Waiting for Godot
Act I: Introduction & Pozzo and Lucky's Entrance
Summary
Estragon is trying to take off his boot when Vladimir enters. The two men greet each other; Vladimir examines his hat while Estragon struggles with his boot. They discuss the versions of the story of the two thieves in the Gospels, and Vladimir wonders why one version of the story is considered more accurate than the others. Estragon wants to leave, but Vladimir tells him that they cannot because they are waiting for Godot, who they are supposed to meet by the tree. They wonder if they are waiting in the correct spot, or if it is even the correct day. Estragon falls asleep, but Vladimir wakes him because he feels lonely. Estragon starts to tell Vladimir about the dream he was having, but Vladimir does not want to hear his "private nightmares." Estragon wonders if it would be better for them to part, but Vladimir insists that Estragon would not go far. They argue and Vladimir storms off the stage, but Estragon convinces him to come back and they make up. They discuss what to do next while they wait, and Estragon suggests hanging themselves from the tree. However, after a discussion of the logistics, they decide to wait and see what Godot says. Estragon is hungry, and Vladimir gives him a carrot. They discuss whether they are tied to Godot when they hear a terrible cry nearby and huddle together to await what is coming.
Commentary
The beginning of the play establishes Vladimir and Estragon's relationship. Vladimir clearly realizes that Estragon is dependent on him when he tells Estragon that he would be "nothing more than a little heap of bones" without him. Vladimir also insists that Estragon would not go far if they parted. This dependency extends even to minute, everyday things, as Estragon cannot even take off his boot without help from Vladimir. The beginning of the play makes Vladimir and Estragon seem interchangeable. For example, one of the characters often repeats a line that the other has previously said. This happens in the very beginning when the two characters switch lines in the dialogue, with each asking the other, "It hurts?" and responding, "Hurts! He wants to know if it hurts!" In addition to demonstrating the way that the two characters can be seen as interchangeable, this textual repetition will be found throughout the play as an indicator of the repetitiveness of life in general for Vladimir and Estragon. Vladimir's discussion of the story of the two thieves brings up the question of textual uncertainty. He points out that the four gospels present entirely different versions of this story, and wonders why one of these versions is accepted as definitive. This question about the reliability of texts might cause the reader (or audience) of this play to question the reliability of this particular text. Also, the repetition of the story by the four gospels might allude to the repetitiveness of the action of the play. The repetitiveness of the play is best illustrated by Estragon's repeated requests to leave, which are followed each time by Vladimir telling him that they cannot leave because they are waiting for Godot. The exact repetition of the lines each time this dialogue appears, including the stage directions, reinforces the idea that the same actions occur over and over again and suggests that these actions happen more times than the play presents. In this beginning section we get the only clue of the nature of Vladimir and Estragon's relationship with Godot. They mention that they asked Godot for "a kind of prayer...a vague supplication," which he is currently considering. This creates a parallel between Godot and God, also suggested by their similar names, and it seems that Vladimir and Estragon do consider Godot a kind of religious figure when they mention coming in on their hands and knees.
Act I: Pozzo and Lucky Scene
Summary
Pozzo enters, driving Lucky ahead of him by a rope around his neck. Vladimir and Estragon wonder if Pozzo is Godot, but he tells them that he is Pozzo and asks if they have heard of him. They tell him that they have not. Pozzo commands Lucky to put down his stool, and sits down and begins to eat some chicken. While he eats, Vladimir and Estragon circle around Lucky, inspecting him. They notice a sore on his neck and begin to ask him a question, but Pozzo tells them to leave him alone. Estragon asks Pozzo if he can have the bones from his chicken, and Pozzo tells him that Lucky gets priority over them. Estragon asks Lucky if he wants the bones, but he does not reply, and Pozzo tells Estragon that he can have the bones. He comments that he has never known Lucky to refuse a bone and hopes that he is not sick. Vladimir suddenly explodes with anger at Pozzo's treatment of Lucky, but then seems embarrassed at his outburst. Pozzo decides to go, but then decides to stay and smoke another pipe. Vladimir wants to leave, but Pozzo reminds him of his appointment with Godot. Estragon begins to wonder aloud why Lucky does not put down his bags. Pozzo begins to answer the question, after much preparation involving his vaporizer spray, but gives a convoluted and contradictory response. Vladimir asks Pozzo if he wants to get rid of Lucky; Pozzo responds that he does and is taking him to the fair to sell him. Lucky begins to cry, and Pozzo hands Estragon a handkerchief to wipe away his tears. Estragon approaches Lucky, but Lucky kicks him in the shins. Pozzo tells Vladimir and Estragon that he has learned a lot from Lucky, and that Lucky has been serving him for nearly sixty years. Vladimir becomes angry that Pozzo is going to get rid of Lucky after so much time, and Pozzo gets upset. Vladimir then gets angry at Lucky for mistreating Pozzo. Pozzo calms down, but he realizes that he has lost his pipe and begins to get upset again. While Estragon laughs at Pozzo, Vladimir exits, apparently to go to the bathroom. He returns, in a bad mood, but soon calms down. Pozzo sits down again and begins to explain the twilight. When he finishes, he asks them to evaluate his performance and then offers to have Lucky perform for them. Estragon wants to see Lucky dance, while Vladimir wants to hear him think, so Pozzo commands him to dance and then think. Lucky dances, and Estragon is not very impressed. Pozzo tells them that he used to dance much better. Vladimir asks him to tell Lucky to think, but Pozzo says that he cannot think without his hat. Vladimir puts Lucky's hat on his head and he begins to think aloud, spouting a long stream of words and phrases that amount to gibberish. As he goes on, the other three suffer more and more and finally throw themselves on him and seize his hat to make him stop. Pozzo tramples on the hat, and the men help Lucky up and give him all the bags. Pozzo is about to leave, but finds that he cannot. He decides that he needs a running start, so he starts from the opposite end of the stage and drives Lucky across as they exchange good-byes.
Commentary
Pozzo's statement about his pipe, that the second pipe is never as "sweet" as the first, can apply to experience in general—it suggests that feelings and events dull with repetition. Repetition of events in the play is emphasized by further textual repetition. When Vladimir and Estragon alternate short lines back and forth, Estragon often repeats himself at the end of a string of lines. This occurs for the first time in this exchange: "Estragon: The circus. Vladimir: The music-hall. Estragon: The circus." This same trope will recur several times in a row at the beginning of the second act, always with Estragon repeating himself. We see here that Vladimir supports Estragon after Estragon is kicked by Lucky: when he cries that he cannot walk, Vladimir offers to carry him, if necessary. This illustrates Vladimir's attempt to protect and take care of Estragon. Vladimir is often very quick to change his mind. When he learns of Lucky's long term of service to Pozzo, he becomes angry with Pozzo for mistreating his servant. However, when Pozzo gets upset and says that he cannot bear it any longer, Vladimir quickly transfers his anger to Lucky, whom he reproaches for mistreating his master after so many years. This illustrates how Vladimir's opinion can be easily swayed by a change in circumstances. In this section we see the first suggestions that Vladimir and Estragon might represent all of humanity. When Pozzo first enters, he notes that Vladimir and Estragon are of the same species as he is, "made in God's image." Later, when Pozzo asks Estragon what his name is, he replies "Adam." This comparison of Estragon to Adam, the first man, suggests that he may represent all of mankind; and this link between Estragon and Adam also relates to the idea of Godot as God. Pozzo's inquiry about how Vladimir and Estragon found him suggests that Pozzo is giving a performance. This notion is reinforced when he has Lucky perform for them. It seems that Pozzo and Lucky appear primarily to entertain Vladimir and Estragon—after Pozzo and Luck leave, the other two men comment that their presence helped the time pass more rapidly. Pozzo's failure to depart anticipates the way that Vladimir and Estragon remain waiting at the end of each of the acts, after saying they will depart. However, even after saying, "I don't seem to be able to depart," Pozzo does actually manage to leave. Pozzo moves on while Vladimir and Estragon remain fixed even as the curtain falls at the end of each act.
