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CHARACTERS
AS SYMBOLS
At this stage of the teaching of the text, it should be quite
clear to the students that GODOT is not about the social or
political situation of any particular people or individuals.
As Andrew Kennedy observes, the characters names, Estragon,
Vladmir, Pozzo and Lucky, are respectively French, Russian,
Italian and English (35). That the main characters, Vladmir
and Estragon, are stripped almost to the bare of any social
background has led many critics to convincingly conclude that
they represent Everyman, Vladmir representing the intellectual
dimension and Estragon the physical dimension of man.
Without first giving
this revelation to students, the teacher may assign them to
look closely at the two characters and to write on a piece
of paper any noticeable differences between the two, using
the binary opposition model (for example good/evil, light/darkness,
sun/moon). The following is likely to be the consensus of
the class:
| VLADMIR
|
ESTRAGON |
| He often takes off his hat
and peers inside it as if it contained something. |
He often takes off his boots
and peers inside them as if they contained something.
|
| He has read the Bible thoroughly.
He scrutinizes especially the gospels, on the subject
of salvation. |
He has no interest in Bible
stories. All he remembers from the Bible are
the maps of the Holy Land which were painted in color;
he particularly remembers the color of the Red Sea.
|
| His breath stinks. |
His feet stinks.
|
| He has a sense of dignity. |
He has no sense of dignity.
|
| He has a good memory |
He has a bad memory.
He only remembers who gave him food and who kicked him
the previous day, thingsthat have to do with the body.
|
| He is compassionate. |
He is violently inclined.
|
| He has a will to live. |
He once attempted suicide by
drowning in the Rhone and Vladmir fished him out. |
If these differences are probed from students and orderly
put on the blackboard for all to see, it should not be hard
to convince them (if they have not reached the conclusion
themselves) to agree with many critics that Vladmir and Estragon
are the intellectual and physical components of man. Although
one would be tempted to use the usual dichotomy body/spirit,
on a closer look Vladmir hardly represents the spirit; after
all, "his breath stinks" (33).
Students here, as elsewhere, should be asked to give other
textual evidence to show that the two characters are actually
one. For example, Vladmir and Estragon say that they have
been inseparable for the past fifty years. Also, their reason
for not committing suicide to escape their misery is that
they are afraid one of them may not die. In fact, many times
they think that their lot would be better off if they separated
and they decide to do so, but they do not act on it.
Clearly, this analysis of Vladmir and Estragon logically leads
to the conclusion that the play is about man in general waiting
for Godot. At this stage of teaching the text, the question
of Godot's identity seems quite pertinent.
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