How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line) Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #4
POZZO
Give me that! (He snatches the hat from Vladimir, throws it on the ground, tramples on it.) There's an end to his thinking!
VLADIMIR
But will he be able to walk?
POZZO
Walk or crawl! (He kicks Lucky.) Up pig!
ESTRAGON
Perhaps he's dead. (1.642-5)
See what we mean?
Quote #5
ESTRAGON
Do you remember the day I threw myself into the Rhone?
VLADIMIR
We were grape harvesting.
ESTRAGON
You fished me out.
VLADIMIR
That's all dead and buried.
ESTRAGON
My clothes dried in the sun.
VLADIMIR
There's no good harking back on that. Come on.
He draws him after him. As before.
ESTRAGON
Wait!
VLADIMIR
I'm cold!
ESTRAGON
Wait! (He moves away from Vladimir.) I sometimes wonder if we wouldn't have been better off alone, each one for himself. (He crosses the stage and sits down on the mound.) We weren't made for the same road. (1.846-54)
The men seem to be talking about a suicide attempt on Estragon’s part. Notice that the discussion of Vladimir saving his life prompts Gogo to remark that maybe they’d be better off alone. If they had been "each one for himself," Estragon would have successfully drowned himself. So what he’s really saying is, maybe it would be better if he were dead.
Quote #6
VLADIMIR
A dog came in—
Having begun too high he stops, clears his throat, resumes:
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb— (2.1)
Vladimir’s song is interesting for two reasons: it illustrates the endless repetition of cyclical routine, but it’s also about death. Of course, death should be the one end to the banality of Vladimir and Estragon’s existence, but is not in this backwards world. The dog dies, yet the song goes on and on.