An Artist of the Floating World is a novel by British author Kazuo Ishiguro, published in 1986. Ishiguro is a prolific and well-known novelist, famous for his books The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. He has won the Man Booker Prize and won the Nobel Prize in 2017, and was knighted in 2019. An Artist of the Floating World, his second novel, is an example of his earlier writing, and was well-received, earning a Whitbread Award. This novel is particularly well-known for its use of an unreliable narrator, Masuji Ono. It tells the story of Ono, a retired Japanese artist trying to come to terms with changes in his country after the Second World War. Ishiguro himself was born in Japan, but emigrated to the United Kingdom as a child and did not return to Japan until after publishing An Artist of the Floating World. He has said that, by writing about places with which he is unfamiliar, such as post-war Japan in this novel, he is able to write more imaginatively.
1. 'Lantern' appears 34 times in the novel. Even on the cover page, the image of lanterns is displayed. What is the significance of Lantern in the novel?
Lanterns in the novel are associated with Ono’s teacher Mori-san, who includes a lantern in each of his paintings and dedicates himself to trying to capture the look of lantern light. For Mori-san, the flickering, easily extinguished quality of lantern light symbolizes the transience of beauty and the importance of giving careful attention to small moments and details in the physical world. Lanterns, then, symbolize an outlook on life which prizes small details and everyday moments above the ideological concerns of nationalists or commercial concerns of businesspeople. It is an old-fashioned, aesthetically focused, and more traditional way of viewing the world.
2. Write about 'Masuji Ono as an Unreliable Narrator'.
The novel is structured as a series of interwoven memories described by Masuji Ono. Ishiguro uses a variety of techniques to convey the fallibility of Ono's recollections to the audience, gradually revealing that Ono is an unreliable narrator and undermining the audience's faith in his story.
Ono is an unreliable narrator, disguising his motives and spinning recollections to portray himself more favorably. Although he denies making mistakes, his true feelings slowly seep through and the evolution of his character is expertly revealed by the reactions of his worried daughters.
Ono does feel real guilt over his past, but he struggles to admit this — even to himself. His guilt tarnishes everything, turning the most innocent of comments into accusations. He lingers long over stories of those who choose to commit suicide to apologize for their mistakes.
3. Debate on the Uses of Art / Artist (Five perspectives: 1. Art for the sake of art - aesthetic delight, 2. Art for Earning Money / Business purpose, 3. Art for Nationalism / Imperialism - Art for the propaganda of Government Power, 4. Art for the Poor / Marxism, and 5. No need of art and artist (Masuji's father's approach)
Art enthusiast or not, this is a phrase many of us in the 21st Century will be familiar with. On questions of why we create and value art, “art for art’s sake” argues judgement should not be made based on how well work serves external purposes, such as moral or political commentary. Instead, value is intrinsically defined by the aesthetic impression.
The novel highlights the way politicized art was retrospectively seen as detrimental to society through the impact of the war, but also presents views within which art is conversely seen as ineffectual and unable to influence events, by implying that the war and its subsequent effects would have occurred with or without Ono's propaganda.
4. What is the relevance of this novel to our times?
The novel ‘ The Artist of the Floating World’ is very fascinating in a way. The word ‘ Floating’ is the most important thing in the whole work. The novel's title is based on the literal translation of Ukiyo-e, a word referring to the Japanese art of prints. Therefore, it can be read as "a printmaker" or "an artist living in a changing world," given both Ono's limited understanding and the dramatic changes his world, Japan in the first half of the twentieth century, has undergone in his lifetime.
The title also refers to an artistic genre. Ono's master is especially interested in depicting scenes from the pleasure district adjacent to the villa in which he and his students live. Ono mentions the ephemeral nature of the floating world that could be experienced during each night. His master experiments with innovative softer Western-style painting techniques, rejecting the hard black outlining that was considered more traditional. Under the influence of right-wing political ideas about tradition, Ono becomes estranged from his master and forges his own career. He feels gleeful when his master's paintings fell into disfavor during a return to the use of more traditional bold lines in the paintings used for nationalistic posters.