Act I: Pozzo and Lucky's Exit to Conclusion
Summary
After Pozzo and Lucky depart, Vladimir once again tells Estragon that they cannot leave because they are waiting for Godot. They argue about whether Pozzo and Lucky have changed, and Estragon suddenly complains of pain in his other foot. A boy enters timidly, saying that he has a message from Mr. Godot. Estragon bullies the boy, who reveals that he has been waiting a while but was afraid of Pozzo and Lucky. When Estragon shakes the boy, badgering him to tell the truth, Vladimir yells at him and sits down and begins to take off his boots. Meanwhile, Vladimir talks to the boy. He asks him if he is the one who came yesterday, but the boy tells him that he is not. The boy tells Vladimir that Mr. Godot will not come this evening, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir then asks the boy if he works for Mr. Godot, and the boy tells him that he minds the goats. The boy says that Mr. Godot does not beat him, but that he beats his brother who minds the sheep. Vladimir asks the boy if he is unhappy, but the boy does not know. He tells the boy that he can go, and that he is to tell Mr. Godot that he saw them. The boy runs off the stage and, as he goes, it suddenly becomes night. Estragon gets up and puts his boots down at the edge of the stage. Vladimir tells him that the boy assured him that Godot will come tomorrow. He tries to drag Estragon offstage to shelter, but Estragon will not go. Estragon wonders if they should part, but they decide to go together. As the curtain falls, they remain still.
Commentary
This section begins with the most commonly repeated dialogue in the play, in which Estragon wants to go and Vladimir tells him that they are waiting for Godot. This section provides evidence for a religious reading of the play as Estragon compares himself to Christ when he decides to go barefoot. When Vladimir tells him not to compare himself to Christ, Estragon responds that "all my life I've compared myself to him." Vladimir's statement that he pretended not to recognize Pozzo and Lucky suggests that he has met them before. This indicates that the actions presented in the first act of the play may have happened before, calling attention to events that occur outside the frame of the play. The same thing occurs when Vladimir asks the boy if he came yesterday, revealing that they were waiting yesterday with the same result. This suggests that the same events have been going on for some time; the two acts of the play are merely two instances in a long pattern of ceaselessly repeating events. The end of Act I establishes Vladimir and Estragon's hopelessness. Even when they both agree to go, and Vladimir says "Yes, let's go," the two men do not move. Even their resolution to go is not strong enough to produce action. This inability to act renders Vladimir and Estragon unable to determine their own fates. Instead of acting, they can only wait for someone or something to act upon them.
Act II: Introduction & Pozzo and Lucky's Entrance
Summary
Act II takes place the next evening, at the same time and place. The tree now has four or five leaves on it. Estragon's boots and Lucky's hat remain onstage when Vladimir enters, looks around, and begins to sing. Estragon enters and suggests that Vladimir seemed happier without him. He says that he does not know why he keeps returning to Vladimir, since he too is happier alone, but Vladimir insists that it's because Estragon does not know how to defend himself. Vladimir suggests that things have changed since yesterday, but Estragon does not remember yesterday. Vladimir reminds him about Pozzo and Lucky, and they begin to argue about whether Estragon has ever been in the Macon country. Estragon once again says that it would be better if they parted, but Vladimir reminds him that he always comes crawling back. They decide to converse calmly but soon run out of things to say, and Vladimir grows uncomfortable with the silence. Vladimir looks at the tree and notices that it is now covered with leaves, although yesterday it was bare. Estragon says that it must be spring, but also insists that they were not here yesterday. Vladimir reminds him of the bones that Pozzo gave him and the kick that Lucky gave him and shows him the wound on his leg. He asks Estragon where his boots are and—when Estragon replies that he must have thrown them away—points out the boots on the stage triumphantly. Estragon, however, examines the boots and says that they are not his. Vladimir reasons that someone must have come by and exchanged his boots for Estragon's. Vladimir gives Estragon a black radish, but since he only likes the pink ones, he gives it back. Estragon says he will go and get a carrot, but he does not move. Vladimir suggests trying the boots on Estragon, and they fit, but Estragon does not want them laced. Estragon sits down on the mound and tries to sleep. Vladimir sings him a lullaby, and he falls asleep, but soon wakes up from a nightmare. Vladimir is pleased to find Lucky's hat on the ground because he believes it confirms that they are in the correct place. He puts on Lucky's hat and hands his to Estragon, who takes off his hat and hands it to Vladimir. This switch occurs several times until once again Vladimir wears Lucky's hat, and Estragon wears his own hat. Vladimir decides that he will keep Lucky's hat, since his bothered him. They begin to play Pozzo and Lucky's roles, with Vladimir imitating Lucky and telling Estragon what to do to imitate Pozzo. Estragon leaves, but quickly returns because he hears someone coming. Vladimir is sure that Godot is coming, and Estragon hides behind the tree. He realizes that he is not hidden and comes out, and the two men begin a watch with one stationed on each side of the stage. When they both begin to speak at once, they get angry and begin insulting each other. After they finish their insults, they decide to make up and embrace. They briefly do some exercises and then do "the tree," staggering around on one foot.
Commentary
Vladimir's song about the dog who stole a crust of bread repeats itself perpetually. The two verses follow each other in succession so that it can be sung forever, although here Vladimir only sings each verse twice. This song is a representation of the repetitive nature of the play as a whole and of Vladimir and Estragon's circular lives. Like the verses of the song, the events of their lives follow one after another, again and again, with no apparent beginning or end. The hat switching incident is another illustration of the endless, often mindless, repetition that seems to characterize the play. Like Vladimir's song at the beginning of Act II, the hat switching could go on perpetually and only stops when Vladimir decides arbitrarily to put an end to it. Vladimir and Estragon's discussion about the noise made by "all the dead voices" brings back the theme of Estragon repeating himself to end a string of conversation. Three times in a row, Estragon repeats his phrase, with silence following each repetition. Estragon's repetition of the phrases "like leaves" and "they rustle" emphasizes these phrases, especially since Estragon comes back to "like leaves" in the third part of their discussion. In this section we see again Vladimir's desire to protect Estragon. He believes that the primary reason Estragon returns to him every day, despite his declarations that he is happier alone, is that he needs Vladimir to help him defend himself. Whether or not Vladimir actually does protect Estragon, Vladimir clearly feels that this duty and responsibility defines their relationship. Estragon's statement that he will go and get a carrot, followed by the stage directions "he does not move," recalls their immobility in Act I's conclusion, and is another illustration of the way that the characters do not act on their words or intentions. Vladimir recognizes this problem after he decides that they should try on the boots; he says impatiently, "let us persevere in what we have resolved, before we forget." Vladimir's clear awareness of his own problem makes his inability to solve it—to act and to move—yseem even more frustrating and unfathomable.
Act II: Pozzo and Lucky Scene
Summary
While Vladimir and Estragon stagger about pitying themselves, Pozzo and Lucky enter. Pozzo is blind and runs into Lucky, who has stopped at the sight of Vladimir and Estragon. They fall, along with all the baggage. Vladimir welcomes their arrival since it will help to pass the time. Pozzo calls for help while Vladimir and Estragon discuss asking him for another bone. Vladimir decides that they should help him, but first he and Estragon discuss how they have kept their appointment. Pozzo continues to cry for help, and eventually Vladimir tries to assist him. However, he falls also while trying to pull up Pozzo. Estragon threatens to leave, but Vladimir begs him to help him up first, promising that they will leave together afterward. Estragon tries to help him up, but ends up falling as well. All four men now lie on the ground, and Vladimir and Estragon begin to nap. They are woken shortly by Pozzo's shouting, and Vladimir strikes Pozzo to make him stop. Pozzo crawls away, and Vladimir and Estragon call to him. He does not respond, and Estragon decides to try other names. He calls out "Abel," and Pozzo responds by crying for help. He wonders if the other one is called Cain, but Pozzo responds to that name as well, and Estragon decides that he must be all of humanity. Vladimir and Estragon decide to get up, which they do with ease. They help Pozzo up and hold him, and Pozzo tells them that he does not recognize them since he is blind. They tell him that it is evening, and then begin to question him about the loss of his sight. He tells them that it came upon him all of a sudden and that he has no notion of time. Pozzo asks the men about his slave, and they tell him that Lucky seems to be sleeping. They send Estragon over to Lucky, and Estragon begins kicking Lucky. He hurts his foot and goes to sit down. Vladimir asks Pozzo if they met yesterday, but Pozzo does not remember. Pozzo prepares to leave, and Vladimir asks him to have Lucky sing or recite before they leave. However, Pozzo tells him that Lucky is dumb. They exit, and Vladimir sees them fall offstage.
