Thursday, October 22, 2015

Can you help me find several examples showing that Waiting for Godot demonstrates a nihilistic view of time?

I think that there is a natural tendency to see far nihilism in
Beckett's work. If we examine the definition of nihilism as a "negation of one more meaningful
aspects of life," there are examples of this in the play concerning the issue of time. Analyzing
these to an extent can be done without ruining the overall meaning of the play. The time spent
waiting for Godot is nihilistic because there is little purpose to it. Vladmir concocts games to
play with Estragon "to pass the time." This, in its own right, is nihilist because there is no
specific end to which it is directed. In a larger sense, time is shown to be a specific quantity
for which there is no specific purpose. Essentially, the characters are shown to view time in a
manner where there is little in way of a directed or purposeful end. The characters wait for
"Godot," an exercise that lacks meaning. Estragon, on occasion, forgets the name, and Vladimir,
while the brains of the operation, really has little clue about the mysterious dinner guest. In
the end, time is shown to be a quality where there is little purpose and directed end. The
characters have an abundance of it, but little understanding as to what to do with it in order to
develop meaning into their lives.

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