“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett and his Biography

Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett Sofia Sahagun Mrs. Epperson AP English December 14, 2018  The Author and his/her times: The author of the famous novel Waiting for Godot is Samuel Beckett. Beckett was born on April 13, 1906, in Dublin, Ireland and, died on December 22, 1989, in Paris, France. Beckett was raised in Paris by his parents William and Mary Becket. Mary spent many of her time with both her children showing them what is correct and what is wrong. As for William, he was a very good father who showed love to nature and golf with his children. Beckett's family were also devoted Protestants. During the Irish Civil War, William decided to take Beckett to see Dublin ignite in flames.

The author writes about his childhood as joyous but then adds that he was surrounded by sadness. This is because Wars occurred during his childhood. (Esslin, Martin J) One of his literary influencers was James Joyce who invited Beckett to contribute to an opening essay called Finnegans Wake. Eventually, this caused him to be open to the public and therefore, he started to be recognized by other authors. Beckett started working on a poem called Whoroscope, which ultimately became his first separately published works. This gave him his lifetime interest in the theme of time. ( 'Samuel Beckett Biography.") Beckett studied Romantic Language at Trinity College from 1923 to 1927. Afterward, when the time of World War One began he had to hide to avoid getting killed. While he hid he wrote his second novel Watt, it was published once he returned to Paris. When he returned to Paris he wrote the novels; Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable, and Waiting for Godot. In 1969 Beckett received a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Beckett was an excellent humorous man who had fabulous journeys in his life which persuaded his ideas in literature and gave him the possibility of creating creative novels. (Gussow, Mel) Form, Structure, and Plot: The text is organized in chronological order as events occur in the story. The length of the novel is 85 pages, and it has two acts. The play begins with two gentlemen who at first seem lost and confused, they eventually come to the conclusion that they were waiting for someone called Godot. We eventually get revealed that we do not know who Godot really is or if he even exists. The reader can tell that the author took lots of things into consideration, this is because in act two he makes sure that the reader understands that the same things are occurring in both acts. In both the acts, the author lets the reader know that the main characters are getting flashbacks as if events have already occurred. This makes the reader think about what is happening and why these characters are having these flashbacks. The plot of this play is complex because even though the idea of this plot seems boring the author manages to keep the audience interested and wanting more. There are parts throughout the play that leave the audience wondering why the characters acted some way. An example of this is in act one when Estrogen and Vladimir start talking about how they would commit suicide and what would happen if they did. The entire play covers two days. The play begins with Estragon struggling to take his boots off. For some reason, he can not take them off on his own. Vladimir tries helping him take them off but instead he ends up tearing them.

In the final scene, the audience sees Vladimir and Estragon talking about suicide once again. They come to the conclusion that they should hang themselves. They tell each other that they are going to do it unless Godot finally arrives. These scenes are significant because at the end of the novel Estragon can take off his boots and so the reader knows that something has changed. The audience can infer that this means that Estragon has emotionally detached himself from something. This could be hope because they both start losing hope on Godot arriving. So, therefore this is why they now determine that they will commit suicide. Point of View: The novel is written in first person view it varies between characters as they speak throughout the play. The reader walks into the novel from a present point of view. The perspective that the reader gets is limited because the reader does not know how all characters feel at all times. The perspectives the reader get change as different characters speak. The author makes his point of view like this so that the reader can put themselves in the shoes of each character. This makes the reader understand the characters and feel what they are going through. This gives the audience the full experience of the play.  Character: In this play, there are five characters: Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo, Lucky, and the Boy. The main Characters being Estragon and Vladimir. They are the round characters because the audience walks into the play with both these characters.

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