Commentary
Here again Vladimir seems to recognize the problem of inaction when he decides that they should help Pozzo. He becomes suddenly vehement and shouts, "Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! Let us do something, while we have the chance!" This call to action seems like an urgent rally against the trend of inaction he and Estragon have been following throughout the play; however, Vladimir still takes plenty of time to begin to help Pozzo to his feet. This suggests that, even with good intentions and resolution, the habit of inaction cannot be broken immediately. In this speech Vladimir also declares that at this point, "all mankind is us, whether we like it or not." This continues the theme of Vladimir and Estragon's representation of mankind as a whole and shows that Vladimir is himself aware of this comparison. Estragon also illustrates the parallel between the two men and the rest of humanity when he tells Vladimir that "billions" of people can also claim that they have kept their appointment. In this case Vladimir attempts to distinguish them from the rest of mankind, but Estragon insists that they are actually the same. Another biblical allusion is presented here through the comparison of Pozzo and Lucky to Cain and Abel. However, when Pozzo responds to the names Cain and Abel, Estragon decides that "he's all humanity." This suggestion indicates once more that the characters in the play represent the human race as a whole. Vladimir's need of Estragon's help in order to get up is somewhat of a role reversal. For a brief exchange, Estragon holds the power in the relationship as Vladimir calls to him for help. However, when Estragon does finally stretch out his hand to help Vladimir up, he only falls himself. This seems to indicate that Estragon does not belong in this position of power and responsibility and cannot act to fulfill it.
Act II: Pozzo and Lucky's Exit to Conclusion
Summary
After Pozzo and Lucky leave, Vladimir wakes Estragon. Estragon is upset at being woken up, but Vladimir tells him that he was lonely. Estragon gets up, but his feet hurt, so he sits down again and tries to take off his boots. Meanwhile, Vladimir reflects upon the events of the day. Estragon dozes off again after unsuccessfully struggling with his boots. The boy enters and calls to Vladimir. Vladimir recognizes the routine and knows what the boy is going to say before he says it. They establish that the boy was not there yesterday, but that he has a message from Mr. Godot saying that he will not come this evening, but definitely tomorrow. Vladimir asks the boy what Mr. Godot does, and the boy replies that he does nothing. Vladimir asks the boy about his brother, and the boy tells him that his brother is sick. Vladimir asks if Mr. Godot has a beard and what color it is. The boy asks Vladimir what he should tell Mr. Godot, and Vladimir tells him that he should say that he saw him. The boy runs away as Vladimir springs toward him. The sun sets. Estragon wakes up, takes off his boots, and puts them down at the front of the stage. He approaches Vladimir and tells him that he wants to go. Vladimir tells him that they cannot go far away, because they have to come back tomorrow to wait for Godot. They discuss hanging themselves from the tree, but find that they do not have any rope. Estragon says that they can bring some tomorrow. Estragon tells Vladimir that he can't go on like this, and Vladimir tells him that they will hang themselves tomorrow, unless Godot comes. Vladimir tells Estragon to pull up his trousers, which have fallen down when he removed the cord holding them up in order to determine whether it would be suitable for hanging. They decide to go, but once again do not move as the curtain falls.
Commentary
By this point in the play, the dialogue about waiting for Godot has been repeated so many times that even Estragon knows it. Every time he asked Vladimir to go previously, they went through the entire dialogue about why they could not go. However, this time, Estragon goes through a miniature version of this dialogue by himself: "Let's go. We can't. Ah!" It seems that the numerous repetitions of this dialogue have finally impressed its hopeless resolution upon Estragon's mind. Similarly, by the time the boy arrives in Act II, Vladimir already knows what he will say, and the boy does not have to tell him anything. This suggests that this dialogue has occurred many times before and furthers the indication that the play is just a representative sample of the larger circle that defines Vladimir and Estragon's lives. The play's conclusion echoes the end of Act I. Even the stage directions reflect this similarity: after boy's exit and the moonrise, the stage directions read, "as in Act I, Vladimir stands motionless and bowed." While a live audience would not read these directions, they serve to emphasize the parallel between the two acts for readers and for actors performing the play. The repetition of the final two lines from the previous act at the play's conclusion shows the continued importance of repetition and parallelism in Waiting for Godot. However, the characters have switched lines from the previous act, suggesting that ultimately, despite their differences, Vladimir and Estragon are really interchangeable after all.
Endgame
Beginning-Nagg's appearance
Summary
The setting is a bare interior with gray lighting. There are two small windows with drawn curtains, a door, and two ashbins covered by an old sheet. Hamm sits on an armchair with wheels, covered by an old sheet. Clov stares at Hamm, motionless. They stay like this for a moment, then Clov, with a bowed head, surveys the room—he looks at Hamm, then out the window facing the sea, then out the one facing land. He staggers off-stage and returns with a stepladder, which he sets under the sea window. He climbs it, draws open the curtains, looks out, and laughs briefly. He repeats this for the land window. He removes the sheet from the ashbins, raises the lid of one and looks within, briefly laughs, and closes the lid. He repeats this for the other bin. Trailing the sheet, he walks to Hamm and removes his sheet. Hamm, in his dressing gown, a whistle hanging around his neck, and a handkerchief over his face, appears to be asleep. Clov returns to his original spot and turns to the audience. Clov says "Finished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there's a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap." He says he'll go to his kitchen and wait for Hamm to whistle him. He leaves, then comes back, takes the ladder and carries it out. Hamm awakens and removes the handkerchief. He wears dark glasses. Hamm removes and then replaces his glasses and folds away his handkerchief. He questions whether anyone—his parents, his dog—suffers as much as he does. He calls for Clov, but gets no response and believes he's alone. He says "it's time it ended," but he "hesitate[s]" to end. He whistles and Clov enters. Hamm insults him and orders Clov to prepare him for bed. Clov argues that he just woke Hamm up. Hamm asks if Clov has ever looked at his eyes while he sleeps—Clov hasn't—as they've turned white. He asks what time it is, and Clov replies "Same as usual." Hamm asks if he has looked out the window, and Clov gives his report: "Zero." Hamm asks Clov if he's had enough of "this thing." Clov says he always had, and Hamm agrees. Clov laments their life of the same, repetitive questions and answers. Hamm commands him to get him ready, but Clov doesn't move. Hamm threatens to hold back food from him, and Clov goes for Hamm's sheet. Hamm stops him and asks why Clov stays with him; Clov asks why Hamm keeps him. For Hamm, there's no one else; and for Clov, nowhere else. Hamm accuses Clov of leaving him—Clov concedes that he's trying to do so—and that Clov doesn't love him. When Clov says he doesn't, Hamm says he did once, which Clov admits to. Hamm asks if he's made Clov suffer too much, a sentiment Clov finally supports, to Hamm's relief. Hamm asks for forgiveness, and inquires about Clov's bad health. He tells him to move around and come back. He asks why Clov doesn't kill him; Clov replies that he doesn't know the combination of the larder.
