Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot: The Dual Motif

Abstract

Following two world wars, the human essence was affected by pessimism and a loss of faith. As a result, new existentialist literature was produced, resulting in a new wave of absurdist fiction plays. The theatre of the absurd was first termed by Martin Esslin, whereas the term ‘absurd’ was first used by Albert Camus in his classic essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” a tragic comedy, (1952) is among the most mysterious dramas of the twentieth century that represents the philosophy of absurdism. By adopting the philosophy of theatre of the absurd in analyzing “Waiting for Godot,” this study focuses on Beckett’s employing the dual motif in the plot of the play and its implications, represented in chances that play a significant role rather than logic in the characters’ lives. As a result, the study concludes that Beckett’s use of such a technique underlines the equal opportunities in the world of the play, where chances have their effects on humans; Godot might or might not come, and the characters might leave or not: illustrating the unpredictability of the real world.