Nineteen Eighty-four, also published as 1984, novel by English author George Orwell published in 1949 as a warning against totalitarianism. The chilling dystopia made a deep impression on readers, and his ideas entered mainstream culture in a way achieved by very few books. The book’s title and many of its concepts, such as Big Brother and the Thought Police, are instantly recognized and understood, often as bywords for modern social and political abuses.
What is Dystopian Fiction?
From movies to novels to video games, dystopian fiction is consistently one of the hottest genres in entertainment. But given its broad scope and variety of forms, the dystopian genre can sometimes be hard to categorize
First, let’s define Utopia and Dystopia
A Utopia is considered an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects. The idea of it is derived from a 1516 book by Sir Thomas More that describes an imaginary ideal society free of poverty and suffering.
More coined the expression “utopia” from Greek words. It literally means “no place,” conveying the idea that no such place could actually exist because it doesn’t reflect the realities of human nature or existence.
Dystopia is the opposite of utopia: a state in which the conditions of human life are extremely bad as from deprivation or oppression or terror (or all three). A dystopian society is characterized by human misery in the form of squalor, oppression, disease, overcrowding, environmental destruction, or war.
What is Dystopian Fiction?
The dystopian genre imagines worlds or societies where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror, and human society is characterized by human misery, such as squalor, oppression, disease, overcrowding, environmental destruction, or war.
1984 as dystopian fiction :-
George Orwell’s 1984 is a defining example of dystopian fiction in that it envisions a future where society is in decline, totalitarianism has created vast inequities, and innate weaknesses of human nature keep the characters in a state of conflict and unhappiness. Unlike utopian novels, which hold hope for the perfectibility of man and the possibility of a just society, dystopian novels like 1984 imply that the human race will only get worse if man’s lust for power and capacity for cruelty go uncorrected.
In 1984, characters live in fear of wars, government surveillance, and political oppression of free speech. The London of the novel is dirty and crumbling, with food shortages, exploding bombs, and miserable citizens. The government is an all-powerful force of oppression and control, and crushes the characters’ identities and dreams. This dystopian vision of the future, written thirty-five years before the year the novel is set, suggests that man’s inherent nature is corrupt and repressive. Orwell wrote the book in the aftermath of World War II and the rise of fascism in Germany and the Soviet Union, and paints a pessimistic picture of society’s ability to avoid further global disasters.
Dystopian fiction usually works backward from the present to find an explanation for the fictional society’s decline, and thus to provide a commentary on the reader’s society or a warning of how the future could turn out. In 1984, as Winston works to acquire objects from the past, find spaces without telescreens or microphones in them, and recover memories of the time before the Party, Orwell provides the reader with glimpses of how Winston’s society came to be. We learn about a nuclear war, a revolution, mass famines, and a period of consolidation of power by the Party.
Dystopian novels explore the effects of oppression and totalitarianism on the individual psyche as well as how the individual functions in a repressive society. Winston’s trouble retrieving and trusting his memories illustrates the way the Party has corrupted his emotional life as well as his daily existence, asking the reader to question the nature of memory and individual consciousness. By suggesting that Winston is initially complacent because he can’t remember whether or not life was better and he was happier before the Revolution, the book examines the importance of memory in creating a sense of self.
Q.2 your learning about the novel from online screening of the film .
Screening helps us to understand so many things. The novel 1984 by George Orwell is one of the interesting novel and we also did a screening of this novel. Such things are very clear to understand with help of screening. In this work screening helps to understand such a situation of dystopian society. How people were brainwashed and how everyone obeyed particular parties it’s clear to mind. It throws light on so many things. Whatever we see is more memorable than we watch.
3) What according to you is the central theme of this novel?
According to me Totalitarianism is one of the major themes of the novel, 1984. It presents the type of government where even the head of the government is unknown to the public. This theme serves as a warning to the people because such regime unleashes propaganda to make people believe in the lies presented by the government. Throughout the novel, there is no proof of Big Brother’s existence in Oceania. The Party exercises complete control not only on the sexual lives of their citizens such as Julia’s and Winston Smith but also on their thoughts, feelings and even writing a diary. The overall monitoring and surveillance of the people through telescreens and subversion of history through the Ministry of Truth are some of the common casualties of such regimes. The third casualty of the totalitarianism is the truth through language. This happens in the shape of mottos such as “War is Peace.”
