Thinking activity-2:For Whom The Bell Tolls

Hello friends

In this blog I am going to write about two novels by Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and The Sea.The American author Ernest Hemingway was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. His machine-like style was precise and austere, but he also had a deft and gentle turn of phrase which gave his work its own peculiar beauty and power. He was a master of the action genre, but he also wrote passionately about love and life, war and work. Though Hemingway is often seen as the archetypal American writer, many of his books have a European air. Hemingway certainly experienced Europe – he drove ambulances in Italy in the First World War, worked as a journalist in the Spanish Civil War, and lived alongside other modernist artists and writers in Paris in the 1920s – and his love for these countries, especially Spain, and their culture permeates his work.

💠Hemingway’s use of Language

◼️For Whom the Bell Tolls

English sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases. Many sections, especially dialogue and interior monologue, are written as though they have been translated word-for-word from Spanish to English and retain the structure and cadence of the Spanish language.

◼️The Old Man and The Sea

.His use of language — Short words, straightforward sentence structures, vivid descriptions, and factual details combine to create an almost transparent medium for his engaging and realistic stories. Yet without calling attention to itself, the language also resonates with complex emotions and larger and larger meanings — displaying the writer's skill in his use of such subtle techniques as sophisticated patterns; repeated images, allusions, and themes; repeated sounds, rhythms, words, and sentence structures; indirect revelation of historical fact; and blended narrative modes.

💠Hemingway’s use of Narrative Technique

◼️For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Hemingway, point of view is important. ‘For Whom Bell Tolls’ presents the narrative through an omniscient point of view that continually shifts back and forth between the characters. In this way, Hemingway can effectively chronicle the effect of the war on the men and women involved. The narrator shifts from Anselmo’s struggles in the snow during his watch to Pilar’s story about Pablo’s execution of Fascists and El Sordo’s lonely death to help readers more clearly visualize their experiences

◼️The Old Man and The Sea

The point of view used in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea is omniscient third person as the narrator is able to tell what and how the main characters think. In this way, a reader may obtain more subjective view from the narrator. As mentioned in the summary (click here to read), the old man is the main character of the story. The distance between the narrator and the old man helps create the solitude felt by the latter. What is more noteworthy is that though the old man is called Santiago, this Christian name appears only four times throughout the story.

The reason for the narrator to call him constantly the old man has probably something to do with his dignity. On three occasions, the name Santiago is said to be called by the boy Manolin. On the first two occasions, the boy attempts to persuade the old man to take him to the adventurous sail. For the third time, his name appeared when he is fighting alone with the marlin. His left hand is injured after the battle. The sun is soon set, and he tried to give solace to himself while recalling the moment he had beaten a man in arm wrestling. Then comes the comment of the narrator:

💠Hemingway’s Characterization

 

◼️For Whom the Bell Tolls

🔸Physical Appearance

Physical appearances often give us an immediate clue to "what lies beneath" in this book. When we meet Pablo, for example, we learn from the description that he's grizzled, scarred, a bit oddly shaped, with close-set narrow eyes, and has a somewhat hostile look on his face. A shady, unpleasant character.

Pilar is monumentally large, strong and thick, with a warm brown face that looks like a "model for a granite monument." Her looks reflect her courage, strength, good humor, and larger-than life vitality.

Robert Jordan has a physique which suits his restraint, his toughness, and his weathering by the war: he's tall, lean and muscular – presumably rather chiseled – with rough, sun-streaked hair and skin burnt by the sun and wind. Plus those sharpened, clear eyes.

Maria's eyes, on the other hand, are "hungry, young, and wanting." A head of cropped hair, which people seem to agree mars her beauty, testifies to the horrible events of her past which still haunts her.

🔸Direct Characterization

Through Robert Jordan's reactions and the commentary of other members of the band about each other, we get plenty of direct information. Robert Jordan thinks Pablo is a bad egg the moment he sees him, and tells us so, and every other character basically says the same. Anselmo, on the other hand, is always a "very good man" (at one point even the narrator just straight up says it), and El Sordo's a courageous, trustworthy, and all around capital guy. By the end of the second chapter, we know from other characters that Pilar is brave, barbarous, and at times very gentle. About Robert Jordan himself, the narrator does give us some important direct descriptions, telling us right at the outset, for example, that he doesn't really value his own life and that his devotion to his cause is strong.

