WFG 2

As I suggested in my earlier blog post from this reading, Beckett makes very clear the absurdist qualities that the characters and the play as a whole possess. The continuous cycle is not the only obvious characteristic. The play also has instances where the main characters express very dark humor. One of the times is when Estragon and Vladimir are talking about the Macon country, and the landscape around them in Act II. Estragon says, “I’ve puked my puke of a life away here, I tell you! Here! In the Cackon country!” (1388). The footnotes tell us that he Beckett is punning on the French word “caca” which is a child’s way of saying excrements. Estragon is suggesting that they are in a fecal world, and while that sounds very funny, it is also very dark because they seemed to be trapped in a continuous circle where they can’t leave the soiled land.

Also, by saying that he, “puked my puke of a life away,” (1388) he is further emphasizing the idea that they are not only trapped, but they are also in hell, or a hell-like atmosphere. Maybe they died and this is what Hell is for them. Can they escape this or are they stuck here? Is there any hope for our characters at all?