Q.4 What do you understand about the term 'Orwellian'?
Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the "unperson"—a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments. Often, this includes the circumstances depicted in his novels, particularly Nineteen Eighty-Four but political doublespeak is criticized throughout his work, such as in Politics and the English Language.
This blog is about the novel ' The Great Gatesby' and it's film adaptation.
The Great Gatsby, third novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Set in Jazz Age New York, the novel tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth. Unsuccessful upon publication, the book is now considered a classic of American fiction and has often been called the Great American Novel.
1) How did the film capture the Jazz Age - the Roaring Twenties of the America in 1920s?
In Fitzgerald's most popular novel, The Great Gatsby, jazz appears as constant background music. In the contemporary phenomenon of “Gatsby parties”—festivities intended to capture the air of the titular Jay Gatsby's famously lavish, bacchanalian parties—jazz is de rigueur to evoke the 1920s.08-May-2019
2) How did the film help in understanding the characters of the novel?
The film give a very proper idea about every character. It's help us to usestand every character very properly. For example character of jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a rags to riches story; he is a millionaire having risen from a humble background. A son of unsuccessful small farmers, Gatsby could not remain satisfied with his fate. His desire for more took him on a path he had not reckoned for himself. It was his poverty that he could not win Daisy.
3) How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of 'The Valley of Ashes', 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg' and 'The Green Light'?
The Green Light
Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation.
The Valley of Asheh
The valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.
The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. Instead, throughout the novel, Fitzgerald suggests that symbols only have meaning because characters instill them with meaning. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God exists only in George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. This lack of concrete significance contributes to the unsettling nature of the image. Thus, the eyes also come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning. Nick explores these ideas in Chapter 8, when he imagines Gatsby’s final thoughts as a depressed consideration of the emptiness of symbols and dreams.
4) How did the film capture the theme of racism and sexism?
5) Watch the video on Nick Carraway and discuss him as a narrator.
Nick Carraway’s role in The Great Gatsby is more than just that of a narrator. He is the narrator of the well orchestrated Gatsby Drama but also an active character. He participates actively in its events and action. A wise and cultured young gentleman, Nick is also conscientious. He lends company to the readers throughout the novel, judging the events as they happen from his own unique perspective. His conscience and sense of morality differentiate him from the others.
Nick stands alone in the crowd. He feels somewhat lonely but much better than the filthily rich around him. He is a young man from Minnesota and a graduate from Yale who fought in the World War I. Then, he came to New York to indulge himself in bond business. He is generally quite reserved and honest. Nick is a confidant to Jay Gatsby, the central and most mysterious character of the novel who is full of troubling secrets. Being a friend of Gatsby, Nick gets a chance to peep into his soul and understand his love. Jay Gatsby is one of the newly rich living at Long Island and it does not take Nick very long to get to be friends with him. The important status in the novel that Nick enjoys is because of his closeness to Gatsby. However, He has got a more serious temperament as compared to Jay Gatsby.
Herman Northrop Frye was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of 20th century. Northrop Frye developed a theory of literature based on myths and Archetypes.
1. What is Archetypal of Criticism? What does the Archetypal Critic do?
Ans. Archetype is a term of narrative design, symbol, character, dream, collective images, myths, ritual and universal thing are in literature. 'Archetype of criticism' means denotes recurrent narrative design and it may that to art into images and pattern of one another character and theme type of in literature. The Archetypal critic tries to find this pattern, symbol and myth in present literary work.
2 What is Frye trying to prove by giving an analogy of 'Physics to Nature' and 'Criticism to Literature'.
Every Knowledge can be received in a systematic way.
We can't jump directly on our goal. So Every body of knowledge can be learn progressively.
Physics is the organized body of knowledge of nature. And the students of it says that they are studying Physics not Nature. In the same manner when we study literature nature is at the center. What difficulty in literature arise is that "Literature Cannot be Teach." What we teach is all about the criticism of literature.
So Physics has a systematic and well designed approaches to study in the same manner Criticism should be done in a scientific way. To be concluded with….
Literature = Nature
Criticism = Physics
Literature is all about freedom, there is freedom of expression and if we try to bind literature than it not remain literature and become science. But Criticism is the systematic way which try to interpret the literature in a scientific way as Physics try to do the same with nature. Northrop Frye also try to connect literary genre with different seasons...
