Waiting for Godot Philosophical Viewpoints: The Absurd Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Act.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
| Quote #1 (Estragon with a supreme effort succeeds in pulling off his boot. He peers inside it, feels about inside it, turns it upside down, shakes it, looks on the ground to see if anything has fallen out, finds nothing, feels inside it again, staring sightlessly before him.) Well? |
Estragon’s putzing about with his boot is a central iteration of absurdity in the play. It’s unclear what he’s looking for inside the boot and obviously irrational that anything will materialize if he puts it back on. On the other hand, we are also introduced to the sort of backwards logic of Waiting for Godot in this scene. Vladimir has a point: if Estragon puts his boot on, there will be something inside it.
| Quote #2 ESTRAGON |
The unreliability of memory is one of the reasons that Waiting for Godot lacks rationale.
| Quote #3 VLADIMIR |
Notice how Vladimir and Estragon switch rapidly from serious subject matter (whether or not Godot has arrived) to absurdly inane details (that would be carrots). This is part of the play’s attempt at "tragicomedy," but also the reason why Vladimir and Estragon can’t take part in anything meaningful: they are too distracted by the petty habits of everyday life.
