Beckett, Samuel - Waiting for Godot (5)

Waiting for Godot is considered Beckett’s masterpiece. This play expresses the condition of chaos and confusion which characterized the modern society after the World War.
The world is naturally chaotic but human beings need an order, in fact society is based on conventions such as rules, ideals, beliefs. The World War destroyed this order, shattering every certainty and leaving man alone in an incomprehensible reality. Beckett shows us that the only certainty is uncertainty.

The protagonists Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for a mysterious character. Some critics affirm that the waiting for Godot represents the waiting of God who can save man. In my opinion, Godot generally represents a landmark in chaotic world but it won’t arrive.
As the philosopher Nietzsche shatters the western philosophy, as well Beckett expresses the dissolution of human being. Vladimir and Estragon live a condition of eternal waiting that symbolizes the senseless search for meaning of human existence when every landmark is broken.
Another comparison between Nietzsche and Waiting for Godot is the idea of circular time: the characters are immersed in a circular time, which focuses on the individual tragedy. The play shows as that everything is meaningless because nothing happens: there isn’t a plot and the story doesn’t develop.
Moreover characters haven’t a real identity and in this context communication is meaningless. Beckett uses many stylistic innovations in order to show this condition.