Samuel Beckett’s waiting for Godot: A Study of Religious Symbolism, Salvation vs. Damnation

Abstract

This paper attempts to highlight the several ways to interpret the play's absurdity, which results from how existence is portrayed but nevertheless has a strong religious undertone. Samuel Beckett, an Irish author, also produces plays and poems. James Joyce's writing had an impact on this modernist author. Samuel Beckett's earliest and most wellknown play, Waiting for Godot, is regarded as his greatest achievement. The play's original French version was eventually translated by Samuel Beckett into English. The play is a reaction to the ruthless expansion of capitalism, rabid individualism and the resulting loss of community life, the widespread destruction of the World War, the loss of human insight, and the predicament of the average person following the horrible some world war. The play also examines the dramatic literary changes brought on by post-world war effects, the uncertainty surrounding the existence of God, and the predicament faced by the average person in the wake of the brutal conflict. A noteworthy work of English literature from the twentieth century, the play, subtitled "A Tragicomedy in Two Acts," is a prime example of the threat of the ridiculous. There are several ways to interpret the play's absurdity, which results from how existence is represented but nevertheless has strong religious connotations.