Obedience and Submissiveness in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot Ess

Obedience and Submissiveness in Waiting for Godot Samuel Becketts pessimistic attitude about the existence of man lead him to write unmatchable of the best contemporary plays known to the twentieth century. Even with its bland unchanging set, clown-like characters, and seemingly meaningless theme, Waiting for Godot, arouses the awareness of human tragedy through the characters tragical flaws. Charles Lyons feels, a characters attitude of the space in which he lives, shows a range of detail marking economic status, social classification, and psychology (Lyons 19). Beckett uses the character, Lucky, as a parable for Man. Using fleshly, mental, and social blemishes, Lucky exemplifies Becketts idea that universal man is a slave to his own being. First Lucky symbolizes mans slavery in a physical sense. Lucky has a master that instructs him where to go and what to do. Lucky is physically trussed with a rope to his master, but in a sense is also tied to him by fear of bein g alone. Lucky is asked by two tramps to dance, but refuses. Lucky only dances at his master command. Lucky is also a slave to weakness. When Lucky does finally dance, he shuffles chaotically. Ramona Cormier and Janis Pallister describe Luckys movements as stiff and ungraceful. They believe it is because he is use to being loaded down with burdens...his body is uneffective to move freely (Cormier and Pallister 13). Brooks feels that age has diminished Luckys dance to a few ineffectual, spasmodic memories of a past ritual (Brooks 294). Lucky calls his dance the discharge (Beckett, Act I 27). It is ironical that Lucky does not escape the net that restricts him from being independent. The last physical characteristic of slavery that Lucky exemplifi... ... C. The Mythic normal in Waiting for Godot. Modern Drama 9 (1966/67) 292-299. Carey, Gary, and James Roberts, eds. Becketts Waiting for Godot, Endgame, & Other emboldens. Cliffs Notes, Inc. Nebraska 1995. Cromier, Romona.,and Janis L. Pallister. Waiting for Death. Alabama U of Alabama Press, 1979.Fletcher, J. Action and Play in Becketts Theater. Modern Drama 9 (1966/67) 242-246.Iser, W. Becketts Dramatic Language. Modern Drama 9 (1966/67) 251-259.Lamont, Rosette. Becketts Metaphysics of Choiceless Awareness. Samuel Beckett Now. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman. Chicago U of Chicago Press, 1975. 199-217.Lyons, Charles R. Samuel Beckett. New York Grove Press, 1983.Metman, Eva. Reflections on Samuel Becketts Plays. Samuel Beckett A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Martin Esslin. New Jersey Prentice-Hall, 1965