Waiting for Godot - help

[David]

I'm doing an essay on how Beckett plays with the audience's desire to find hope and redemption in the play. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[waxmephilosophical]

Pretty much just the fact that day after day, Gogo and Didi sit out there and wait for this man who probably doesn't exist to rescue them from their pointless lives explains Beckett's point really well. They know he's not coming, but Godot is their reason for living; he's their hope that tomorrow might be the day that they're rescued from their poverty and misery and loneliness; and if he does come, they'll have a chance to redeem themselves and make their lives into something. By putting three acts in the play which are almost exact replicas of each other, the reader believes that something different may happen in each act. (Of course, it doesn't take long to figure out that nothing will.) Also, doesn't Lucky leave Pozzo? I would say that's an example of Beckett playing with the reader. It makes you believe that maybe he went off and found a better life, and quit being Pozzo's footstool; therefore, there's hope for the rest of the characters. There's still some spark of humanity that made him want to leave the meaninglessness behind and have hope for a better life. (Excuse me if that's wrong...it's been a while since I read it.) Does this help at all?

[David]

Yes, thanks a lot. Only correction is there's two acts, not three.

[waxmephilosophical]

Told you it'd been a while!