Analysis
Two designs should be apparent with Beckett's set. The bare-bones construction recalls a skull, with the two windows as eyes, the two ashbins as nostrils, and Hamm's central position as the mouth. The constant visual reminder is of death, and the second design feature also heralds death in subtler ways. Endgame is named for the series of moves that constitute the end of a chess game. The outcome is usually inevitable; the memorized moves are a mere formality for experienced chess players, and the player with the advantage coming into the endgame will almost always win. Beckett, a chess player himself, draws a parallel to the endgame of life, in which death is the inevitable outcome. The characters—or players—enact repetitive rituals that are part of their endgame. Repetitions are the basis of much of Beckett's dramatic work, exposing the ways we while away time before death (Waiting for Godot repeats most of its first act in its second act), but Endgame expands the playwright's view of repetitions. The first use of repetitions, as in Godot and Beckett's short play Happy Days, is to show dependency between complementary figures, either human or inanimate. The set is filled with doubled props—the windows to land and sea, the ashbins, and the sheets. Hamm and Clov are the most obvious pair; Hamm is incapacitated but holds sway over Clov, who can perform simple functions. The underlying tension in the play is whether the submissive Clov will leave the dominant Hamm, but their co-dependency makes this possibility seem unlikely. The dominant-submissive couples in Beckett's other work—Vladimir and Estragon in Godot, Winnie and Willie in Happy Days—exhibit similar co-dependencies, and Beckett has described Hamm's and Clov's tension as analogous to his experiences with his wife in the 1950s, when both wanted to leave each other but felt they couldn't. The more philosophical use of the repetitions is to demonstrate the stasis in the world of Endgame. While repetitions performed the same purpose in Beckett's earlier work, here he refines his ideas through the conflation of beginnings and endings; the opening words of the play are Clov's announcement that it's finished. Jesus's last words are also "It is finished," also delivered with a bowed head (John 19:30), and his death marked a momentous fusion of ending and beginning, the end of his life with the birth of Christianity. The major theme of Endgame is that life is a circular existence without a specific beginning or ending, and as such creates a sense of repetitive stasis. Clov's definition of the "impossible heap" couches this idea in paradoxical terms. Since one grain is not a heap, when does an accumulation of distinct grains become a single heap? While it will at some point be informally considered a heap, the mass of grains will always be composed of individual grains. It is, therefore, an "impossible" heap. The grains keep repeating, growing larger, but never become a final heap, and in the same way, an existence consisting of individual moments will never become a final "life." This lack of closure is why Clov keeps amending his initial definition of "finished" to "it is finished" to "nearly finished" to "it must be nearly finished"—nothing is ever truly finished until death says so. Our repetitive actions, then, cycle around and become static, just as the "Same as usual"-world of "Zero" change is.
Nagg's appearance-chair ride
Summary
From one of the ashbins, Nagg emerges in a nightcap. Clov exits to his kitchen. Nagg repeats "Me pap!" over and over. Hamm whistles Clov in and commands him to give Nagg his pap. There's no more left, so Hamm orders a biscuit, and Clov departs and brings one back to Nagg. Nagg complains, and Hamm directs Clov to close the lid on him and then sit on it. Clov reminds him he can't sit, and Hamm reflects on how he can't stand. Clov says there's no more nature, and Hamm refutes this, arguing that their bodies and minds change. After some more debate, Hamm asks him what he does in his kitchen. Clov says he looks at the wall and sees his light dying. Hamm mocks this, and then apologizes when Clov reprimands him. Nagg emerges from his bin, biscuit in mouth, and listens. Hamm asks Clov if his seeds have sprouted yet. They haven't, Clov responds, and never will. Hamm reflects that the end of the day is always depressing and like all others. Hamm tells Clov to leave, which Clov says he's "trying" to do, then does. Nagg knocks on the other bin, and Nell emerges. Nagg asks her to kiss, but she says they can't. They try but cannot reach, and Nell asks why they go through the "farce" every day. Their sight (and Nell's hearing) failing, they both can hardly see each other. They laugh over a series of memories, though with less vigor on each remembrance. They're both cold, and Nagg suggests they go in, but neither does for fear of being alone. Nell asks if "he" has changed Nagg's sawdust. Nagg corrects her; it's sand, though it was once sawdust. Neither his nor Nagg's has been changed. Nagg offers her the remainder of his biscuit, but she doesn't take it. Hamm tells them to quiet down, and thinks about what he would dream of could he sleep. He blurts out "a heart, in my head," and Nagg laughs at this, out of earshot. Nell rebukes him for laughing at misery. Even though "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness," she says that after a while one stops laughing at it, as if it were a once-funny anecdote that has lost its punch. Nell wants to leave, while Nagg wants her to scratch his back, as she did yesterday, but she can't. Nagg wants to tell her a story about a tailor that has often made her laugh, especially the first time he told it to the day after they'd gotten engaged. Nell attributes her laughter to her happiness that day, but Nagg believes it was solely due to his story. He tells the story, switching between the voices of a narrator, tailor, and customer: a tailor keeps botching and delaying the customer's orders for a pair of trousers until the customer explodes and points out that God created the world in six days, while he has taken three months for the trousers. The tailor tells him, with disgust, to "look at the world," and then, lovingly, to "look at my TROUSERS." Nell is motionless, and Nagg lets out two forced laughs until Hamm calls for silence. Nagg disappears, and Hamm whistles for Clov and tells him to throw the bins into the sea. Nell says a few things that Clov takes for nonsense as he approaches her. He checks her pulse and says she has none. Hamm tells him to screw down the lids, but before Clov can leave to perform the task, Hamm says "Time enough." Hamm says he'd like to pee, but before Clov can get the catheter, he again says "Time enough." They discuss Hamm's painkiller medicine and Hamm's deceased former doctor. Hamm asks Clov to move him around on his chair and, as he can't see for himself, to hug the walls. He tells him to stop, and then twice strikes the hollow wall, beyond which is the "other hell." Hamm directs Clov to return him back to his spot in the exact center. After Clov makes several adjustments of the chair, he declares that if he could kill Hamm, he'd die happy.
Analysis
Hamm's unyielding misery stems from his contradictory impulses towards humans and change. He claims he wants others, especially Clov, to leave him alone or be silent, but he's always worried he's alone or that Clov can't hear him. Just as he has said he "hesitate[s]" to end life, he hesitates to drive out others and live in solitude, as when he says "Time enough" to Clov. He wants to believe that their minds and bodies are changing, but he fears any change and has a compulsive need to be in the exact center of the room. He is much like the King in chess; the most powerful piece on the board, he is also the most vulnerable, with limited mobility. The analogy works for the other characters. Clov might be considered the Queen, as he is Hamm's constant companion, but a more precise position for him is the Knight. His movement is irregular (he even travels vertically up the stairs), and Hamm virtually rides him when Clov pushes his chair around, as a horse would exert effort to transport a rider. Nagg and Nell are the Pawns, able to emerge from their bins only at the King's bidding. Hamm also resembles a hammer, one of his name's several allusions. He drives the action from a distance while the others, like nails, move in and out of their positions. His striking the wall clarifies this image (repeating Nagg's double strike of Nell's ashbin), as do his instructions for Clov to screw down the lids to the ashbin. Another meaning behind his name is that of a "ham" actor (an aggressive, attention-getting actor). When Nagg tells his story and switches between three voices, it is a reminder that Hamm is the foremost actor, a virtual narrator who directs the three characters around him. Just as Hamm's life is one of delays and hatred for the world around him, Nagg's story is about delays and disappointment over natural creation. Beckett also provides a good definition of his brand of absurd comedy when Nell says, "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness." Mining laughter from misery is Beckett's theatrical goal. He does this not to alleviate the misery, but to expose the absurdity of man's condition. Another staple of Beckett's work are his frequent pauses, which speak volumes about his characters' alienation and their gradual, silent approach to death.