🔸Speech and Dialogue

"That we blow up an obscene bridge and then have to obscenely well obscenity ourselves off out of these mountains?" (3: 127) Thanks for that, Agustín – can we even call that a sentence? There are several potty-mouths in For Whom the Bell Tolls, and a lot of interesting cusses, though Hemingway never writes them out: he always replaces them with "obscenity" or "unnameable" or whatnot (a few times, he does let very foul words in untranslated Spanish).

Swearing is one of the major ways in which characters are given color, and personality. It defines Pilar and Agustín, and the more cynical way Robert Jordan swears also contrasts him with his more exuberantly obscene Spanish friends. Love of cursing in general is meant to be characteristically Spanish.

Hemingway also lends that "Spanish-ness" to his characters' language by using really awkward straight translations into English: lots of thee's and thou's, and words which mean something different in normal English than Spanish (for example, "molest," which means bother in Spanish and is a much more everyday word). Every so often, a character will also break into a regional dialect, as Anselmo does when he curses Pablo out at the very beginning of the book.

🔸Actions

If somebody steals your detonators and runs away with them, thereby screwing your mission over and dooming you and your friends to die, chances are he's a jerk. If, even after he returns, he kills the people he's recruited to help him, he's still a jerk, though he's a jerk on your side.

The actions of characters in For Whom the Bell Tolls reveal a lot about them. As it's a war novel, the most common traits revealed by action are bravery and brutality: Pilar's bravery is evident from her standing up to Pablo and willingness to go ahead with the mission, as well as her military performance, while Pablo's brutality is shockingly clear from her story about the fascist massacre in their town. Resolve is another big one: Anselmo's the guy who stays put in the snowstorm, even when it gets really bad, because he doesn't want to disobey Robert Jordan. If you want courtesy, think of El Sordo's bringing a bottle of whiskey specially for Robert Jordan from La Granja, this in the middle of a war.

◼️The Old Man and and The Sea

🔸Personification

With the old man being alone on the sea and all, a lot of characterization of animals is done, not of people. And a great tool for such characterization is the use of personification. The old man talks about jellyfish, turtles, birds, and, most important, the marlin, as if they were people. He gives them thought processes, even personalities. And all of his comments on the animals tell us more about him, which counts as a characterization tool in its own right, which is kind of nifty.

🔸Direct Characterization

Hemingway doesn’t beat around the bush. How do we know the old man is proud? Because he says that the old man suffered "no loss of true pride." How do we know Manolin loves Santiago? Because he says "the boy loved him."

🔸Physical Characterization

We get some pretty intense descriptions of the old man’s gaunt, emaciated body. Hemingway never lets us forget the one key fact that this guy is old and not in top-notch fish-fighting condition. That, of course, makes him that much more impressive for winning the battle against the marlin. So, oddly enough, the description of the old man’s physical shortcomings serves to highlight his strengths.

🔸Speech and Dialogue

Yes, the old man talks to himself. No, he isn’t crazy. And in case you don’t believe us, he tells you that himself. He just doesn’t have a radio or a newspaper or an iPhone, so he finds companionship in himself and in the creatures around him. This reminds us that the old man is "strange," in the sense of "alienated," and that he is forced to do his battle in isolation from others.

💠His Point of View

◼️For Whom the Bell Tolls

 The narrative is written in a detached, journalistic style that focuses on what the characters can see, hear, or smell. This description is often restricted to what Robert Jordan can see or hear. On a few occasions, most notably when introducing Pablo confiding to his horse and introducing Karkov’s rescue of Andrés and Gomez in prison, the narrator comments on the unfolding action.

◼️The Old Man and The Sea:

Sometimes the narrator describes the characters and events objectively, that is, as they would appear to an outside observer. However, the narrator frequently provides details about Santiago’s inner thoughts and dreams.

Thinking activity:For Whom the Bell Tolls

War Novels: Compare and Contrast  between George Orwell’s ‘Homage to Catalonia’& Ernest Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’

Hello Reader 

In this blog  I am going to write about two literary works that are based on the war.As we all know that War has created a great effect on the literature of Post-war.We can find the effect of war in many literary works.So I have selected the novel by George Orwell’s ‘Homage to Catalonia’ and Ernest Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.So let’s discuss it.

