One evening, while
sitting on a low mound near a bare tree beside a country road, Estragon
tries unsuccessfully to remove his boot. When his friend Vladimir enters, he gives up pulling the boot,
remarking that there is “nothing to be done.”
He broods briefly about having “resumed the
struggle.” He is, he says, glad to see Estragon again, having believed him
permanently gone. He suggests a celebratory embrace but Estragon irritably declines. He says he spent the night
in a ditch nearby and “they” beat him again,
though he does not know whether it was the
usual people who do so. Vladimir insists that, without his presence throughout the years, Estragon would be a small
accumulation of bones.
Estragon feebly resumes
pulling the boot and asks for help, complaining that it hurts. There is, he reiterates, nothing to be done. Vladimir examines his hat; Estragon
removes the boot. Estragon suggests that they repent having been born. “people are bloody ignorant apes,”.
After scanning the horizon, Estragon proposes
that they leave their current spot, but Vladimir reminds him that they are to
await Godot by the tree although they see no others. Godot did not say for
certain that he would come; if not, they will
wait again daily. They are uncertain that they waited here the day before, that they have been in this place before, or
that they were to meet on this evening, on a
Saturday. They are also unsure of the day of the week. It is therefore possible that Godot came yesterday
and they missed him; if so, he will probably
not come again.
Estragon feels he may
be mistaken that they were in this place the day before, but
he falls asleep as Vladimir paces. When
Estragon is awakened by Vladimir’s shouting at
him, the latter emphatically does not want to listen to his recounted nightmares. Estragon resentfully claims
that he sometimes believes that they should
part, but Vladimir asserts that his companion would
not go far. Estragon then begins a story about an Englishman visiting a
brothel, but Vladimir stops him. Vladimir exits the stage as Estragon watches, but he soon returns and, after some mutual silences,
asks forgiveness. Eventually they embrace, though Estragon complains that
Vladimir stinks from garlic.
Pondering what to do
while waiting, they consider hanging themselves. Since the bough may not be
strong enough, Vladimir suggests that Estragon, who weighs less,
should go first. Estragon, however, believes
that he should not go first, because of the fact that he is lighter than Vladimir. When Vladimir cannot
figure out why that would matter, Estragon
explains with difficulty that if the bough broke with Didi going second, he would be left alone. If,
however, it hangs the heavier man, it will
hang the lighter one. Vladimir is uncertain that he is heavier; Estragon is
unsure too. They decide not to do anything, which is safer.
They will continue to
await Godot, They wait in silence. Estragon wonders whether they have
no more rights; Vladimir suppresses a laugh, noting
that such has been prohibited and that they “got rid of” their rights Vladimir
thought he might have heard Godot, perhaps shouting, possibly at his horse. It
was, he concludes, more likely wind stirring reeds.
When Estragon says he is hungry, Vladimir offers him
a carrot but pulls a turnip from his pocket.
When Estragon protests, Vladimir finds a carrot, saying it is the last. Estragon takes up his previously
disregarded question of whether they are “tied” to Godot. There is “no question
about it,” Vladimir says, though he is even
unsure of Godot’s name. Estragon finds
that things get worse, but Vladimir asserts that he
grows accustomed to this as time goes on. Again, nothing can be done about it.
After a terrible cry
from offstage, two strangers enter. The first, Lucky, is bound by a long rope
tied around his neck. He carries a picnic basket, a folding stool, a heavy bag, and a greatcoat. His master,
Pozzo, cracks a whip, urging him on. Lucky
crosses the stage, but Pozzo stops when he
sees Vladimir and Estragon and yanks the rope, pulling Lucky back, causing him to fall. Pozzo warns that Lucky can be a danger
to strangers. Estragon wonders if this is Godot. Pozzo introduces himself, asking
whether they recognize his name; Estragon claims they are not from nearby. Pozzo notes that they are of the same species,
apparently, and thus “made in God’s image.”
Pozzo asks who Godot is.
Pozzo claims that they
are on his (Pozzo’s) land, though
the road is open to everyone, disgraceful as he finds
that fact to be. Again he jerks Lucky’s rope,
addressing him as “pig” and “hog,” ordering his every move. Lucky holds the whip in his mouth to help Pozzo
put on his coat. Then he picks up his burdens
again as Pozzo chats about his journey and his need for company. As he orders
Lucky to prepare the stool on which Pozzo will
sit. From the picnic basket he takes out
a bottle of wine and a piece of chicken, which
he eats voraciously. Vladimir and Estragon
inspect the motionless Lucky, who seems to be falling asleep on his feet
without dropping the bags. Pozzo discards the sucked-dry bones. Vladimir and Estragon examine Lucky’s rope-abraded neck,
then notice his slobbering (wet) mouth and
protruding eyes, speculating that he is perhaps half-witted. When they start to ask him a question, Pozzo
tells them to leave Lucky alone since he
(Lucky) obviously wants to rest.