Spring - Comedy
Summer - Romance
Autumn - Tragedy
Winter - Irony & Satire
3. Share your views of criticism as an organised body of knowledge. Mention relation of literature with history and philosophy.
Archetype criticism is based on philosophy and History of people. As it has been said that literature includes history as well as philosophy to convey its meaning so it displays events and ideas. History and philosophy are two important pillars of literature. History gives events and philosophy gives ideas and writer combines both and creates work of literature. Thus both are important to literature. We are not studying history or philosophy but talking only their help to understand literature.
4. Briefly explain inductive method with illustration of Shakespeare's Hamlet's Grave Digger's scene.
Observation > Theory
Particular > General
In Inductive method of analysis we see some structure or pattern and try to apply that particular structure on larger context. In archetypal criticism Inductive method is a kind of taking step back. We can't see the beauty of the things very closely. When we go very close to any painting so what we find is only strokes of brush, but when we walk step back then we find the painting beautiful. In the same manner Inductively, We applied same thing on larger context.
In inductive method there are not all situation same, but some extent it's going to meet. There were some data and on the basis of that we generalized the theory. Collect some information and on the basis of that conclude our discussion.
Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tragic drama known for the best quoted sentence "To be or Not to be, that is the question." In Hamlet when we see Grave digging scene where we can apply Inductive method and make some specific idea universally applicable. Three generalisation can be emerged from that particular scene….
Hamlet holding Yorick's skull which demonstrate that whoever we are, king, nobleman, prince/Princess, nobleman or even God...Who take birth on this Earth definitely going to die one day. So we all are mortal beings.
Liebestod : Liebe means Love and Tod means Death. So Liebestod means "Love Death" or can we say Death of one side love. Two lover's love end up with the death or after death. Here at digging of grave for Ophelia Hamlet who confess his love at the death of Ophelia and also make fight with Laertes. This particular scene is used for many narrative but in a different manner and generalized the specific concept.
5. Briefly explain deductive method reference to an analogy to music, painting, rhythm and pattern. Give examples of the outcome of deductive method.
General > Particular
Theory > Observation
Universal > Specific
. Deductive means from general to specific. Some are art like music moves in time and some like paintings moves in space. Music has rhythm which is temporal and painting have pattern which is spatial. But all assets may be conceived both temporally and spatially. Literature seems in between music and painting. The rhythm of literature is narration and pattern is the meaning
6. Refer to the Indian seasonal grid (below). If you can, please read small Gujarati or Hindi or English poem from the archetypal approach and apply Indian seasonal grid in the interpretation.
To know more about Indian seasons and it's history plaese Click here
According to vedic period [Taittirīya Saṁhitā (VII.1.18.1-2)]on each season there is one God who ruled over that particular season…
Spring વસંત (Vasus); The shining one
Summer ગ્રીષ્મ (Rudras); Destruction God
Rainy Season વર્ષા (Adityas); Creative potency of the forms of sun)
Autumn શરદ (Visvadevas); Universal Principal
Pre-Winter હેમંત (Maruts); Wind God
Cold Season શિશિર
सूरज की गर्मी
सूरज की गर्मी से सूखे नदी ताल.
जीव सभी प्यासे हैं हाल बेहाल.
पंखे से निकल रही गरम हवाएँ.
कूलर और एसी भी काम नहीं आएँ.
बढ़ी बेचैनी पारा चढ़ा उपर.
लू के थपेड़ों से जीना हुआ दूभर.
पानी की किल्लत से लोग परेशान.
तप रहा घर आँगन सभी हैरान.
लोगों का धूप में मुश्किल निकलना.
थोड़ी थोड़ी दूरी पर पड़ रहा रुकना.
तीखी तेज धूप ने तांडव मचाया.
हवाएँ गरम चलीं पसीना आया.
-Harjeet Nishad
When we look at the following poem according to Indian seasonal greed then we find it is written about hot and hellish summer in Asian countries and especially in India. According to archetypal criticism Summer is the season of Romance, maturity, meeting, culmination but in India there is reverse situation because of the weather of India. Sun rays are very straight in India so Summer is hot in India so we can't find literature written on Romance during Summer. So following three poems try to show the terrible hot season of India and according to Deductive method we can conclude with particular statement that Summer in India is Hot so it is not considered as Romantic season like in other cold countries.