FIrst of all i would like to give brief information about both novels.

For Whom the Bell Tolls:

For Whom the Bell Tolls,novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1940. The title is from a sermon by  containing the famous words "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main…. Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Any therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Short Summary:

The novel is set near Segovia,Spain, in 1937 and tells the story of American teacher Robert Jordan, who has joined the antifascist Loyalist army. Jordan has been sent to make contact with a guerrilla band and blow up a bridge to advance a Loyalist offensive. The action takes place during Jordan’s 72 hours at the guerrilla camp. During this period he falls in love with María, who has been raped by fascist soldiers, and befriends the shrewd but cowardly guerrilla leader Pablo and his courageous wife, Pilar. Jordan manages to destroy the bridge; Pablo, Pilar, María, and two other guerrillas escape, but Jordan is injured. Proclaiming his love to María once more, he awaits the fascist  troops and certain death.

Homage to Catalonia

Homage to Catalonia, autobiographical account by George Orwell of his experience as a volunteer for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War,in 1938.

Narrative Technique of For Whom the Bell Tolls:

For Hemingway, point of view is important. ‘For Whom Bell Tolls’ presents the narrative through an omniscient point of view that continually shifts back and forth between the characters. In this way, Hemingway can effectively chronicle the effect of the war on the men and women involved. The narrator shifts from Anselmo’s struggles in the snow during his watch to Pilar’s story about Pablo’s execution of Fascists and El Sordo’s lonely death to help readers more clearly visualize their experiences. 

Narrative Technique of Homage to Catalonia:

Orwell himself is the narrator. The book presents his point of view of the different sides involved in the Spanish Civil War, particularly his point of view regarding the Communists .

Characterisation:For Whom the Bell Tolls

Robert Jordan An American college instructor of Spanish, fighting as a demolition expert with the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War.

Pablo Leader of the guerilla band whose aid Jordan enlists in the destruction of a bridge.

Pilar Pablo's mujer, who has kept the band together in spite of the fact that Pablo has "gone bad."

Maria A young girl whom the guerillas have rescued from enemy captivity and who falls in love with Jordan.

Anselmo An old man, one of the few members of Pablo's band whom Jordan trusts.

General Golz A Russian officer, one of the many military "observers" sent to aid the Spanish communists in the war, who is directing the forthcoming attack.

Kashkin Another Russian, Jordan's predecessor as demolition man with Pablo's band. He is dead when the book opens.

El Sordo The leader of another guerilla band which is hiding out in the vicinity of Pablo's cave.

Joaquin A young boy, member of El Sordo's band.

Eladio, Agustin, Andres, Primitivo, Fernando, and Rafael Members of Pablo's band.

Characterisation of Homage to Catalonia

George Orwell

For the author, Homage To Catalonia serves as Orwell's memoir of his time as a reporter in the Spanish Civil War. The book is Orwell's reflections on warfare, ideology, and Spain as a Leftist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. The book is largely Orwell's anecdotes about his time working in Barcelona as a volunteer for the war effort. While he joins the war optimistic about its goals, by the end of war, Orwell grows disillusioned with the entire affair. He escapes Spain when the P.O.U.M. (his ideological faction) is suppressed. After the war, Orwell returns to England.

 

Orwell’s Wife

Orwell's wife who came with him to Spain. While unnamed in the story (her real name was Eileen Blair), Orwell's wife supported him through the war. By the end of the book, she helps Orwell escape from Spain by helping him hide in her hotel room. Orwell's wife helps him avoid the authorities through Barcelona when the P.O.U.M. is suppressed and Orwell has to escape from Spain. Once the two acquire passport, Orwell and his wife return to England.

 

The Italian Militiaman

While he only has an incredibly brief appearance (Orwell does not even know his name), the Italian Militiaman is the most important character in the entire book. Orwell's memory of the Italian militiaman is what serves as his first important memory of the Spanish Civil War. All of Orwell's memories flow from his passing encounter with the militiaman on his arrival to Spain. An image which, to Orwell, defines the entire war in retrospect.

