Analyze the symbolism in Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Symbolism is the key factor in Waiting for Godot; however, in order to understand the symbols in the play, you have to understand where Absurdist Theater came from and what it entails.  

Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot sometime between 1948 and 1949; however, it was not first performed until 1953.  At the end of World War II, a change in theater occurred.  While Surrealism had existed in the 1920s, it resurfaced after the war not as a fantastical element but as a moment of intense emotion and awareness that freed people from the ordinary.  Post World War II found France with a crisis of "moral order."  France had been controlled by Nazi Germany for a time, and then was freed.  The result left some confusion over what was considered moral and what wasn't.  Under this new confusion, Existentialism came into being.  "Theater of the Absurd," is the best classification of Waiting for Godot, which is a part of Existentialism.  Absurdist Theater is a term given to plays that show "a hostile meaningless universe looming large over individuals who are unsure of or unconcerned about what to make of themselves, their situation, and other things they encounter."  When you think about France during and at the end of World War II, it is easy to understand how it embraced Absurdist Theater.  

The world of Waiting for Godot is not our world.  It resembles our world, but it is not intended to take place in the world that we experience.  Didi and Gogo are supplicants of Godot.  While they have no power in this world, they feel that Godot must have some type of power and possesses the things they do not have: home, family, friends, servants, books, money, and a horse.  There is a bit of fear from Didi and Gogo that they might be slaves of Godot, but they really do not know.  Their relationship to Godot is not as clearly defined as it is with Pozzo and Lucky.  

Certain aspects of our world exist in the world of Waiting for Godot, such as dancing and singing to pass the time, and the Bible.  There is a Fair, which is never seen, but it is both happy and troubling.  There is whimsical imagery when talking about the fair, but the eventuality of Lucky's sale offers some foreboding.    Time and geography are different in the world.  Didi do not know if they have been sitting in the same place or if it has changed.  

As in all Surrealism and Existentialism, symbolism plays a key part in the production of the play.   I will discuss four major aspects of symbolism: Duality, the tree, the character's hats, and the “waiting”/ time; however, there are more symbols throughout the play such as Gogo's inability to get close to people due to his sense of "smell" (his repulsion of the banality of humanity), Lucky and Pozzo and the connection to self-slavery and how the slaver and the slave are intertwined (Pozzo doesn't know how to do anything.  He would be powerless without Lucky's help), the oncoming night representing death, and Lucky's dance "The Net"- showing how he has been enslaved so long he can no longer dance true dances of joy, but can only stretch for freedom before falling back into slavery.

Duality.  50/50 chances are a running theme in the play- in the conversation on suicide it is decided that the tree branch may or may not break, concluding that one person may live and one person may die.  The two thieves one may be saved while the other id damned in the end.  Godot himself may only save one of the two main characters.  The entire play is bound in pairs: Vladimir and Estragon are bound together for what seems throughout time.  There are two thieves.  Pozzo and Lucky come and leave as a pair.  Cain and Abel the first two brothers are discussed.  The tree's movement between life and death throughout Act one and Act 2.   In addition, it must be noted that the play only has two acts rather than the standard three of the time.

The theme of duality that runs through the play is intended to express the ambiguity of not really knowing about God, time, existence.  It shows the idea that we all have fifty-fifty chances in who we are and where we will eventually end.  Either we are right or we are wrong in our decisions about what we are supposed to do with our life.    

The Tree.  The tree is the only prominent piece of the set.  It is discussed that the tree may be a willow that has given up weeping and is now dead.  Didi and Gogo are to wait beside the tree in order to meet Godot.  However, they are concerned that it is the wrong tree despite the fact that it is the only tree in what the audience can perceive as the world.  In general the tree is to have two branches that give the tree the impression that it is a cross, contributing to the image of a cross.  This connects to the idea that the tree itself represents regeneration or resurrection.  A side joke that is hidden in the text of the play is that both Didi and Gogo consider hanging themselves from the limb of the tree but decide against it because the limb will not support them.  Under the ideals of Catholicism, the salvation promised through the cross does not support those who commit suicide.