Chair Ride-Nagg Wakes Up
Summary
Hamm tells Clov to check the earth outside the window with the "glass" (the telescope). After making two trips for the stepladder and telescope, and viewing the audience, Clov checks and reports: "Zero." Hamm reflects, "Nothing stirs." Clov looks into the ocean and sees that the lighthouse is now completely sunken, the horizon is barren of gulls, and the waves are still. The sun is "zero," even though it is not yet night, and gray light blankets everything. Clov asks why they go through the farce everyday, and Hamm answers that it is routine. He then says that he saw a sore inside his breast last night. Clov thinks it was his heart, but Hamm insists it was "living." Hamm then wonders if he and Clov are beginning to "mean something"; Clov scoffs at this notion. Hamm is taken with the idea, and imagines that if someone observed them for long enough he might get ideas, and that they, too, might be verging on something meaningful. He is interrupted when Clov scratches a flea on his body. Hamm is astounded that there are still fleas, and begs Clov to kill it, as "humanity might start from there all over again!" Clov goes and gets some insecticide, which he sprinkles inside his pants. He thinks he has gotten the flea, although he and Hamm debate the verbs "laying" and "lying." Hamm pees, then zealously proposes that he and Clov leave for the South, "to other mammals!" Clov declines, and Hamm says he'll do it alone and tells Clov to build a raft. Clov says he'll start, but Hamm stops him and asks if it's time for his painkiller—it's not—and inquires about Clov's ailing body. Hamm reminds Clov that one day he'll be blind, like he is, and that he'll be alone, surrounded by infinite emptiness. Clov says it's not a certainty, and asks if they all want him to leave. Hamm says yes, and Clov says he'll leave. Hamm says Clov can't leave them, so Clov says he won't. Hamm asks why Clov doesn't "finish" them—he'll give him the combination to the larder—but Clov says he couldn't do it, and will leave. Hamm asks him if he remembers when he came here, but Clov says he was too small. Hamm asks if Clov remembers his father, but Clov doesn't remember for the same reason, and says Hamm has asked him these questions millions of times. Hamm says that he was a father to Clov, and his house was a home for him—statements that Clov agrees with—but that he himself had no father, no home. Before Clov can leave, Hamm stops him again and says that there may be greenery beyond the hole they're in, and asks Clov if his dog is ready. Clov returns with a three-legged toy dog, which he gives to Hamm. Hamm wants Clov to see if the dog can stand, but he can't. Clov says he is and holds it upright so Hamm can pet it. Before Clov can go, Hamm asks if he has had his "visions," and they discuss an old woman named Mother Pegg. Hamm tells Clov to get him his gaff (a large iron hook), and Clov wonders out loud why he never refuses his orders. He gets it for Hamm, who unsuccessfully tries to move his chair around with it. After they fight about Clov's retrieving the oilcan for the chair's wheels, Hamm recollects a madman painter-engraver friend of his who thought the end of the world had come, seeing ashes instead of nature, and that "He alone had been spared." Clov asks when that was, and Hamm says a long time ago. Hamm asks how he'll know if Clov has left. Clov says if he whistles and he doesn't come, then he's left. Hamm is not convinced—Clov might just be dead in his kitchen. He orders Clov to come up with an idea, and after some pacing on his bad legs, Clov decides he'll set his alarm clock, and if it doesn't ring, it means he's dead. He retrieves the clock and tests the alarm. Hamm says it's time for his story, but Clov doesn't want to hear it. Hamm tells him to wake his father, and Clov looks into the ashbin of the sleeping Nagg.
Analysis
While it is purposely unclear exactly what has happened in Hamm's vacant world, it is obvious that not only is he living in his own personal endgame, but in some kind of physical "endgame," a post-apocalyptic landscape in which he and the others are the sole inhabitants—everyone else has been "finished," to use his vocabulary for death (in fact, his frequent references to his home as a "shelter" evokes a postwar shield from nuclear radiation). His misanthropy is so great that he fears the rebirth of humanity, evidenced by his anxiety over the flea. This anxiety takes off from an idea explored at the start of the play, that existence is cyclical—that the ending is the beginning is the ending. When Hamm suggests they leave, it is a futile effort; in this cyclical world, there can be no such things as "leaving" or "arriving," as one always ends up back in the same place—note Clov's frustrating inability to leave the room in this section (no wonder he prefers the sound at the end of the alarm, while Hamm likes the middle). Ham was the son of Noah in the Bible, and Noah's story, of course, is one of regeneration, of an ending that yields to a beginning. The allusion is ironic, and Hamm's father in Endgame, we learn, is Nagg; Hamm is a surrogate father to Clov, so the three generations are all infirm, near the end of their lives, and no new beginnings will issue from them. Whatever path Hamm's life takes, it will be less of an arc and more of a circle; and since even a dot is a circle, then his static position in the center of his room can itself be considered a cyclical journey. Healthier, in Hamm's opinion, is to be like his engraver friend (whom some critics compare to English Romantic poet William Blake) and see everything as already finished. At least the engraver can make some meaning out of the world, as he works with a finished product; in Hamm's circular existence, he never has the closure necessary to make a final statement. This is why he feels it is "beginning" to mean something; each day he starts to see significance, but because of the endless repetitions, he can never finish ascribing meaning. Clov's definition of routine as a "farce" (something Nell also says) makes it evident that, in Beckett's view, only absurdity can result from repetition, not significance. There are several allusions to Dante's Inferno which solidify the idea of circularity. They're in a hole, and Hamm has previously mentioned the "other hell" beyond the wall. The Inferno also worked on a circular system; its nine descending circles of Hell promoted the idea that those inside would be doomed to repeat their misery for all eternity, and the whole work was based on motifs of halves, of being stuck in the middle of something. The light in Endgame has a similar purpose; neither light nor dark, it is gray, a medium shade without a definite beginning or end. It also underlines Clov's difficult position between staying and leaving. Light seems to be a symbol of hope to him (he stares at his light dying in his kitchen, and he is dismayed when he sees the lighthouse is completely sunken), but since it is half-light, he retains only enough hope to desire leaving and not enough to make himself leave.
Nagg Wakes Up-Hamm's Monologue
Summary
Clov listens to something Nagg says. He reports that Nagg doesn't want to listen to Hamm's story, and wants a sugarplum if he has to listen to it. Hamm agrees, and Clov leaves. Hamm asks Nagg why he produced him, and Nagg says he didn't know that it would be Hamm. Hamm promises to give him the sugarplum after his story. He commences telling it after ruminating on his ill health. In a narrative tone, he relates how a pale, thin man came crawling to the narrator (called Hamm hereafter). He stops the story, comments on how he's done that bit, and continues: it was Christmas Eve, and he asked the man why he came his way. The man said for Hamm not to look at him. Hamm persisted, and the man revealed he had left behind a small boy in his distant home, alone. He wanted food for the boy, but Hamm argued that food did little good—there's no cure for being on earth. Eventually, Hamm says, he took the man into his service, and "in the end" was asked if he would take the child, if he were still alive. Hamm says he's near the end of the story, unless he brings in other characters—but he wouldn't know where to find them. Hamm whistles, and Clov comes in. Nagg cries for his sugarplum. Clov reports that there's a rat in the kitchen, and that's he's exterminated half of it. Hamm says he'll finish it later, but now they'll pray to God. Nagg begins reciting the prayer, but Hamm cuts him off and insists they do it in silence. They pray silently, and then Hamm asks "Well?" They are all disappointed by the lack of a godly response, and Hamm believes God doesn't exist. After Nagg asks for his sugarplum and Hamm tells him there are none, Nagg discusses his role as Hamm's father. He remembers Hamm would call him when he was scared as a child, and not his mother. He didn't listen to him, he says, but he hopes the day will come again when Hamm will depend on his father's listening to him, and on his father's talking to him. He knocks on Nell's lid and yells to her but, with no response, retreats into his bin and closes the lid. Hamm gropes for his dog and, not finding it, believes it has gone away, a theory Clov finds impossible, as it's a fake dog. After more groping, Clov hands the dog to Hamm, who soon after throws it away. Clov cleans up the room, as he loves order, but Hamm makes him stop. Before Clov can leave, Hamm tells him to stay and listen to his story, as he's "got on with" it. He resumes telling it, often stopping for asides with Clov: he gave the man a job as gardener, and the man asked if he could take his boy with him. Hamm says that's where he got up to, but now he's too tired to finish it, or make up another story. He tells Clov to see if Nell is dead; he looks into the bin and says it looks that way. Nagg hasn't died, but he's crying. Hamm asks Clov to push his chair under the window, as he wants to feel the light on his face. Clov does so, and Hamm asks if it's light; Clov says it is. Since it's the earth window, Hamm says there's no light and orders Clov to push him to the other one. He says he feels sunshine, but Clov says it isn't. Hamm orders Clov to open the window, as he wants to hear the sea, but Clov says it won't matter. After Hamm insists, Clov pretends to open it. After Hamm remarks on the calmness of the sea, he asks Clov to close the window (he pretends to do so again). Clov pushes Hamm back to the center. Hamm twice calls for his father, and tells Clov to see if Nagg heard him. Clov investigates and says Nagg did, once only. He says Nagg isn't crying anymore, but sucking his biscuit. Hamm asks Clov to kiss him on the forehead, or hold his hand, but Clov refuses. Hamm asks for his dog, and then rejects the idea, and Clov leaves, vowing that either he'll kill the rat or it'll die.