With reference of an online film screening conduced online on 8th June 2021, this blog contains the worksheet and follow up of the play "Waiting for Godot" discussed in the class. Samuel Beckett was a modern playwright and was associated with the "Theatre of the Absurd". This play is originally written in French with the title En Attendant Godot.
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.
(Soren Kierkegaard)
Existentialism is a philosophical movement which embraces life with its full meaninglessness and absurdities. Above statement by Soren Kierkegaard who is considered as the first Existentialist prompts the same idea that Life is not a problem, but the problem is in our thinking that we see life as a problem. Life is a journey which can be experienced by living and experiencing every phase of life with full enthusiasm.
After the dreadful realities of the Second World War people started seeing life which is full of emptiness, where nothing to do, nothing to embrace, nothing to live and nothing to experience. As a response to that there is a rise of Existentialism which emphasizes more on Individual Freedom and Choice. It urges human beings to pursue their own choice and create one's individual, unique world in this irrational universe.
One of the unforgettable and noticeable names in Existentialism is Albert Camus who promoted the idea of 'Absurdity of Life within his work name 'The Myth of Sisyphus.
"Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world."
You may ask why I am talking all this stuff, what is the point of doing this? Well, These itself are some existential questions about which we are going to elaborate in this blog. So, This is the brief introduction of Existentialism before we dive into one of the most weird, mysterious, and open-ended plays by Samuel Beckett named 'Waiting For Godot.'
Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett can be categorized under the "Absurd Play" which revolves around the theme of meaninglessness and Nothingness of life.
The play can be read through various perspectives ranging from Theological point of view to Political Reading, Existential angst to Divine Perspective, similarities with Hindu philosophy to criticism on Christianity.
1) What connection do you see in the setting (A country road, A tree, Evening) of the play and these paintings?
The setting of the play is inspired by two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. The title of this painting is 'longing', here longing means deep desire for something. Waiting is connected with longing. In the painting two person see towards sunrise and sunset, it stand for bright hope and despair and in the play we find similar things.
One of the major difference between these two scenes is about the intention of the author. David Casper is fascinated towards Romanticism that's why his imagination ends in this painting by romanticizing nature with its sensitivity. While Beckett's purpose is totally contradictory. Who wants to show the meaninglessness of life through this barren tree.
2) The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of trees in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves - ?
As it is said, Beckett got inspiration from 'Longing' painting by Casper David Friedrich for the setting of Waiting for Godot. Setting of the both plays are nearly the same except minor changes in Act 2 where four or five leaves flourished on a tree.
ESTRAGON: What is it?
VLADIMIR: I don't know. A willow.
ESTRAGON: Where are the leaves?
VLADIMIR: It must be dead.
ESTRAGON: No more weeping.
VLADIMIR: Or perhaps it's not the season.
ESTRAGON: Looks to me more like a bush.
VLADIMIR: A shrub.
ESTRAGON: A bush.
If we see the Theological reference of the Tree then it can be said that it is a burning bush where our two major characters are waiting for God to come and give them salvation. Every day they wait for a character named Godot, but he never comes till the moon rises and only his message comes that he surely came tomorrow. So, Flourishment of leaves on the tree on the second day show a kind of hope that today he might come.
3) In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?
We can interpret this moon as brightness in the night so, I think Beckett want to convey through this moon's brightness in the night means though the darkness of night there is somewhat hope like the brightness of the moon. So, we should not lost our hope, every day is new day.
4) The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?
"A country road. A Tree.
Evening." (Act 1)
"Next day. Same Time.
Same place."(Act 2)
'Waiting for Godot' is an Absurd play which highlights the absurdities of life. And use of Debris in a film which was released in 2001 directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg shows the meaning. Debris is rubbish kind of waste by using that film maker creatively using his artistic liberty to create Irrationality, Meaninglessness, Nothingness and pointlessness of life.
This play also can be read as a response to the destructive effect of the second world war. And this use of debris in a setting can also be analyzed as a battlefield after war, where now everythings seems useless.