The Character's Hats:  Each character has a hat (except the boy).  In the original play, all characters had bowler hats, but in several modern versions, directors have chosen to have various styles, so the audience can track the hats' movements.  The bowler hats are a nod to Beckett's joy of Vaudeville Theater where the majority of the performers wore bowler hats.  Likewise, the bowler hats are generally used through blocking with vaudevillian hat tricks.   The hats represent the identity and personality of each of the characters.  Vladimir (Didi) focuses almost completely on his hat.  Throughout the play, he is the thinker.  Estragon (Gogo) is fixated on his boots and his hat is secondary.  He is the realist of the two companions.  He has his feet on the ground.  Lucky can only think with his hat on, and Pozzo shows his dominance over Lucky by removing the hat and returning it at his will.  Lucky's hat is also used when Didi decides to wear it.  This indicates Didi's desire to change himself.  It is interesting that Didi chooses the slave rather than the master when he makes this shift.  Finally, the hats are used to show that uniformity comes from removing your personality.   Every time the group agrees or comes to a conclusion, all hats are removed.  

Finally, the symbolism of Gogo and Didi “waiting.”  At one point Gogo calls it “hope deferred.”  Both of the main characters are preoccupied with passing the time.  It is symbolic of how some people are so preoccupied with waiting for good things, bad things, resurrection, death, the lives and choices of others, their own failings, etc. they never move forward in life.  The continual ramblings of Didi and Gogo trying to entertain themselves during the “waiting,” exemplifies how people distract themselves from their own hopes and dreams.  Neither Didi nor Gogo come to any realizations about their lives throughout the course of the play and this is shown in the final line "Yes, let's go."  The statement gives the expectation of movement, yet in the staging of waiting for Godot, neither Didi nor Gogo move.  The play is clear that there should be an overall sense of lingering by the two actors giving the audience a clear statement that they will not actually leave from where they are seated.  This hints back at Pozzo’s statement when he plans to leave that he cannot go forward.  “Such is life” is the reply.  Pozzo must get a running start in order to leave the stage.  It is important to note that Pozzo loses his watch before he is able to move forward along the road. (He loses his awareness and connection to waiting.)  Gogo and Didi remain, however, eternally focusing on the waiting. 

Comment on the imagery and rhetoric in the play Waiting for Godot.

Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting for Godot is a drama of the absurd in which two tramps are wasting time while awaiting the arrival of a man named Godot. In this work, the traditional concept of plot is virtually non-existent. There is no real character development or conflict. The play lacks suspense, dramatic action, or denouement. The characters simply wait, share stories, dance, and “think” while passing time. Emphasizing boredom, Beckett uses repetition ad nauseam. He de-emphasizes plot and character development to stress the absurdity of life. Thus, analysis based on the literary aspect of the play seems most appropriate.

There are two specific literary aspects of the play that permeate this drama. The first is allusion. Allusion is a type of imagery that uses passing references, without explicit identification, to a literary person, place, event, or work. Since they are not explicitly identified, it is assumed that the references are within the knowledge of both the author and the audience. Most are intended to be recognized by generally educated readers in the audience.

For example, in this play, Vladimir shares the Gospel story of the two thieves:

“Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other . . . (he searches for the contrary of saved) . . . damned.”

In another scene, Estragon compares himself to the barefoot Christ:

Vladimir: But you can't go barefoot!
Estragon: Christ did.
Vladimir: Christ! What has Christ got to do with it. You're not going to compare yourself to Christ!
Estragon: All my life I've compared myself to him.

Further use of allusion is identified by several characters that are compared to the biblical Cain and Abel. There are also numerous references to classical Greek literary and mythological figures like Atlas and Pan. The biblical and classical references are not always obvious to the reader, but the author does use them to differentiate between the classical and modern worlds.

The second literary aspect of the play worth examining carefully is the fluctuating tones of the language Beckett uses while attempting to summarize many of the play’s themes.

For example, sometimes the author uses a formal tone and sometimes everyday vernacular. Some of the writing is poetic, other times trite, and yet other times consists of familiar maxims and familiar sayings like “Never neglect the little things of life” or “strike the iron before it freezes.” His rhetoric takes on various forms throughout the play. Clichés such as “time will tell” are replete in this drama.

In Beckett’s theater of the absurd, he infuses his work with imagery and rhetoric in lieu of conventional ideas of plot, character development, and conflict.

What are the symbols in Waiting for Godot?

Arguably the most blatant symbol in Waiting for Godot is the hat. It can be said to represent the stable identity that all of the characters in the play desperately seek but somehow never find.

At the time that the play was written, hats would've been seen as signs of social respectability, especially the bowler hat as it's known in England (or "derby" in the United States). The problem for the characters on stage, however, is that they're not part of any society to speak of; they're rather lonely, isolated individuals in search of a fixed self.

