Nothing to Be Done

Last year I read Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot after which I saw a version of the play in film form. Beckett’s writing has had a tremendous affect on me, especially Waiting for Godot. I was entranced by the characters and their discourse throughout the play. Through what seems to be an ambiguous dialogue we are shown insight into the human condition. Our ability to continue with a task day in and day out, without asking why, is an idea that I pull from the play. What I mean is the reasoning behind the things we do: to make more money, make better grades, personal gain, love or sex. But underneath all of that I wonder, what the true motivations behind the actions we take are. Waiting for Godot takes us underneath the façade of the human face and we get a picture of what we are on the inside; Estragon physical need and desire, Vladimir the mind/psyche or reasoning, Pozzo is blind ambition/pride, and Lucky is stoicism, with the Little Boy being the scent of the piece of cheese (Godot) at the end of the maze. All these characters together are the pieces that make up the whole play. In other words the characters together are the inner dialogue we have within us. For every choice we make there is this conversation that is held whether we understand it or not. The decision between need or desire. As Estragon says “Nothing to be done,” No matter what it is always there.