 

Georges Kopp

A Belgian volunteer and fellow member of the P.O.U.M. who Orwell meets during the Spanish Civil War. Kopp appears several times through the book on the front-lines and an important officer with his relationship to Orwell. Kopp servers as Orwell's ideal model of the ideological solider, but that does not save Kopp by the end of the book. The book's climax commences when the P.O.U.M. is outlawed and Kopp arrested. At the end of the book, Orwell attempts to rescue Kopp from prison but is unable to.

 

P.O.U.M

The P.O.U.M. or Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista (Worker's Party of Marxist Unification) is the Spanish political party which Orwell joins upon entering the Spanish Civil War. The P.O.U.M. was one of the major political organizations among the many factions within the Spanish Civil War. The P.O.U.M itself was a radical Leftist group which suppressed by Catalonia's Stalinist elements by the end of the war. The suppression results in the arrest, disappearance, and execution of many of P.O.U.M.'s members. Due to this, Orwell flees Spain by the end of the book due to the violent suppression. The last event which totally sours him on his experiences in the Spanish Civil War.

 

Effect of War in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Each of the characters in For Whom the Bell Tolls loses his or her psychological or physical innocence to the war. Some endure tangible traumas: Joaquín loses both his parents and is forced to grow up quickly, while Maria loses her physical innocence when she is raped by a group of Fascist soldiers. On top of these tangible, physical costs of the war come many psychological costs. Robert Jordan initially came to Spain with idealism about the Republican cause and believed confidently that he was joining the good side. But after fighting in the war, Robert Jordan becomes cynical about the Republican cause and loses much of his initial idealism.

The victims of violence in the war are not the only ones to lose their innocence—the perpetrators lose their innocence too. The ruffians in Pablo’s hometown who participate in the massacre of the town Fascists have to face their inner brutality afterward. Anselmo has to suppress his aversion to killing human beings, and Lieutenant Berrendo has to quell his aversion to cutting heads off of corpses.

Effect of War in Homage to Catalonia:

Homage to Catalonia belongs in any list of important books on the Spanish civil war. It has informed opinion in the English-speaking world about the war – providing the inspiration, for instance, for Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom. However, limited to the time and place of Orwell’s presence in Spain, it would certainly not be there as a reliable analysis of the broader politics of the war, particularly of its international determinants. He clearly knew nothing of its origins or of the social crisis behind the Barcelona clashes. In none of his writings does he mention having any prior acquaintance with Spain or ever reading a book in Spanish about the war or anything else. Orwell himself acknowledged “my partisanship, my mistakes of fact, and the distortion inevitably caused by my having seen only one corner of events”.

 

 

Thinking Activity:I.A.Richard's 'Figurative Language'

Hello friends

After completing the unit of I.A Richard's The Practical Criticism: Figurative Language our Prof.Dr.Dilip Barad sir has gave a thinking activity on it.We have to do verbal analysis of poem/song/film song lyrics/hymns/devotional songs or any Poetic expression in any language by keeping in mind the kinds of misunderstanding according to "Figurative Language"

I.A.Richard is one of the greatest critics of the modern age. He was born in 1983. He took education at Cambridge. In fact, T.S. Eliot and I.A. Richards are considered to be the pioneers in the field of New Criticism. They differ a lot in the views. Critics like John Crowe Ransom, Kenneth Burke, Cleanth Brooks, R.P.Blackmur, Robert Penn Warren William Empson were indebted to I.A. Richards.

 I.A. Richards is a pioneer figure as far as New Criticism is considered. His works are.

1 The Meaning of Meaning- 1923

2 The Practical of Criticism – 1929

3 The Principles of Literary criticism-1924

 

💠Four misunderstanding of language :

(i) Misunderstanding of the sense of poetry: Careless, intuitive reading (rhyme or irregular syntax).

(ii) Over-liter reading – prosaic reading.

(iii) Defective scholarship.

(ix) Difference in meaning of words in poetry and prose.

He gave new path to literary criticism. In his methodology, a lot of importance is given to the words. He believed that poet writes to communicate and language is the means of that communication. Language is made of words and words carry four kinds of meaning:

•.Sense : The items referred by a writer.