Wearing hats gives them a much-needed sense of security in a bleak, apocalyptic world in which all the old certainties have been destroyed. Hats are not just important for the characters; they're essential. Lucky can't even think without one. The rapid exchange of hats in act 2 emphasizes the point. When the characters start swapping hats with each other, they no longer have any idea of who they are. They are so indissolubly linked with their hats that, once the hats have gone, so too have their identities, such as they are.

What are the symbolic meanings of the characters in "Waiting for Godot"?

There are several ways to read the characters of "Waiting for Godot" as symbolic. I'll provide you with some of the major readings, though for the details, you'll have to do some digging in the text of Beckett's play!

• The physical and the mental. This is best exemplified by Estragon's obsession with his boots, and Vladimir's obsession with his hat - the two represent, respectively, the thinker (V) and the pragmatist (E). Vladimir's breath stinks, and Estragon's feet stink. The two are interlinked and co-dependent, but different in approach. The head, and the feet. The hat and the boots.
  
• Post-apocalyptic tramps. Beckett's play never actually specifies that any of its characters are tramps, but they seem to sleep outside in ditches - and are afraid of some mysterious figures who beat them and can potentially cause them harm. The Eiffel Tower is mentioned, placing the play in a reasonably modern context, and yet it seems that civilisation has disappeared or vanished. Are the two survivors of some horrific global wipeout?
  
• Christianity. The play is packed with references to the Old Testament, and "Godot" is a close aural relation of "God". Are the two men sinners on the road to redemption? Who is Godot? Why does that leaf appear on the tree?
  
• Servant and master. Best exemplified by Pozzo and Lucky and their rope-lead. Vladimir and Estragon also switch roles as servant or master - and the dynamics of dependency and power are constantly at play. 

What is the symbolic meaning of waiting in Waiting for Godot?

I think that one of the basic elements that helps to bring out the symbolic meaning of waiting is the condition of paralysis that results as a part of it.  The characters who "wait" demonstrate a type of paralysis that precludes them from actually being able to take action when it might be warranted.  At the end, when it is present that Godot is not coming, Vladimir and Estragon can only wait. It is the only thing they know how to do.  While they go through it together, they have lost the ability to take action.  It is here where the full force of the symbolic meaning of waiting is brought out.  Beckett draws out a human condition whereby the true problem of waiting is one where individuals become accustomed to it, no longer understanding what it means to take action.  This human  condition becomes fully evident when it is evident that the only thing the characters in the drama know how to do is wait.  Even when it is evident that nothing is going to be gained from waiting, the sense of paralysis that results from waiting is one whereby individuals lose the understanding and the capacity to take action.  It is here where the true meaning of waiting can be fully seen.

Is there symbolic meaning in the characters' actions in Waiting for Godot?

In the theater of the absurd play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, the four main characters consist on two pair of very odd individuals whose actions alone symbolize the emptiness and nothingness that can be part of existence. Triviality is a key element for the action of the story because the philosophy of existentialism, and the question of the meaning of life, tend to make us wonder whether anything we do is worth doing, or not. Other questions that the theater of the absurd address are: Who are we? What are we here for? What is life worth?

Therefore, to start, let's understand that the triviality of the character's actions is the force that moves the plot forward. The actions themselves are nonsensical, useless, and out of place. All this shows how serious the theater of the absurd takes the concept of whether we, as live beings, have any real purpose to be here.

Among the actions in Waiting for Godot, Lucky represents slavery as he is Pozzo's slave and carries Pozzo's belongings without asking. He entertains at Pozzo's request and basically his activity in the story comes to show that Lucky's life is complete nonsense. He is enslaved without questioning and allows to be mistreated. That, in a normal mind, is not common.

In a same scenario, the eternal and worthless wait of Estragon and Vladimir illustrates the waste of space some people cause in society, and in humanity. Here are two perfectly healthy persons in a state of mental despair that leads them to kill themselves. The sole idea of suicide shows how they, themselves, feel as though living is not worth it. The fact that one is rich and the other is poor also shows that this feelings of despair and isolation can occur in any walk of life.

There are too many activities in the play that send a subconscious message of emptiness and worthlessness. All the things they do serve no purpose, and represent a part of our psyche that begs for help, but does not know where to get it. That is why they wait for Godot as if Godot would restore their hope. As we know, in the end, Godot never shows up.