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Waiting for Godot

by Samuel Beckett

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Student Question

What does the Eiffel Tower symbolize in Waiting for Godot?

Quick answer:

In Waiting for Godot, the Eiffel Tower symbolizes a happier past and a missed opportunity. Vladimir recalls a time when he and Estragon visited the tower, which represented human achievement. He laments that they did not jump off the tower then, as it could have ended their suffering. Instead, they are now stuck waiting for Godot.

Expert Answers

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In Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, the Eiffel Tower represents a happier past but also, to Vladimir, a missed opportunity. Let's look at how this works.

The reference to the Eiffel Tower occurs in the play's first act. Vladimir and Estragon have just met, and Vladimir is going on and on about his difficult life while Estragon tries to get his boot off. Vladimir remembers how they went to the Eiffel Tower at some time in the past and climbed to the top of it. Apparently, life was a little better then, for the two were able to take such a trip.

In fact, the Eiffel Tower often represents the heights of human achievement in its grand structure that reaches for the sky. Perhaps Vladimir and Estragon admired it as such at the time. The play does not tell us.

Now, however, Vladimir, in his wretched despair, sees the Eiffel Tower as a missed opportunity. They should have jumped off, he says, “Hand in hand from the top of the Eiffel Tower, among the first.” They should have committed suicide right then, ending their miserable existence. But they did not, so here they are by the side of the road, waiting for Godot.

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