• Feelings : Feeling refers to emotions. Emotional attitude, will, attitude, desire, pleasure, displeasure.

• Tone: Tone is writers attitude to his readers or audience.

• Intention : It is writers aim which may be conscious or unconscious. It refresh to the effect that he tries to produced.

💠He give a two use of Language

1. Scientific use

2. Emotive use

Here I am putting the video recording on New Criticism.

Here I am going to discuss about one of the  famous Gujarati  poem of Ravji Patel.  In this poem has used high level and contradictory language and also poem represent more theme  with figurative language. I hope you all will enjoy reading this blog.

 

મારી આંખે કંકુના સૂરજ આથમ્યા

મારી આંખે કંકુના સૂરજ આથમ્યા…

મારી વ્હેલ શણગારો વીરા, શગને સંકોરો

રે અજવાળાં પહેરીને ઊભા શ્વાસ!

મારી આંખે કંકુના સૂરજ આથમ્યા…

પીળે રે પાંદે લીલા ઘોડા ડૂબ્યા;

ડૂબ્યાં અલકાતાં રાજ, ડૂબ્યાં મલકાતાં કાજ

રે હણહણતી મેં સાંભળી સુવાસ!

મારી આંખે કંકુના સૂરજ આથમ્યા…

મને રોકે પંછાયો એક ચોકમાં;

અડધા બોલે ઝાલ્યો; અડધો ઝાંઝરથી ઝાલ્યો

મને વાગે સજીવી હળવાશ!

મારી આંખે કંકુના સૂરજ આથમ્યા…

💠Analysis of the Poem:

🔷Misunderstanding:-

                                                   When we read this poem during that time it increases the question in our mind that What this poem is talking about and also our mind thinks what message this poem gives us. Most of the time We never think connection of outside world. When I read the first line of this poem , I think that it is misunderstanding and also difficult to easily understand. We can see that poet say , ' Mari ankhe kanku na suraj athamiya...'  I never imagined about this scenery scene because I think that How can possible sunset on the eye but here the poet says, He saw his death through own eye. What connection between eye and sunset. 

                                                 When We read Word by word this poem there are not get proper meaning in the poem. So this poem is very problematic to read word by word. Another thing is that poet used effective and figurative language such as, 'kanku',' vahel','shag',' Anjvala'...etc. Maybe, Poet used all this word connected with death and marriage because when people died during that time they used all that thing as same as marriage  time. but I can't say this is a proper interpretation of poem. Here poet used archetypes symbolically. Thus, I have said that we automatically put in difficulty to understand the concept of poem.

🔷Metaphor and Visual image:-

                                        In this poem was used symbolic words and metaphor by poet.like as, 'kanku','suraj athamiya','vahel sangaro','shagne shankoro','anjvala pehri ubha shvash...'etc. In this poem Poet used mixed metaphor and also personification. Poet also explained his emotion and experience through comparison with sunset, Submerged horse...etc.

We can saw that poet used vivid visual images and metaphors in poems like, ' pile re pane lila ghoda doobya' means his death in time of youth.

🔷 Intention of the poet:-

                                    The poet speaks with aim which I think what's important of life and time of youth another theme is that feeling of a poet like a painful death. I think that death and marriage both are equal because both of the time became the same condition. Thus the poet personifies something through poetry.

                                      In this way the figurative language used by Ravji Patel. So We cannot understand it easily , we have to do experiments on it to understand the language. This poem is also a problematic poem while we read verbal study. We can find emotive or scientific language in the poem. Other things that poets represented were culture and manner of India through elements of marriage and death.

Words 916

Sunday Reading:Two Short stories by Mahendrasinh Parmar

Hello readers,

                       This Blog is a part of Sunday reading tasks in which professor keep on giving the task on Sunday to cultivate the thinking ability in students. So, on this Sunday, students' work is to interpret these two Gujarati short stories "Intellectual Indubhai" and "ISI No Haath" from "Polytechnic"- a collection of short stories published in 2016 by Mahendrasinh Parmar.

👉''ISI no Haath'

'ISI no Haath' is a very interesting short story by Mahendrasinh_Parmar. It is satire on the 'Religion'.By reading the title the first thoght comes in our mind is about terrorists and Muslims. Later on we come to know that the story is about the partial behavioural pattern of religion and how it creates terrorosts.