Analysis
Creation is further lambasted in this section; Hamm didn't want to be born and Nagg didn't want to have him. Still, Nagg recognizes that despite the disappointment and randomness of creation (he points out that if he weren't Hamm's father, someone else would be), there exists a deep bond between parent and child. It may seem anomalous for Beckett to wax sentimental about familial affections, but in this case the stress is less on Hamm the child's love for his father and more on his fear of solitude and dependency. The theme is paralleled in the story Hamm tells. While the detached narrator is a stand-in for Hamm, and Clov may be the young child, Nagg's recollection of Hamm as a scared, lonely child means that Hamm may be projecting himself as the abandoned child in the story, left behind by his father. Tellingly, Hamm never relates the story from the child's point of view, since this one is all too painful for him. Hamm again hams it up in the story, performing in four distinct voices: his own, the narrative, himself as the narrator, and the beggar. There are also four numbers related to the weather in the story, and their order—0-50-100-0—revolves in circular form back to the beginning. The story's combination of endings (the father's imminent death) and beginnings The story's combination of endings (the father's imminent death) and beginnings (Hamm's taking in the child), along with its Christmas Eve setting, associates it with the modern era's most important ending and beginning, Christ's birth. Another fusion of ending and beginning is Clov's desire for an ordered universe to be "A world where all would be silent and still and each things in its last place." He dislikes entropy, the tendency of things to become disordered but, in fact, a perfectly disordered universe would have equal distribution of energy and motion would cease—exactly as it would in Clov's vision of a perfectly ordered universe. Hamm's attachment to light—something he scoffed at previously, when Clov said he watched his light dying in the kitchen—shows his slight optimism, as light is a source of hope and life in the play. But Clov wants to deprive him of it (and other things, such as his dog), for reasons not yet fully known, except for their otherwise tense relationship.
From Hamm's monologue-end
Summary
Alone, Hamm takes out his handkerchief and spreads it before him. He speaks about weeping so as not to laugh, and about grieving. He folds the handkerchief and pockets it. He thinks about all the people he might have saved, but then remembers that there is no cure for being on earth. He angrily thinks about humans, then about his current situation, devoid of even a real dog. He considers finishing his story and starting another, or throwing himself on the floor, but he isn't able to push himself off his seat. He thinks about how "It will be the end" and he'll have wondered what provoked it and why it took so long. He'll be alone in his silent and still shelter. He'll have called his father and his son. He ruminates more on his eventual death, then whistles. Clov enters with the alarm clock. Hamm is surprised he's not gone or done, though Clov says he has gone, in spirit. He reports that the rat got away from him. Clov says it's time for Hamm's painkiller, which relieves him until Clov reveals there's none left. Clov puts the alarm clock down, and hums, though Hamm tells him to stop and to look at the earth. Clov looks out the window with the ladder, and sees water everywhere. Confused, since it hasn't rained, he realizes he's been looking at the sea window. Hamm keeps asking if Clov knows what's happened, but Clov doesn't understand the question, and then says it doesn't matter. Clov reminds him that after Mother Pegg asked Hamm for oil for her lamp, and he refused her, Hamm knew what was happening—and that she died of darkness. Hamm feebly says he didn't have enough, but Clov refutes this. Clov wonders why he obeys Hamm, and Hamm answers that perhaps it's compassion. Clov looks for the telescope and moves Hamm's chair in the process, which frightens Hamm, who wants to be returned to the center. Clov gets the telescope, but Hamm asks for his dog. Clov retrieves it and hits Hamm with it. Hamm says that if Clov must hit him, he should use an axe or the gaff. Clov hands the dog to him. Hamm asks to be put in his coffin, but Clov says there are none left. Clov takes the telescope and goes up the stepladder. Hamm says a few things, and when Clov asks if he's talking to him, Hamm retorts that it was an aside and he's warming up for his last soliloquy. Clov sees a small boy out the window. He says he'll investigate with the gaff, presumably to kill off the "potential procreator," but Hamm says the boy will either die outside or come inside, if he exists at all. He tells Clov that they've come to the end and he doesn't need him anymore, and asks him to leave him the gaff. Before Clov leaves, Hamm asks him to say something "from your heart." Clov repeats a few things "They said to me," such as "That's love" and "That's friendship." He says he'd decided to suffer the pains of life, but one day "it ends," and now he'll "weep for happiness" when he dies. Hamm stops him before he leaves and thanks him for his services. Clov thanks him, and Hamm says they are obliged to each other. He asks him for a last favor, to cover him with the sheet, but Clov has already left. He tries to move the chair with the gaff. Clov enters, outfitted for his journey. Hamm doesn't know he's there, and throws away the useless gaff. He cleans his glasses, and recites some poetry (the opening quatrain of Charles Baudelaire's sonnet, "Recueillement"). He resumes telling his story about the man and his child, repeating how the man wanted his child with him. Hamm recalls it was the moment he was waiting for; he asked the man if he didn't want to abandon his son and prevent him from blooming while the man dies. He also addresses the child, and says that his father knows only death. Hamm twice calls out "Father" and, not hearing anything, says, "We're coming." He discards his dog and his whistle. He calls out for Clov, but hears nothing. He takes out his handkerchief, unfolds it, and says "You…remain." He covers his face with the handkerchief and sits motionless.
Analysis
The ending is the beginning; Clov has not left after all, Hamm is again covered with the handkerchief, and they are doomed to repeat the same day over again. Beckett teases us by briefly resolving the tension over Clov's departure, but he returns, and neither death nor a willful escape will ever arrive in his cyclical existence. The child who appears outside is a figure of resurrection and recreation that Hamm and Clov fear, as his ability to procreate confirms their fears that life is, indeed, cyclical. But it is their fault alone that life is cyclical; Clov chooses to return, and Hamm is reluctant to end the game, and even to end his final story, to which he keeps adding. But his attachment to life is hardly positive, and if he can't enjoy it, then he tries his best to make sure others can't, either. With the knowledge of his heinous refusal to give Mother Pegg the light she needed to live, alongside his stinginess with food in his story about the man and child, Clov's cruel deprivation of Hamm's pain-killer and other amenities makes sense. The irony is also apparent; blind Hamm wants to keep others in the dark as well, and his cleaning his glasses is a poignant, futile act. Clov, too, ends pessimistically; his dour list of the things "They said" are, according to a journal of Beckett's, the five dispensers of life's consolations (in Clov's order): love, friendship, nature, science, and mercy. He is a believer in none of these things, all having betrayed him (the first three are obvious; science proves no cure to their problems, and no one has mercy on them, nor do they have mercy on anyone else). The play also finishes on a self-conscious note designed to make the audience more aware of its status as a play; just as neither Hamm nor Clov can escape, neither should the audience be allowed to escape into the fantasy of the theater. Hamm makes references to his aside, his final soliloquy, and an "underplot," and his replacing the handkerchief creates a final image of a theater curtain closing—one that will only open again tomorrow.