If we see use of debris in setting through nihilistic point of view then it can be examined as Emptiness. It shows pessimism and negativity. And we analyse the same setting through the lenses of existentialism. Then we can say that Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot on this destroyed land shows a kind of hope in a totally meaningless world.
5) The play begins with the dialogue “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?
"Waiting for Godot' does not tell a story; it explores a static situation. "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful." On a country road by a tree two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon are waiting." (Esslin)
As Martin Esslin puts it, the play is surrounded by nothingness. And Beckett begins his play with a dialogue -
ESTRAGON:(giving up again). Nothing to be done
This statement - "Nothing to be done" is repeated almost four times in the play. This statement carries deep philosophical meanings. It defines the struggle to Find Meaning in Purposeless Life. The very form of the play Waiting for Godot indicates the unbearably repetitious nature of life altogether. Samuel Beckett provides us with two acts in the play – two acts which both follow the same basic plotline. A repetitious existence renders all efforts to struggle futile; in a life that repeats the same events over and over, individuals like Estragon and Vladimir can only wait out a seemingly unending, mind-numbing existence and, at best, find ways to pass the time.
6) Do you agree: “The play (Waiting for Godot), we agreed, was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. As I saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes, the philosophy is: 'No matter what— atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can't kill life." (E.G. Marshall who played Vladimir in the original Broadway production 1950s)?
Yes, I agree with the above statement that 'Waiting for Godot' is rather a positive play instead of Negative. Of Course it explores the very idea of Absurdity of Life but within those parameters it also focuses on accepting reality. Because Life itself is absurd and we can't run away from that truth. But with the use of 'Waiting' in the title as well as an act of awaited wait for Godot by Vladimir and Estragon emphasis to have a hope in life. As Martin Esslin rightly states...
"The subject of the play is not Godot but waiting, the act of waiting is an essential and characteristic aspect of the human condition."
(Martin Esslin)
Waiting is the prime activity of human beings and while waiting like Estragon and Vladimir we are also stringed with some achievements and goals and desire to come true. So, Waiting is at the center of the play which suggests a kind of positive attitude towards life.
7) How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolic significance of these props?
Hat signifies mind. Boots signify body. Estragon wears boots and he is not able to remove the boots at first, just like desires and body urges. Just like boots get vanished and get rusty, Estragon also forgets many things as if his memory is also like his boots. Vladimir wears hat and he thinks a lot. He remembers many things.
8) Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity for slavishness is unbelievable?
Yes, I agree with the above statement that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. Because being free is everyone's urge and primitive human desire. But here we see that Lucky is tied with his master and a kind of blind follower who wasn't even able to see that his master is overpowering him.
Lucky is more knowledgeable and intelligent than his master. He is also seen as a spiritual side of life. But still he didn't even make a single step to set him free, which sometimes became irritating. So, Mentally Lucky is totally blind towards his master. He can be seen as like blind follower of his master without any rational thinking that what damage his master is doing in his independent life.
Even in Act 2 his Master became blind, but still he is fully obedient and honest with his master. This can be analyzed more appropriately if we see psychologically. Lucky's mind is trained in such a way that now he can't even think against his master. So, Rope became a very interesting symbol around which he is tied by his Master which didn't allow him to pursue his freedom.
9) Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or . . .
Godot is an object of desire. Desire is an endless vicious chain that ultimately leads us nowhere. If we observe a toddler playing with toys, we come to know that as soon as it looks at the better toy than it carries, it will leave that toy and will crave, run and cry for the better toy. This desire perhaps comes from the binary comparison that is hardwired in our mind. For grown ups, this desire is perhaps money, material wealth, luxuries, physical fulfilment, emotional acceptance, public recognition and fame, and what not. . . Goals and success are also sprouted from desire. Passion is also nothing but desire. Desire can be compared as fire also, which never gets extinguished.
10) “The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?
Yes, I agree with the Esslin's point of view in 'A search for the self' that the subject and the main theme of the play is 'waiting' not the Godot. We can see that in the play nothing happen except the meaningless waiting. there is no one come and go, all the characters only waiting for someone but no one come. So, we can say the heart of the play is waiting not Godot.