I  - Ishvar Dabhi

S - Sharad Joshi

I  - Indrajit Dholakiya

So it's about the people whose life ruined because of the temple.

Ishvar was Junk Man or Scavenger Or Scrap Collector. He collected old newspapers but when this Temple was built they told the people to give the old newspaper to them. So people think that it would be good to give newspaper to temple so in the name of faith and religion people don't gave old newspaper to Ishvar  so because of that his business was broken. 

Sharad was from poor family. His mother was good cook. His father  and his mother feed people and earning  money. But because of the temple their business was broken because temple provide food to people in 600 Rs per month. Sharad father can't face the reality and died.

 Indrajit was a professor. He talked about the profession of the religious people. Temple became the profession for earning money. He talked about the land on which the temple was built. This land was given by Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji for education purposes but later on this land was taken by religious people to build temples. So how religion ruined education.

Connection of Contemporary event:

 

                                                             Here, we can see the imaginative power of the writer that indirectly, he criticized the reality of Aksharvadi Temple of Bhavnagar. In the story when we read the words of the professor Indrajeet, when a policeman was inquiring that this land was donated to the University for educational purpose by his highness Maharaja Krishnakumarsihnji, the last Maharaja of Gohil Dynasty. Hence, professor and many others against this temple and also the professor from Chemistry department, and also Sir P.P Institute is connected with the Aksharvadi temple and also this event actually happened in the past. So we can say that this is an imaginative truth very aptly conveyed by writes through this story and also a satire on politics and on religious institute also that they shut the mouth of people who spoke against the temple through the power and we also see in the story that all three characters turned in the favour of the temple.

Mostly whenever we go to any temple we see how there is one 'VIP, line. if God is for all then why this partiality.These religion create an atmosphere and make people frustrsated at that level,that they ready to do anything.We see religion as devil in this story.How the temple is turned into a business centre!!!! The S.P escape at the end of the story.No one tries to stop him.

👉'Intellectual Indubhai '

                                   The first  story is a wonderful work of imaginative truth. The story about one professor Indubhai, was very intellectual and kind hearted person. He was teaching lesson of humanism and teach the thoughts of gandhiji, Narsinh Mehta, Meera, Eliot and Rilke. But one day he faced the cruel situation in which majority and minority communal riots happened and people killed and burned each other. After, seen that kind of situation Indubhai remembering the western thinkers. Here, writer of this story seems very knowledgeable because he reminds the western thinkers to the people. 

 

 

Connection of Contemporary event:

                        When we read the words 'February a cruelest month', 'Majority and Minority' and 'Burning train' the Post-Godhra riots come in our mind. This story is about the Post- Godhra riots in which many people lost their lives, mass raped of the women, looting shops, burning children and women. 

 

Here, writer very wonderfully wrote that the books of Ramayana, Mahabharat, Krishna nu Jivan sangeet all are burned so it means all the moral thoughts are also burned in the mind of people. So, the story is presented with great imaginative truth.

 

Satire on Western Thinkers

Conclusion:

To conclude, we can say that the writer's way of telling imaginative truth is great, very wonderfully he talked about the real incidents through the imagination power each and every words and characters are appropriate to convey the reality.

Thinking Activity: Waiting for Godot

Hello Friends!

I am Daya Vaghani,Student of the Department of English ,MKBU.This blog is part of our thinking activity given by our teacher Heena Ma’am.In this blog I am going to answer some of the questions of the play “Waiting For Godot”.To know more about this play Click here .

1)What do you think about the character of the play?