As Pozzo lights his
pipe, Estragon desires the discarded chicken bones on the ground. Estragon
haltingly asks Pozzo if he has finished with the bones, but such impropriety shocks Vladimir.
After a long silence from Lucky,
Pozzo tells Estragon that he can have the bones. He worries that Lucky, who never refused a bone before, may
be sick. As Estragon gnaws the bones, Vladimir protests that Pozzo’s treatment
of Lucky is scandalous. Estragon agrees but
continues gnawing. Pozzo considers their criticism harsh and asks their ages.
Receiving no reply, he asks their estimation
of Lucky’s age. Estragon guesses 11. Pozzo says he must leave but decides to smoke another pipe, despite
worries about nicotine’s effect on his heart.
Bleeding, Estragon fears that he will no longer be able to
walk; Vladimir says he would carry him. In a way, Pozzo remarks, Estragon’s crying replaced Lucky’s; the
amount of the world’s tears remains constant,
since whenever one person in the world stops
weeping, somewhere another starts, he prefers not to talk about the current
generation at all.
Pozzo suggests having
Lucky entertain them by thinking aloud, though Estragon would prefer him
to dance. Addressed as “hog” and “misery,” Lucky
complies, dancing what Pozzo calls “The Net.” Estragon and Vladimir suggest
“The Scapegoat’s Agony” as title.
After a silence, Estragon
complains that “nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful!”
Pozzo kicks Lucky and
jerks the rope to make him move on, but even with assistance from
Vladimir he falls to the ground. They prop him up and return the bag to his
hand. He gradually recovers his familiar stance and totters along on command. Pozzo thanks them. Pozzo finds that he seemingly cannot leave.
Estragon replies, “Such is life.” Stretching
the rope until he is offstage, Pozzo cracks the whip and orders Lucky to move on. They depart. After a lengthy silence, Estragon suggests that they too
depart. Vladimir reminds him that they can’t,
since they are waiting for Godot. Trying to make
conversation.
From offstage, a boy calls
them and timidly approaches, bringing a message from Mr. Godot that Godot will not come today. Asked why he
is late, he replies that it is not his fault: he
was afraid. He claims to have been there for some time but was afraid of the whip, the noise, and the men he did not know. He
works for Godot, he says, tending goats; Godot does not beat him and is good to him, but he beats the
boy’s brother, who tends sheep.
The boy runs away, and night suddenly falls; the moon rises.
Estragon leaves his boots for someone else to find. He intends to go barefoot. Vladimir expresses hope for a better day
tomorrow, when, according to the boy, Mr.
Godot will surely come. They begin to leave, look again at the tree, and wish they had some
rope. They have been together for perhaps
fifty years, Vladimir says, though he admits he does not know.
They resolve to go but
do not move. The curtain descends.
In act two, four or
five leaves are on the tree. Vladimir enters, anxiously examines Estragon’s
neatly arranged boots, searches the horizon, and sings a song about a dog killed by a cook for stealing bread from
the kitchen. Estragon enters but refuses an
embrace or discussion, though he implores Vladimir to stay with him. After a
long look, they embrace. Estragon, hearing Vladimir sing when alone, thought
his friend happy at his absence; he claims he
prefers being alone too. Reassuring each other, they say they are happy and
will continue to wait for Godot. Changing
the subject, Vladimir notices that the tree has
changed and asks whether Estragon recalls that
they considered hanging themselves from it yesterday. Estragon claims Vladimir
dreamed it; he has forgotten the incident. He
also does not recall the names of Pozzo and Lucky.
After a silence,
Vladimir sighs. Estragon suggests it would be better if they separated, but
Vladimir notes that he always comes back. It
would be best, Estragon says, to be killed
like billions of others.
A long silence ensues;
they continue waiting for Godot. They
consider contradicting each other but instead ask
each other questions. Vladimir wonders where
“these corpses” and skeletons are from. Estragon suggests turning toward nature; Vladimir claims they have
tried that already. Silence again follows;
they concentrate, hats off, trying to find something
else to think about. Vladimir tries to describe what happened from the beginning, noting that the formerly bare tree now
has leaves after a single night.
Vladimir points to the boots onstage where Estragon
left them yesterday, but Estragon contends
that they are not his; they are not the same color. Vladimir contends that someone must have taken Estragon’s
boots and left his own. Estragon suggests that
they go; Vladimir reminds him that they are
waiting for Godot. When Estragon claims he can’t go on, Vladimir offers him a black radish from among the turnips in
his pocket. Estragon likes only pink ones and
says he will go get a carrot, but he does not. When Vladimir complains that “this is becoming really
insignificant,” Estragon replies, “Not
enough.”
