A review by surdiablo
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Honestly, this one is hard to rate.. It's a wonderfully written existentialist play that was deep and enjoyable, but hard to grasp the meaning of it. It revolves mainly around two characters waiting for the arrival of Godot
aaand nope, he never comes
, while engaging in philosophical conversations or doing nothing at all. It's pretty ambiguous while also being absurdist, so it can be interpreted in various ways and I am uncertain about my own take, but here it goes. The characters
have the choice to leave instead of waiting aimlessly, but they choose to stay all the same while going back and forth between being hopeful and disconsolate. It gives me the impression that while we have the will to make our own choices and shape our destiny, they proceed to wait anyway because they don't know what to do otherwise. The waiting gives them a purpose, some meaning to their life. Since it's a repetitive cycle, their days start blending together and they have no recollection of what happened earlier. The bare willow also mirrors this cycle, with the occasional minute changes like the extra leaves, which represent hope or the passage of time perhaps. Lucky comes off as someone who became a slave to external forces affecting life, signified by the absurd speech and his inability to leave his master Pozzo. Pozzo represents power and also reminds us that power dynamics can change at any time since he becomes blind and more reliant on Lucky later. At the end of the play, the main duo decides to leave but they do not move anyway, showcasing how deep-rooted their habits are. Overall, the play is about the ambiguity and stagnation of human life in general.
It's a reflective yet interesting take on existentialism, and while I didn't find it humorous when I was reading it, watching the play afterward was certainly more entertaining, as you were meant to 'watch' it anyway. I might revisit this one day as I was sick and not in the best headspace to read this. 
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