A study of Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

    1. Introduction

    There have been many studies of Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. However， many analysis notes only the two tramps basic similarities， and fails to note the distinctive differences between them. In fact， everyone， in modernists works， seems alienated and separate. As far as I am concerned， it is inevitable that separate people differ from each other and often fail to build effective relationship with each other. Therefore， this paper tries to analyze Vladimir and Estragons differences and their strange relationship in waiting to better understand human being itself.

    2. Consciousness and Unconsciousness

    From a psychoanalysis point of view， Vladimir seems more conscious than his companion， Estragon， who is under unconsciousness in waiting. Vladimir reminds Estragon that the boy said “Godot was sure to come tomorrow”（Beckett） thus they must wait--even though nothing is certain. Vladimir seems more content and secure in his waiting than Estragon. Estragon wants to pick up and leave; he does not want to wait. But due to Vladimirs determination Estragon resigns and he waits together with Vladimir. Even though Estragon seems to forget constantly that they wait for Godot. For example， Estragon says： “Lets go.” Vladimir replies： “We cant.”And Estragon asks： “Why not ？” Vladimir replies： “ Were waiting for Godot.”

    Vladimir waits for Godot with consciousness， while Estragon just waits because his companion makes him to wait. He does experience unconscious waiting. In fact， Estragon wait for nothing. He does not want to wait at all. However， he is as poor as Vladimir， who cannot make any decision. Waiting is the only thing they can do and “its safer.”（Beckett） In Act 2， it is only Vladimir who remembers the characters from the day before. Vladimir seems to be very aware of the fact that everything seems to be going in a circle—the same things repeating themselves from day to day. And Vladimir sings loudly in Act 2 that：

    VLADIMIR： A dog came in–

    Having begun too high he stops， clears his throat， resumes：

    A dog came in the kitchen and stole a crust of bread. Then cook up with a ladle And …（Beckett）

    Therefore， Estragon develops a big habit that is suicide. When it comes to the eternal question on circular structure， what to do while waiting， Estragon often suggests as below：

    ESTRAGON： Why dont we hang ourselves （Beckett）

    He suggests that perhaps they could hang themselves. That would certainly put an end to their waiting. Unconsciously， without any emotional fluctuation， suicide is proposed by Estragon. Here， we can see the two tramps take different actions when they are facing waiting. However， such a suicide cannot be successful forever， since it is just a game， like inviting his partner to play hide and seek. It is so absurd that no one will take it seriously， even himself.

    3. Sensitive and Insensitive

    The meeting with Pozzo and Lucky makes Vladimir upset because of Pozzos treatment of Lucky， while Estragon does not share the same feelings with Vladimir. Vladimir， in particular， is appalled by Pozzos treatment of Lucky and quick discover that a running sore on Luckys neck. Estragon notices the bones lying in the ditch and， to Vladimir embarrassment， asks Pozzo if he can have the bones. It is clear that one concerns with humanity while the other concerns with the food. Vladimir continues to be shocked by Pozzos treatment of Lucky. The two characters act as below：

    ESTRAGON：Er…youve finished with the… er…you dont need the …er … bones， Sir VLADIMIR：（scandalized）. “You couldnt have waited ?（Beckett）.

    Before leaving， Pozzo wishes to express his appreciation to Vladimir and Estragon and wonders if they have any requests of him. Estragon immediately asks for francs （or even five， if the is too much）， but Vladimir interrupts and asserts that he and Estragon are not beggars. When it comes to surroundings and the people they meet with during the waiting， Becketts makes a comparison with the tramps. Vladimir is more sensitive and he does more efforts to maintain his poor self-esteem， while Estragon has no interest in anyone and only pays more an attention to the short-term benefit.

