Character Clues
Character Analysis
Actions
Given that there are so many stage directions to go along with what is said by the characters, physical actions are extremely important in all of Beckett's plays. Each character's actions say a lot about who they are. For example, the fact that Willie crawls only adds to his creaturelike description and Winnie's obsession with her routine is exemplified in the ritualistic and nitpicky manner in which she completes every task she sets out for herself.
Location
Bleak, inhospitable, and absurd—or, according to Beckett, a picture of life itself. Winnie's location is meant to daze and shock the viewer. It strips the human condition to a woman, her husband, and a mound of sand. Minimalist. Absurd. Pure Beckett.
Props
The props Winnie and Willie have throughout the play help them manage their everyday (monotonous) life. The gun functions as an alternative; the postcard as a distraction; and the parasol (which we later learn was a gift from Willie) is meant to shield Winnie from the unbearable sun. And yet, the props also function as a way to remind Winnie of life before the mound. They form an essential part of who Winnie is, each prop symbolizing a memory or habit she had pre-mound.
Speech and Dialogue
Winnie sure talks a lot. Her inability to stay quiet tells us she has trouble with silence. But why? What does silence mean to Winnie? What is it about words that Winnie finds so comforting? Whereas Winnie can be defined by the copious amounts of words she uses, Willie barely finishes a sentence in the play. Why doesn't Willie speak more often? Has he found that words are useless and often fail?
Clothing
More like a lack of clothing. Yeah, we're looking at you, Willie. Winnie is dressed in typical housewife wear…but why? It could be that Beckett's trying to show us that she's just one of us, an everywoman. We're supposed to see ourselves in her. On the other hand, Willie tends to disregard societal rules of dress and chooses to either go sans-underwear or dressed to kill. Talk about two extremes.