings and struggles of life at that time we think of suicide but we don't do that in real life. We go on living a life because somehow we fear that what  happen with othes. So , perhaps the Beckett wants satarise this types of people by the character of Estragon and Vladimir who think of suicide but don't do that.

·       Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of  slavishness is unbelievable?

                                                                    

Ans. Yes, Lucky's obidience is extremely irritating and nauseatic. Some people are so obidient to their master that even they can't grap or see the chance  to free from that slavery but they are become so obidient to their masters. In socirty,  we find many people or Bhaktas who are too submissive to their masters even if their gurus or political gone blind. They don't questions anyone  and they became victim of slave morality.

Thank you.

Discussion on Rakhi Day and Shitala Satam

On Eve of Rakhi Day and Shitala Satam, we discussed about it that how age old rights and rituals are still present in our culture in one or other way with reference of an Article by Neha Shah on 'Necessity to expand the meaning of Rakhi Day'.

Here is my views on this topic. 

As Literature students, We know how the age old myths are still present and people strictly follow it even after so many years. As Neha Shah has put very suitable arguments on the meaning of Rakhi Day, I have also experience that all as I have brother younger than me , how he protects? I am elder than him and I protects him and fulfill his wish because somehow I economically independent but still my mother perpetuates the man's ego that when he grown up he will protect me and fulfill my wishes. So, how the traditional mindset is still works, it should be as per situation of time, in old days women were not economically independent , so they have to depend on man but now situation has changed, through that the meaning of Rakhi Day should be change that it is symbol of love, it can be between two brothers and sisters also. For example, Shakti Mohan, she is successful dancer and judge in reality show Dance+3 , she has not any brother but has three sisters in which one is singer, other is Actress and third one has no any talent but she was backbone of all three sisters. So , they celebrate Rakhi Day with each other. So, the way of looking towards Rakhi Day should be change otherwise if responsibility to protect sisters can be given to brothers, the right to control the freedom of sisters automatically come with it.

     Secondly, Today on eve of Shitala Satam, there many rituals and myth of it. Myth is told in such way that gives fear to people that if they don't follow such rituals, Goddess punish them. Some people force other to follow it, if they want or not. By doing such rituals like in morning three old woman come and from seven home, water infused on them because such people believed that they are figure of Goddess Shitala, people remember Shitala Goddess while we should remember Edward Jener who gave solution and saved children from pox disease but when we suffered from that disease , people say it's blessings for you. So, the mind of people conditioning in such way that they don't remember scientist Edward Jener.