Some more processing of Waiting For Godot

"Hope deferred maketh the something sick..." -Vladimir
This is the quote that really allowed me to begin to understand what this play was about. It was the quote that set the stage for me and allowed me to feel the weight of their burder - their desire for Godot to arrive. There anticipation was the reason why they were there, why they kept on living, why they stood together and the reason they had any hope of being saved. If Godot didn't show up it would be a let down that made the "something" sick and we know that something is the heart.

I think that the tree growing leaves in the second act signified that there was still hope. There was still hope for salvation fo the the main characters - which would be realized at the arrival of Godot. Its in the simplest form of life that hope exists.

I think the repetition found in the script, the two acts and in the characters appearances was used to show that our lives are redudant at times. We have daily routines, habits, agendas that happen over and over.

Furthermore, I think the last converstation on the last page really ties it all together well. This to me is the summation of the entire play. If I was to propose an interpretation of the play I would say that Beckett is looking to poke fun at the absurdity of everyday life. He is looking to highlight the fact that mankind goes through life waiting for a reason to live it. Humans long to have a purpose, even if its found in someone or something they are not familiar with or fully sure of, like Godot's arrival. These two characters are anticipating Godot to be there means of salvation, as they put it. If he arrives - they are saved and if he doesn't they will hang themselves. Life with a purpose or death all depends on Godot's arrival - that's a lot of weight to put on a man they wouldn't even recognize if he walked in.

ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this.
VLADIMIR: That's what you think.
ESTRAGON: If we parted? That might be better for us.
VLADIMIR: We'll hang ourselves to-morrow. (Pause) Unless Godot comes.
ESTRAGON: And if he comes?
VLADIMIR: We'll be saved
Vladimir takes off his hat (Lucky's), peers inside it, feels about inside it, shakes it, knocks on the crown, puts it on again.

Processing....

"Waiting For Godot" may be one of the most unique plays I have ever read. I walked away not knowing how to describe it because of how little actually occured in the play. The characters conversed, they tried to entertain themselves, the encountered a few different people passing through and they called it a night when it became dark.

After doing some research on the play I found commentary bv Vivian Mercier, an Irish literary who was a student of Beckett’s work, and he said Beckett "... has achieved a theoretical impossibility—a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats. What's more, since the second act is a subtly different reprise of the first, he has written a play in which nothing happens, twice." (Irish Times, 18 February 1956, p. 6.). This really is how I felt by the end of the play – nothing had happened yet I didn’t read the play completely aggravated. I did begin to wonder when I read the second act why everything was happening again, and by everything I mean nothing.

I begin to think how that first audience must have felt. I don’t know if I could have sat through the play either. I know many got up and left the first showing and how can you blame them. I thought that maybe I was missing the deeper meaning and I found that many people have many interpretations of the play. However, Becket himself said that people are making to much of it. I think he did intend for it to be simple, a minimalist play and it doesn’t necessarily have to mean the deepest of things. With that, I think Becket did throw some lines in the play that do have a significant meaning. He made quite a few Biblical references, he discussed suicide, and he used a lot of repetition. What the meaning is of all of these different lines – I don’t know. I’m looking forward to hearing more opinions.

Pass.

"I went to Lake Bonny Park for this assignment, and I stayed there for at least 50 minutes."

Sometimes you just have to stop and take in beauty.

As I sat and just enjoyed reality, enjoyed the light, enjoyed the breeze, enjoyed the heat on my cheeks, enjoyed the shadows of the trees - I began to appreciate beauty all over again. Not only did I appreciate beauty, but I appreciated the creator of this beauty. What a spiritual moment to truly be still and know that He is God.

As I read the poem "Messenger" through numerous times the words seemed to come off the page. My work at that moment was truly to love the world. I honestly understood that nature was seeking sweetness. The fields were rejoicing. I was living forever in that moment. This poem should become a spiritual practice, because in this moment I was reminded how small I am in this beautiful creation, how small the cares of the world really are, how big our creator truly is and how little I can control.

The reality of God's sovereignty brings both humility and relief in equal measure. I am inadequate, in my weakness He is strong, many are the plans in my heart but thankfully it is HIS will that prevails. Ahh, all of this from the simple act of being still. Yet how rare of an occasion it is for me to stop, be still and know. The noise seems endless, the tasks pile on, the to-do list grows longer and longer, the worries filtrate in at an overwhelming rate, the needs of people are disheartening, money is always lacking, tomorrow is always too early and today isn't long enough, do-do-do, go-go-go that is the music of the world.

However, when I stopped I didn't hear the deafening racket that my life often plays, I heard a Jack Johnson beat and felt God's peace all around me.

"My work is loving the world,

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird -

Equal seekers of sweetness..."

"Red-Cheeked"

"Whenever I get home - whenever-

somebody loves me there."

It's currently 40 degrees in Howell, NJ. Transitioning from 80 degrees to 40 degrees can make any one's cheeks turn rosy. I'll be traveling on November 24th by plane. I'll get off the plane somewhat absent-minded about the cold because my mind will be preoccupied wondering who will be picking me up. They usually say its just my mom or just my sister, but more than likely a whole crowd will be gathered just around the corner - mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, uncle. Whats funny is that I'm always surprised - genuinely surprised too.
I also start to wonder where they'll be when I get off the plane. Will they be right at the gate, will they be around the corner at the end of the escalator, will they be waiting at baggage claim, or was traffic a little much this time so they will be just pulling up at the curb as I come off the plane? Oh the anticipation is so high every time. I guess 3 months is not the longest span of time to go without seeing someone, but its still is just as exhilarating.
I'll start walking down the narrow awkward aisle of the plane rubbing arms with people I've never met. I'll finally make it out the door into the shockingly breezy hanger that leads us all into the airport. I'll usually turn around to say good bye to whoever it is I befriended on the plane ride. Then the race is on, my heart is beating a million times a second and my mind starts all its wondering. When I finally figure out where they are all standing, I run and embrace whoever gets to me first. My eyes tear up a little - but I hold the tears back so I don't look so silly. I want them to know that I miss them but I don't want them to think I wasn't ok without them either. Anyway, we'll all walk very close together to the baggage claim - my brother-in-law usually grabs my bag and gets one of the first conversations with me while walking to the car.
The automatic doors leading outside slide open and all at once I remember where I am. The cold slaps me in the face. My cheeks turn red almost instantly. My body clings to itself in survival mode. My teeth start to chatter. And I begin to do an awkward trot/jog to the car. The feeling of the cold is overwhelming yet oddly refreshing, because at that moment I know where I am. "Whenever I get home - whenever - somebody loves me there.' Ahh, what a comforting assurance, what a privilege - one that is so often overlooked by those who think that love is the norm.
I loved this poem: "Walking Home From Oak-Head", because this is the time when I cannot wait to have the experience described above. This poem described the feeling of arriving home so wonderfully - as I read it my heart was so pleased. I cannot wait to be home for Thanksgiving!!