    4. Doubt and Denial

    Nietzsche has said that： “God is died.” After WWII， suffering from the expansion of the human nature in capital society， human being finally loses his God， then lives a life in faithlessness. In waiting， Vladimir questions Bible. Estragon， to the extreme， mocks Christ. In Act 1， “nothing to be done”（Beckett）—his suffering and lack of hope turn Vladimirs thoughts to the suffering of two thieves on cross and their lack of hope. He questions as follow：

    VLADIMIR：One out of four. Of the other three， two dont mention any thieves at all and the third says that both of them abused him.（Beckett）

    Two of the evangelists did not give the same account， and the fourth one reported that both thieves were damned. Vladimir asks Estragon—how is it that of the four Evangelists only one speaks of one thief being saved… why believe him rather than the others. Although the thieves were guilty of the same crime， one was saved but the other was damned. The basis of their salvation and damnation is unclear， and the four Evangelists disagree with each other. Thus， it leaves Vladimir uncertainty of his own situation. He is doubt about Bible.

    Estragon， to the extreme， compares himself to Christ as below：

    VLADIMIR：Christ！ What has Christ got to do with it. Youre not going to compare yourself to Christ！

    ESTRAGON： All my life Ive compared myself to him.（Beckett）

    In Estragons opinion， Christ has no godlike image in his heart. Christ is someone just as mortal as everyone. Even he， as a poor tramp， living with a no significant life can be a counterpart of Christ. The denial of God implicates no set standards of values or faith have ever lived in people heart.

    5. Relationship in waiting—Separate and Interdependent

    In Waiting for Godot， Estragon and Vladimir are separate but interdependent. There is a strange relationship between them. In Act 1， Vladimir does not want Estragon to sleep， and therefore he wakes him up， for he feels lonely.

    ESTRAGON：（restored to the horror of his situation）. I was asleep！ （Despairingly.） Why will you never let me sleep？

    VLADIMIR：I felt lonely.（Beckett）

    In Act 2 Vladimir helps Estragon to go to sleep. As in Act 1， Vladimir wakes Estragon up again because he feels lonely：

    ESTRAGON：（wild gestures， incoherent words. Finally.） Why will you never let me sleep？

    VLADIMIR：I felt lonely.（Beckett）

    Suddenly， Vladimir， feeling lonely， awakens Estragon， who awakens from his dream with a start. He needs Estragons company. However， when Estragon wants to tell about his dream， Vladimir refuses to listen to it.

    ESTRAGON： dreamt that—

    VLADIMIR：DONT TELL ME！（Beckett）

    Estragons nightmare， even without its subject being revealed， symbolizes the various fears that these tramps feel in this alienated world. Vladimirs refusal to listen suggests his fear and apprehension of all of life and of certain things that are best left unsaid. Estragon， then， unable to tell about his nightmare. In this way， Vladimirs or Estragons inner worlds are never brought to light because they do not discuss their dreams. Therefore， Vladimir and Estragon continue to repress their fear in the ineffective communication. Though they are together， individual loneliness is inevitable. Finally， their only positive gesture is their strength to wait to maintain the strange relationship. It seems that they are together. But man is. Ultimately， terribly alone in his waiting.

    6. Conclusion

    After all analysis， the answer of the two questions mentioned at the beginning of this paper is that： from the aspects of Conscious and Unconscious， Sensitive and Insensitive， Doubt and Denial， Vladimir and Estragon are apparently different from each other; one is tied by the other in their strange relationship， which has no significant effect on their alienation and loneliness. In fact， Conscious Vladimir is no better than Unconscious Estragon. No matter how you go through the road of life， the process and end are totally absurd. Both rely on someone else to tell them what they need. Men want warm relationship and fear for loneliness; however， their inner worlds are never brought to light without effective communication. Whats worse， independence of individual a moot question. They have no encourage to say goodbye， instead they are involved in the strange interdependence. Beckett wrote in Waiting for Godot：“but at this place and at this moment in tome all mankind is us whether we like or not.”（Beckett） He just wants to demonstrate what human being is， what the absurd world is and nothing more.

    References：

    [1]Beckett， Samuel，Waiting for Godot： tragicomedy in 2 acts[J]. 1954.

    【作者簡介】尚瑞欣，武汉大学外国语言文学学院。