I found absurdity in the characters of 'Waiting for Godot..  In order to prove it,  if  we consider the  main characters  of “Waiting for Godot'' for example, Estragon  and  Vladimir,  we  can  see that  they  are waiting  without knowing the purpose they are  waiting for. Furthermore,  they are  not making  sense of  the lives  and existence and that is  why they think about suicide.  In  the  same  way,  they also indicate  the  carelessness  of  Godot towards  them.  This relationship is  represented  in  the  shape of a master  slave dichotomy named Pozzo,  the  master and  Lucky,  the  slave,  where no importance  is  given to the  slave  and is  overburdened without any  care.  This  is  to make Estragon  and Vladimir realize that though  you  are  waiting for  Godot  but this  could be  your situation in  the end.  Another thing which  is  also associated  with  the absurdity in  the  characters  of  “Waiting for  Godot” is  their  trust  on each  other for  holding up  and  support. Each of  them  believes to get  some sort  of  help from  the other one and thus  tries to put a seal to  his  chaotic  life. Therefore,  we can say that it is  this meaninglessness,  this  detachment,  this  strangeness  and finally this  spiritual  and  physical  isolation  in  the characters  of the  text that  make  them  absurd characters.

2. What do you say about their activities and its significance?

In this play all characters do nothing.Their activities are meaningless and absurd.

For example

In Waiting for  Godot”,  the  very  first  page  and  in  fact the  very first dialogue between Estragon  and Vladimir  has  absurdity  and purposelessness  of life.  Estragon  while pulling off  his  shoes, panting  and  quite  exhausted rests  for some time when Vladimir enters Estragon says,

ESTRAGON: (giving up  again).  Nothing to  be done. 

VLADIMIR: (advancing with  short,  stiff  strides,  legs  wide apart). I'm  beginning  to come round  to  that opinion.  All  my life  I've  tried to  put  it  from  me,  saying  Vladimir,  be reasonable,  you  haven't  yet tried everything.  And I  resumed the struggle.  (He  brood s,  musing on the  struggle.  Turning to Estragon.)  So, there  you are again. (P-1)

When Pozzo asks time and again  that  his  name  is  Pozzo but then too Estragon  and  Vladimir are indifferent  and  call  him with  wrong name. If  somebody loses  his  identity and  name,  the  situation becomes unbearable and  absurd.  This  gives  the  sense that  like Pozzo, everybody  will  lose  his  or  her iden tity  in  this  chaotic  world where  people become so indifferent that  they cannot  even recognize you  by  your  name. Absurdity is  not only in  the meaninglessness  of the  world  we live in  but  also in  the time  when we become blind  to  it  and  cannot  realize  its  effects  or functions.

Symbolically,  this means  that  we all  are blind without  the  notion  of  time.  In  fact,  this is  the  situation  of  all human  beings.  The  meaninglessness  of  time is  in  fact the meaninglessness  of  life and this  meaninglessness cannot  be changed if  one  makes efforts as  Vladimir  says that “one is  what one  is…the essentials  doesn’t change  (p.15).  It  means  that the  absurdity of  the world  is  not to  be changed but it  is  you  who is supposed  to  undergo  change and that is  death.

3. Is there any similarity between the situations in the play and the lockdown period of 2020?

Yes ,there were so many similarities among the play and Lockdown period of 2020.We all felt like the character of the play. We waiting for the Godot it means we are waiting for the normal time.Still we are in that situation,we also fill absurdity in our life.

4.  Did you feel like existential crisis?

Yes,I felt existential crisis during Lockdown.Around the world, many people have found that the Covid-19 crisis has helped them realise what is truly important in their lives. The basics: like health, relationships, a safe and warm place you can call home, dignity, freedom from persecution and discrimination. Being able to feed yourself and pay the bills.

Meanwhile, the virus will continue to travel across the world, and within communities, exploiting any gaps in protection measures. We don’t yet know how this will play out, but we can be certain of the uncertainty the pandemic will continue to create, and of our need to live with and adapt to it safely, while taking measures to protect both health and livelihoods.

Nowadays I am facing the same.Online classes is going on.And I have lots of network problem at my home.I am attending all my lectures from terrace even in the summer.I feel absurdity in my life.

5)What did you do to pass time?

I was spending more time with my family.I used to  watched lots of T.V serials,movies,webseries,reading books during lockdown.I was attending Online session for Tet-Tat exams.And during lockdown there were two little baby at my home so it became very easy to passed time with them.It was kind of very long vacation for all of us.

6) How was your psychological condition?

It was very very danger psychological condition during Lockdown. Sometimes i felt my life is meaningless.There was no hope for anything. Life was disturbed.I was getting angry on anybody at my home because of that quarantined period.I didn’t like to sat 24 hour in home.