The Dumb Waiter
Part One: Beginning Until The Envelope
Summary
The setting is a basement with two beds, a serving hatch, a kitchen and bathroom to the left, and another passage to the right. In silence, Ben reads a newspaper on his bed while Gus ties his shoelaces on his bed. Gus finishes and walks to the kitchen door, then stops and shakes his foot. Ben watches as Gus takes a flattened matchbox out of his shoe. After he and Ben exchange a glance, Gus puts it in his pocket. From his other shoe, he takes out a flattened cigarette carton. They exchange another look, and Gus puts the carton in his pocket before he leaves for the bathroom. There's a sound of the toilet chain being pulled without it flushing, and Gus returns. Ben angrily relates to Gus a newspaper article, which reports on an elderly man who tried to cross a busy street by crawling under a truck, which then ran over him. Gus agrees that it is abominable. Gus again tries to flush the toilet, but it doesn't work. When he returns, Ben orders him to make tea. Gus admires the dishware. He asks Ben for a cigarette, and hopes, "it won't be a long job." He remembers he wanted to ask Ben something, but is interrupted by Ben who reports on an article about a child killing a cat. Gus then asks if Ben has noticed how long it takes for the toilet tank to fill. Ben suggests that it is a "deficient ballcock." Gus complains that he didn't sleep well on the bed and then sees a picture on the wall of cricket players entitled "The First Eleven." Neither he nor Ben knows that the "first eleven" refers to a school's top cricket players. He wishes for a window in the room and laments that his life revolves around entering a dark room he's never seen before, sleeping all day, doing a job, and then leaving at night. Ben tells him that they are fortunate to be employed only once a week and tells Gus his problem is a lack of interests. Ben, for example, has woodwork and model boats, and never stays idle. Gus asks if Ben ever gets fed up, but they soon fall silent. The toilet finally flushes, which Gus comments on before further criticizing the basement. Ben commands him to make tea, as they will be "on the job" very soon. As Gus takes out a tea bag and examines it, he asks Gus why he stopped the car that morning in the middle of the road. Ben says that they were early. Gus asks if they were too early to move in, which explains why the sheets seemed dirty to him. Gus has forgotten what town they are in and Ben tells him that they are in Birmingham. Gus says that it is an industrial city, the second-biggest city in Great Britain. Gus wants to watch the Birmingham soccer team tomorrow (Saturday), but Ben says that there is no time and that they have to get back, even though they used to stay over after a job. Gus speaks about a Birmingham game they once saw together, but Ben refutes the details that Gus remembers. An envelope slides under the door.
Analysis
The influence of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett on Harold Pinter is apparent in this play, and numerous similarities and allusions to Beckett's Waiting for Godot crop up in this section. As with Godot, there are two characters, one dominant, one submissive, who share the amount of letters and syllables in their names (although Pinter's Gus and Ben are simpler names—and simpler characters—than Beckett's Vladimir and Estragon). Gus's difficulty in putting on his shoe corresponds to a similar problem with a boot in Beckett's play. In both plays, moreover, the characters have been stranded in one place with an unclear purpose, at least from the audience's perspective. The single location is a staple of Pinter's other plays, as well. Pinter's use of repetition and silence also harkens back to Beckett's work. Beckett's primary use of these is to suggest the ideas of alienation and the approach of death, but Pinter fashions them with a more sinister, violent touch. Pinter has said that silence is a form of nakedness, and that speech is an attempt to cover this nakedness. Gus keeps wanting to ask Ben something but is interrupted, an exchange that will repeat throughout the play. The dialogue in between is often Ben's attempt to delay answering Gus's question—here, a trivial matter about the toilet. Ben also uses silence to deflect the potential for more intimate probing from Gus. Not only are Ben's delays and interruptions a form of silence, but even they are interrupted—Ben's reports of the death of the elderly man and the cat, serious matters of mortality, are quickly aborted in favor of more mundane concerns. The men do not break the silence themselves usually. Rather, the sound of an inanimate object—the toilet—jolts them back into discussion. The toilet serves as a base for Gus throughout the play. It represents repetition, and the futility of repetition. Like the choppy dialogue, the toilet works on a delay—the flush is preceded by a long pause—solidifying the notion that repetition effects little change. Just as Gus transfers the flattened matchbox and carton (both defective objects) from his shoes to his pocket—one receptacle to another—the receptacle of the defective toilet transfers human waste to the receptacle of the sewers. The waste, however, does not disappear; it will return in some form, and is part of the cyclical nature of life that bores Gus, the dull repetition of work and sleep. The characters' complete separation from the upper class is also introduced and will be explored in further depth later. Their unfamiliarity with the sporting terms of posh cricket and their affection for the more working-class game of soccer immediately defines their social standing.
Part Two: From the Envelope to Ben's Gun
Summary
Neither Ben nor Gus knows what is in the envelope. Ben orders Gus to pick it up and open it. He does, and empties out twelve matches. They are confused, and Ben commands Gus to open the door and see if anyone's outside. With a revolver from under his pillow for protection, Gus investigates but finds no one. Gus says the matches will come in handy, as he always runs out. Ben reprimands him for probing his ear with a match, telling him not to waste them and to light the kettle instead. They debate the phrase "light the kettle"; Gus feels one should say the "gas," since that is what is being lit, or "put on the kettle," a phrase his mother used. Ben will have none of this, and challenges Gus to remember the last time he saw his mother (he can't remember). After further arguments about the phrase, in which Ben reminds Gus that he's the senior partner, Ben chokes Gus and screams "THE KETTLE, YOU FOOL!" Gus acquiesces and tries to see if the matches light; they don't on the flattened box, but they work on his foot. Ben says, "Put on the bloody kettle," then realizes he's used Gus's phrase, and looks at Gus until his partner leaves. Gus comes back, having put on the kettle, and wonders, "who it'll be tonight." He says he wants to ask Ben something, and sits on Ben's bed, which annoys him. Ben asks Gus why he barrages him with so many questions, and tells him to do his job and shut up. After Gus repeatedly asks who it's going to be tonight and a moment of silence, Ben orders him to make tea. After he leaves, Ben checks his revolver under his pillow for ammunition.
Analysis
Ben's dominance and Gus's submission intensify in this section. Ben continually bosses Gus around, and even puts him in danger when he tells him to open the door. It is becoming clear that they are hit-men—the "who" in "who it'll be tonight" refers to their victim—and Pinter contrasts the violence of their jobs with their commonplace language and concerns. In ways, The Dumb Waiter is a precursor to a major conceit of modern gangster films, such as those of Quentin Tarantino, films that juxtapose, often to comic effect, the violence of the criminal's job with his banal, but revealing, small talk. The argument over "light the kettle" is seemingly trivial but divulges key information about the men: Gus no longer sees his mother, and Ben is the senior partner. The debate also produces the men's first physical confrontation after much verbal build-up. It is no accident that Ben screams and chokes Gus at the same time. Pinter is known for the innate violence in his characters' language, violence that lurks beneath the clipped structure of the language, and Ben's dialogue is a part of, and nearly causes, the physical violence. The violence is offset by the comic effect, which occurs after the confrontation, when Ben unconsciously uses the same language as Gus. Moreover, his comical use of Gus's phrase after displaying intense hostility to it implies that repetition of language can dull its effect, and that it can mechanically flow between people as an unconscious transaction. Pinter reinforces the mechanical feeling with his use of repetition. Gus twice says that he doesn't know what the envelope is, and twice that "no one" and "nothing" were outside. These last two statements both express an absence—both of knowledge and of the physical presence—that constitute a type of silence, and Ben's repetitive queries try to cover this naked, fearful mystery with extraneous speech. He later deflects Gus's question referring to who they will victimize, answering with silence and then ordering Gus to make tea. The other theme behind repetitiveness in the play is how it dulls life into a cyclical routine, and we can view Gus's running out of matches as a symbol of how life continually burns down and then refuels. Ben's scolding Gus over not wasting the matches is almost pointless. Sooner or later, they will be wasted, but their supply will be replenished.
