Waiting for Godot Group
Question:
What is significant about the action with the hats in Act II of Waiting for Godot?
Answers:
-
ms-charleston-yawp Teacher
High School - 11th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by ms-charleston-yawp on Friday January 23, 2009 at 6:17 PMThe significance of the hat-swapping in Act II is usually attributed to Beckett's admiration of the famous Laurel and Hardy routines in Vaudeville. In a true representation of the Theatre of the Absurd, we are given a brief moment of true comic relief as we are immersed in this slapstick comedy. This is evident even in reading the ever-popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, in its entry on Laurel and Hardy. "Observers have found the archetypal Laurel and Hardy scenario (two tramp-like men bewildered by the simplest elements of life) to have much in common with the Theatre of the Absurd. This is most manifested in the work of Samuel Beckett, himself a fan, and who was unquestionably influenced by the characters in works such as Waiting for Godot." In addition, I find it interesting that it is Estragon who winds up with Lucky's hat, his special "thinking hat" from Act I, that I suspect is supposed to be a play on the "put on your thinking cap" idiom. Perhaps this is the reason why Lucky is no longer able to talk when we see him again. Ah, welcome to absurdist literature!
Sources:
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Popular Links
- Waiting for Godot Summary
- Waiting for Godot Characters
- Waiting for Godot Themes
- Waiting for Godot Essays and Criticism
Top Tags in Waiting for Godot
- Waiting for Godot
- characters
- themes
- estragon
- vladimir
- beckett
- theatre of the absurd
- significance
- godot
- Lucky
- pozzo
- Samuel Beckett
- Apocalypse
- title
- tramps
- More »
See Also:
- - For teachers, the Waiting for Godot Lesson Plan.
- - Waiting for Godot summary and study guide in the eNotes.
