Waiting for Godot - The Boots

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, the scenery and plot are very scarce in the play Waiting for Godot.   The very few inanimate object props, like Vladimir’s hat, are important in determining the motives and personalities of the two main characters.  Estragon seems to be obsessed with his boots like Vladimir is obsessed with his hat.  Estragon is always trying to take of his boots and is constantly complaining about how they fit.  Instead of symbolizing his eager for knowledge and answers, like Vladimir’s hat, these boots help show Estragon’s more realistic, hopeless approach to life and the arrival of Godot.  Because boots remain on the ground, one could interpret this object as standing for Estragon’s grounded, practical, yet kind of pessimistic  approach to life than that of Vladimir.  As the men are struggling and waiting for Godot, Estragon struggles with his boots.  These struggle with the boots are parallel to the struggle of the men’s lives.  Estragon wants to leave and does not see a purpose in waiting for Godot, yet Vladimir and the ideas he received from his hat always convince Estragon to stay and wait.  While Vladimir peers inside of his hat to find answers to problems and the future, Estragon looks inside of his boots and sees emptiness, which seems to not only represent how he feels inside, but also represents his lack of position and role in life.

Waiting for Godot - The Hat

In Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, main characters Vladimir and Estragon wait the entire play for a man named Godot to arrive.  During this play and their time waiting, the men have little to keep themselves occupied, and with little scenery in the play, they only have their boots and hats to keep them busy.  For example, Vladimir seems to be obsessed with his hat and turns to it when he is contemplating the arrival of Godot.  With little action in the play, this inanimate object actually plays a huge role in representing the struggles of Vladimir.  He is constantly seen shaking, knocking, touching, and looking at his hat, almost as if he is searching for something inside of it.  By constantly examining this hat in times of trouble and confusion, one may think that he is turning to his hat for answers and knowledge for what to do or say.  Whenever Vladimir fails to find the solution to his problems (like where Godot really is), he adjusts his hat and seems to be disappointed because of his lack of knowledge.  Because of the lack of plot and conflict and characters in this play, this hat is really crucial object that helps the audience discover more about Vladimir as a character and his role in finding Godot and answers to life.

Grete's Metamorphosis

Grete is Gregor’s beloved sister and his primary caretaker.  She seems to be the only one who actually has sympathy towards Gregor once he transforms. Grete cares for him by bringing him food and rearranges his room to suit his new life as a bug, and she is really the only connection he has with the family and humans in general.  As Grete begins to grow older and more mature, she gets a job to support her family which takes away her focus on Gregor.  Furthermore, her once enjoyment of taking care of Gregor begins to fade away, and she begins to view taking care of Gregor as a distasteful obligation.  In the end, Grete is the one who really decides that Gregor must go.

While this novella focuses on the transformation of Gregor that physically happened before the start of the story, the real transformation that takes place throughout the entirety of the plot is really Grete’s transformation.  We see her go from a young, caring sister who protects and pities her bug brother to a lady who is still dutiful to her brother, but also responsible and devoted to her family financially and emotionally.  While the story has a sad ending for Gregor, it holds a happy one for Grete, who is now allowed to find a husband.  Grete is no longer a little girl!

Gregor's Parents are Awful

Once I was able to overlook the gruesome imagery and grossness of the giant bug in Metamorphosis, I began to see the depressing nature of this novella.  After Gregor suddenly transformed into a bug, his first thought was whether or not he would be able to ride the train to work, not how he became a bug in the first place.  Gregor never really questions or tries to figure out why he has transformed into a giant bug, but rather is concerned with being a burden to his family in which he financially supports.  Though Gregor does not want to bother and disturb his parents with his new identity, he is in fact was avoided at all costs and eventually destroyed by the people in his life who are supposed to support him and care for him the most, his parents.  Since Gregor is unable to perform his necessary duties for the family, they no longer want anything to do with his bug self.

His parents are really terrible, and their actions and lack of true love for Gregor makes me sad. Yes, Gregor's mother does seem to love him on the surface layer, but she is too disgusted with and unable to overlook his new bug body and love him even as a bug.  I would for sure be heartbroken if my parents did that to me after I magically transformed into a bug.