Part Three: After Ben Checks his Gun
Summary
Gus returns and says that the gas has gone out, as the meter needs to be refilled with coins. Ben says they'll have to wait for Wilson. Gus says that Wilson doesn't always come—that he sometimes sends only a message—and complains about not having a cup of tea "before." He believes that, as it's his place, Wilson should pay for the meter. Ben denies this, saying Wilson has only rented it. Gus is insistent, arguing that since no one ever complains or hears anything, Wilson must own all the places they go to. He also finds it hard to talk to Wilson, and says that he's been thinking about the "last one"—a girl. When Ben reads his newspaper instead of answering him, he and Gus get into an argument. Gus continues talking about the girl. The job was a "mess," he recalls, as women don't "hold together like men." He wonders who cleans up for them after they leave. Ben reminds him that other departments take care of those matters. A clattering sound from the wall between their beds interrupts them. With guns in hand, they investigate and find a box on a dumb waiter (a small elevator controlled by pulleys that delivers food or other goods between floors, usually in restaurants or hotels). Gus pulls a piece of paper out, and Ben tells him to read it. It lists an order for food. The dumb waiter ascends. Ben explains that the upstairs used to be a café, the basement was the kitchen, and that these places change ownership quickly. Gus loudly wonders who has moved in. The dumb waiter descends again, and Gus pulls out another order for food. Gus looks up the hatch, but Ben pushes him away. Ben decides that they should send something up, but they have only a little food. Gus keeps revealing more food, however—a cake, and a bag of chips. They put everything on a plate, but the dumb waiter ascends before they can put the plate on it. They decide to wait until the dumb waiter returns. Gus wonders how it could be a café if the gas stove is so inefficient. The box descends again with another order, this time for "high class" exotic food such as "Ormitha Macarounada." Ben pretends to know how to make the dish. They put the plate on the dumb waiter and Gus yells up the hatch, announcing the brand names of the food. Ben tells him that he shouldn't shout. Ben warns Gus not to lose sight of their job and tells him to get ready and polish his gun. Gus wonders about the possibility of another nearby kitchen, which Ben supports. Gus then discusses, without Ben's answering, his feelings of anxiety about the job and Wilson. Another order comes down the passage for more food with which they are unfamiliar. Much to Ben's chagrin, the packet of tea they sent up has also returned, perhaps because, as Gus suggests, it isn't teatime.
Analysis
The influence of Beckett's Waiting for Godot deepens in this section, in which it becomes clearer that Ben is perhaps not telling Gus the complete truth about their operation—they are certainly in the kitchen of a working café, not merely a basement, and something is odd about their interaction with the person or people upstairs. In Godot, the two men wait around for a man named Godot who never arrives, yet who exercises great power over them. In The Dumb Waiter, Ben and Gus are at the beck and call of Wilson, a mysterious character who dominates the duo even when he's not around—or perhaps especially when he's not around. Ben is more reverent of Wilson, while Gus is wary of their relationship to the mysterious figure. It is therefore not surprising that Gus is the one who looks up and wants to shout up the hatch—investigating the god upstairs, so to speak—and not Ben, who seems fearful of angering the gods and who is anxious to please them. He is noticeably embarrassed when the tea is returned. Gus also seems to hold a greater sensitivity to his job. He is not only disturbed about their murder of the girl, but he wonders who has the task of cleaning up the remains. The characters' anxiety over their lower-class status hangs over the food sequence. It begins with their inability to pay for the meter, which inhibits their ability to make their own food, or at least to brew their own tea. Their anxiety amplifies when they feel they need to send more food back up the hatch, and then with the orders for increasingly fancy food with which they are not familiar. Much of this class tension is bound up in language. Gus tries to dress up their own standard food by announcing the brand names associated with the items, names that pale in comparison to the exotic names of the ordered dishes, such as "Ormitha Macarounada." Ben noticeably tries to cover up his lower-class status by pretending that he knows how to make the dish. The characters' dialect is also distinctly lower class, abrupt sentences peppered with idiomatic utterances like "Kaw!" Many productions of The Dumb Waiter emphasize Ben's and Gus's different relationships to class by giving Ben an accent of a slightly better-off Englishman, while Gus often speaks in a lower-class Cockney accent. American audiences may not be able to distinguish between the particular accents so readily. Interruptions and abbreviations continue to play a significant role in this section, as Gus's continuing questions about the nature of their job and the café are twice broken by the sounds of the descending dumb waiter. As of now, Ben and Gus's communication with the upstairs via the dumb waiter has been based on written notes with abbreviated sentences at that. This limited communication will assume a more symbolic form in the next section.
Part Four: Speaking Tube until End
Ben decides that they should write a note telling the people upstairs that they can't fill the orders and, while looking for a pencil, he finds a speaking tube (an intercom-like device for communicating upstairs). Gus whistles into the tube, to alert the people, and says, "The larder's bare!" Ben takes the tube from him and more formally states that they are out of food. He listens into the tube and reports to Gus that the food they sent up was stale or went bad, and apologizes through the tube. When he hangs up, he informs Gus that the person on the other end used the phrase "Light the kettle" when he asked for a cup of tea. They then realize that they can't light the kettle, for there is no gas. Gus is upset because he is thirsty and hungry, while the man upstairs, who probably has food, wants tea from them. Ben, quietly and with fatigue, gives Gus the instructions for the job, instructions that Gus repeats out loud. Ben instructs Gus to stand behind a door, but to not answer a knock on the door. He must shut the door behind the man who comes in without exposing himself (Gus), allowing the man to see and approach Ben. When Ben takes out his gun they will have cornered the man. At this point, Gus reminds Ben that so far he hasn't taken his own gun out, but Ben then includes that Gus should have taken his gun out when he closed the door. Moreover, Ben states, the man—or girl—will look at them in silence. Gus excuses himself to the bathroom, where the toilet again does not flush, and returns. He paces about, looking troubled, and asks why they were sent matches if the man upstairs knew there was no gas. He repeats the question and then asks Ben if he knows who is upstairs. They argue, and Gus reminds Ben that he told him who owned the place, and wants to know why he's playing these games. Ben hits him twice on the shoulder. Gus wants to know why they're being toyed with since they passed their tests years ago and proved themselves. Another order comes, accompanied by a whistle from the speaking tube. Gus reads the order and yells into the tube that they have nothing left. Ben pushes Gus away and slaps him, ordering him to stop. They retreat into silence—Ben reading his newspaper—as the dumb waiter goes up and comes down again. Ben expresses outraged amazement at a news article, and Gus, in increasingly lower tones, concurs. Gus leaves to get a drink of water, and the speaking tube whistle blows. Ben listens through the tube and repeats out loud the order that the man has arrived and they will be commencing their job shortly. He hangs up and calls for Gus, and shifts his jacket to obscure his gun. He levels his gun at the door and Gus stumbles in, stripped of some of his clothes and his gun. He looks up at Ben, and they stare at each other through a long silence.
Analysis
The dumb waiter, with its accompanying speaking tube, becomes an agent for murder as the play ends, but the device is also a metaphor for the type of communication that has already split apart Ben and Gus. Whenever Gus broaches an important topic—here, especially, Wilson and his "games"—Ben deflects the question or descends into silence. They communicate as if with a dumb waiter; one says something, it travels to and registers with the other, and then a reply is made (if at all). It is impossible for both men to speak their minds at once, just as the dumb waiter restricts language (either in the form of a note or the speaking tube) to one person at a time; its very name indicates muteness. They do not converse in true dialogue with one other. Rather, they speak to each other, not with one another. Fittingly, when he finds the speaking tube, Gus ironically says, "Funny I never noticed it before." He and Ben have had a block in their communication with each other that is highlighted by his reference to the tube used for communication. This lack of communication heightens the sense that Ben has been withholding information from Gus and perhaps even betraying his partner. Whenever Gus strays too close to the truth—a truth Ben seems to be more aware of—Ben withholds and alters crucial information (such as his lie about the café's changing ownership), almost as if he were retracting the evidence on a dumb waiter and adjusting it for the return trip. His language throughout the play, then, stands on its own as a betrayal, a closely monitored transaction of information that takes pains not to give too much away. Betrayal is a constant theme in Pinter's work—he has a play titled Betrayal—and here we must take Ben's word that the job is about to commence, but we do not know if it will be carried out the way he originally indicated or whether he will end up actually shooting Gus. But the repetitive, mechanical quality of language is the ultimate murderer here. The characters' repetition of their newspaper routine—an act that surely occurs every day—is part of the slow approach to death that Gus spoke of at the start of the play when he bemoaned his dull, cyclical life. Ben's instructions, which Gus repeats, similarly drain the life out of an act that itself seeks to end life. Gus's toneless echo is actually a form of silence that seeks to avoid having to perform the horrifying act.
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