They sit awhile on the mound; Vladimir
sings. Estragon sleeps but wakes suddenly from a dream of falling. He is consoled by Vladimir as they walk
together up and down. Estragon proposes that
they go but is reminded that they are waiting for
Godot. Though cold, they cannot leave until nightfall. Estragon despairingly
asks what they will do; Vladimir chides him for whining.
Estragon announces that
“they” are approaching. Vladimir asserts that it is Godot, that they are
“saved.” They run and scan the
horizon, but there is no one. Estragon tries
unsuccessfully to hide behind the tree, then
admits his error and asks forgiveness. They continue watching the horizon in
silence, seeing nothing. They begin to ask each other a question simultaneously, apologize, and then angrily
insult each other. Estragon cries out for God’s pity.
Pozzo and Lucky again
arrive. Pozzo is now blind. Lucky is burdened as before, but the rope is
shorter so Pozzo can follow more easily. Pozzo walks into Lucky, who has
stopped on seeing Estragon and Vladimir. Lucky drops the possessions into a heap. Estragon asks whether it
is Godot. Pozzo cries for help. Vladimir
welcomes the fact that they are no longer alone;
as time flows, they will soon be away from there. Vladimir tells Estragon the person who arrived is not Godot but Pozzo and
reminds him of the chicken bone, encouraging
him to ask for another.
Estragon does not
remember Lucky, who, Vladimir worries, might get away. The ultimate
question, he notes, is “What are we doing here[?]”
Unlike many, and despite “immense confusion,” they know the answer. They simply wait until the arrival of Godot, or the
fall of night, keeping their appointment
whether it is ever to be fulfilled or not.
Estragon contends that everyone is “born mad. Some remain so.” Pozzo
offers to pay 100 francs for help, then raises the offer to 200. Appreciating the diversion but dreading being
left alone again “in the midst of
nothingness,” Vladimir tries to help Pozzo up but falls several times. Estragon says he will go; Vladimir agrees to
go with him if he will help him up.
When Pozzo calls for help again, Estragon concludes
“he’s all humanity.” He wants to do something
else but cannot think what. They get up. They
plan to leave, but Vladimir reminds him they cannot since they are waiting for Godot. Finally they help Pozzo get
onto his feet, but he falls again. Supporting
his arms around their necks, they get him up again.
When Pozzo tells them he is blind, Estragon thinks he can perhaps see the future. Pozzo asks if they are his friends and
implores them not to leave. He asks the time
and whether it is evening; they consider the sunset, though they are unsure where the west is. Estragon
maintains the sun is perhaps rising, but Vladimir tells Pozzo that the long day
they have lived must be nearing its end. Pozzo recalls the
wonderfulness of having sight, and Vladimir
asks if the blindness came suddenly. Pozzo says he awoke one day blind but does not know when, having now no notion
of time.
Vladimir confirms that
they are Pozzo and Lucky, but Pozzo
does not remember meeting them or anyone yesterday;
tomorrow, however, he will not remember meeting them today. Vladimir summarizes
the previous day’s events, but Pozzo intends
to go. Lucky gathers his burdens, setting them
down to hand Pozzo the whip and rope.
He orders Lucky to move
on. Vladimir asks Pozzo to
command Lucky to sing or recite, but he cannot; he is
now mute, unable even to groan. Pozzo
furiously replies to Vladimir’s question of when that happened, reasserting that he has no concept of time.
Calming down, he claims “they give birth
astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s gone once more.” He again orders Lucky to move on;
they leave the stage but are heard to fall.
Vladimir awakens Estragon, who was “dreaming [he] was happy.” Vladimir wonders
if Pozzo is really blind. Estragon asks if
Pozzo was Godot, and Vladimir is increasingly unsure.
A boy arrives. He insists he does not recognize
Vladimir and did not come the day before, but
he accedes to Vladimir’s claim that he (the boy) has a message from Godot, who will not come tonight but
will come without fail tomorrow. The boy says he did not see Lucky and Pozzo,
and he claims Godot “does nothing.” The boy’s
brother is sick, he says, but he does not know whether he came yesterday. The boy
confirms that Godot has a beard, which the boy
thinks is white.
There is silence. The
boy runs away. The moon rises.
Estragon wakes, removes his boot, and says he will
go. Vladimir reminds him they must return
tomorrow to wait for Godot. If they did not, they would be punished. They look at the tree. They consider
hanging themselves but have no rope and Estragon’s belt is too short.
Estragon’s trousers fall when he removes the belt, which breaks when they pull
on it.
Estragon says they can bring a good piece of rope
tomorrow. He claims he is unable to “go on
like this.” Vladimir resolves that they will hang themselves the next day, “unless Godot comes,” in which
case they would be “saved.” Estragon pulls on
his trousers. They resolve to go but do not move.
The play ends.
