Saturday, December 12, 2015

What part does Christianity and/or Bible play in Waiting for Godot?

I think that the largest issue for the reader in terms of
seeing religion displayed in the text would lie in its implications.  There is specific
discussion about the crucifixion of Jesus between characters, but I think that the
larger issue of religious worship is brought out in the themes of Godot's work.  The
idea of "waiting" for an answer from the divine is something that Beckett displays in
the drama.  Even if one removes the rather direct idea that "Godot" is a form of the
Western vision of God (from the name), there is much to indicate that the vision of
religious worship brought out in the play is one where individuals are forced to
recognize similarity between themselves and the characters.  The idea of "waiting" for
an answer, for redemption, and resulting in a paralysis of sorts is where one sees
Christianity present in the play.  The idea of "waiting" for the hereafter, a world that
is not this one, is akin to the characterizations of the individuals in the play who
wait for something that may or may not come.  In this, the indictment of Christianity
and the traditional notions of religious worship that prevents action being taken in the
name or pursuit of something that is supposedly transcendental is made through the
themes of the work.

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