Waiting for Godot Friendship Quotes Page 8

We are told repeatedly that Estragon is dependent on Vladimir, but is Vladimir similarly dependent on Estragon? It almost seems here as though he needs to be needed by his companion; that he grasps at a self-designed purpose through his helping Gogo.

Whoa there. Like billions of others? We’re thinking this isn’t literal. First, let’s go back to that line in Act I when Pozzo says that it would be better to kill Lucky than to send him away. Estragon is definitely repeating what he’s heard, even as he denies remembering anything about Lucky and Pozzo from the day before (this denial is what prompts Vladimir to declare he’s a difficult man to get along with). It would seem then that Estragon is either mindlessly repeating things, intelligent-parrot-style, or he agrees with the claim that death is better than isolation. As to the comment about others, Estragon is simply equating his and Vladimir’s relationship with all the other "billions" of relationships in the world. The thought that death is better than loneliness, then, applies to everyone, not just these crazy guys on the stage.

Estragon and Vladimir are playing at having a relationship; the best they can do is simulate what they think they are supposed to do: have an argument, converse, make-up, etc.