11) Do you think that plays like this can better be ‘read’ than ‘viewed’ as it requires a lot of thinking on the part of readers, while viewing, the torrent of dialogues does not give ample time and space to ‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the play?
"Some plays are written to be read
and Some plays are
written to be watched."
If we take the play 'Waiting For Godot' in the center then I agree with the statement that if we read Waiting for Godot then it will increase our understanding more instead of watching. Few reasons behind why we should read Waiting for Godot…
It explores deep philosophies of life which we can understand through thoroughly reading books because it gives more space to think.
There are also many hidden references of Christianity which we will know while reading text.
Cultural, Religious and geographical distance between the place on which it is written and place from where we are reading also create difficulty to understand play deeply while we are watching.
While watching a film a dialogue comes one by one quickly which doesn't allow the audience to find depth of the play, which only can be possible while we are reading.
So, If we read this kind of play then it widens our horizon. But we can't completely deny the Film. Film version is also as important to see as Camera focus and all. So, we can say before watching play if read play then it would be great help to understand play deeply.
12) Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting
Vladimir and Estragon: The Hat and the Boot
Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
Conversion of Vladimir with the boy
The part which I like the most in the movie is the conversation between Vladimir and the boy at the end of both acts. Because it gives a complete exposure to the character of Vladimir who asked a number of questions to the boy regarding Godot and how Godot treats him and he also tries to know the behavioral and humanistic patterns of Invisible Godot. Which shows Vladimir's quest to search about Godot.
13) Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?
. yes, we feel the effect of Existetial crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe when Vladimir asked to the boy about Godot and he asked that Godot will come today or not? That time boy replied that Godot will come tomorrow but Godot never come throughout the play so we can find the meaningless waiting for Godot. And other meaninglessness we find in the character of Lucky that when his master go blind though he doing slavery like sheeple. Hemce, we can say that life is meaningless for Lucky because they even don't think about freedom.
14) Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?
Vladimir and Estragon talks about hanging themselves and decide to commit suicide. But they do not. One possible reason can be given to that is that we are habituated to living life. First we learn to live life and then we are able to escape from that. Because we get somewhat used to it. Now we can't kill ourselves because we love to live our life whether there are problems or not, because suffering is a basic tendency to live life.
15) Can we do any political reading of the play if we see European nations represented by the 'names' of the characters (Vladimir - Russia; Estragon - France; Pozzo - Italy and Lucky - England)? What interpretation can be inferred from the play written just after World War II? Which country stands for 'Godot'?
Waiting for Godot is written after the second world war. So, War effects can be clearly noticed here. Some characters also represent some countries on the basis that we can do Political reading of play.
If we do political reading and connect character with European nations then Vladimir stands for Russia, Estragon for France, Pozzo represents Italy and Lucky symbolizes England.
16) So far as Pozzo and Lucky [master and slave] are concerned, we have to remember that Beckett was a disciple of Joyce and that Joyce hated England. Beckett meant Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in a Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?
Pozzo represents England and Lucky represents Ireland. The relationship between both characters is like a Master-Slave Relationship. Lucky is enslaved by Pozzo in the same manner Ireland is also under control of England. After getting independence still Ireland is not able to completely come out from colonial effects. Ireland is still dependent on England for its economy.
The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have been no change in Act I and Act II of the play. Even the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there is one major change. In Act I, in reply to Boy;s question, Vladimir says:
"BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw us. (Pause.) You did see us, didn't you?
17) How does this conversation go in Act II? Is there any change in seeming similar situations and conversation? If so, what is it? What does it signify?
The play followed the notion that the more the things change, the more it remains similar. Both acts are almost similar in their waiting, settings, in their conversation and in the thematic concern.
But, There is a slight difference between these conversations in both acts. The oly replaced phrase is 'me' instead of 'us' in act 2. (Tell him that you saw us). So here we can see that at the end of Act 2 Vladimir became somewhat selfish and self-centered.
References
Ajemian, Allison. Pertinence of Props in Waiting for Godot. 11 Dec. 2013, bu.digication.com/allison_ajemians_theatre_now_portfolio/Final_Paper_Pertinence_of_Props_in_Waiting_for_God.
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot: Tragicomedy in 2 acts. Grove Press, 1954.
