From the onset of the play, it does not take the reader long to
realize that Endgame by Samuel
Beckett deviates from the structure of most plays. Most plays move towards a
single defining action, the climax, and then experience some form of
resolution. Endgame, however, is different. This play does not consist of the
characters working towards a goal or a specific point, nor is there resolution
upon the plays conclusion. In the end, it appears as if there was no point to
the play at all, but rather four characters waiting to reach their “endgame.” Nevertheless,
Beckett uses these elements to place emphasis on his point. He argues that often
times we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, fall into a
routine, and fail to accomplish anything at all. When it gets to this point,
all we can do is wait for death to complete our life’s events. With this in
mind, I believe that Beckett was trying to teach readers today that although the
final phase of our lives may be nothing more than a routine as we wait for our
endgame, we need to live our lives in such a way that death does not serve as
the defining moment, but rather highlights the many accomplishments that we
have achieved.
When reading the play, a reader
quickly gains a sense that the characters are stuck in a monotonous routine.
For Clov, Hamm, Nagg, and Nell, life does not have purpose anymore. And when
you think of their situation, there is nothing really to live for. Hamm is
confined to a wheel chair, Nagg and Nell do not have legs and are stuck in
bins, and Clov has an unnamed physical disability. The joys in their lives come
from sweets and telling the same stories over and over again. They simply
perform the same monotonous routine and wait for the end to draw closer. Clov’s
initial lines set the stage for the remainder of the events to come.
CLOV (fixed
gaze, tonelessly)
Finished, it's
finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished.
(Pause.)
Grain upon
grain, one by one, suddenly there's a heap, a little heap, the impossible
heap.
(Pause.)
I can't be
punished any more.
When applying this quote to the context of the play as a whole, the
character’s lives are devoid of meaning. They are stuck in the same cycle of
events every day and until something breaks this cycle, otherwise known as
death, their lives will not have meaning. Death will then define the lives of
the characters. However, I believe that Beckett attempts to draw attention to this
so that current readers will not fall into this cycle. Instead, they will give
meaning to their lives in the present, so when the end draws near, death will
not be the defining moment, but rather a series of events and accomplishments
that occurred while the individual was still alive. No matter what way you look
at it, death will be a defining moment because it represents an abrupt shift from
one form to another. However, if one has lived their life in such a way that
they accomplished many things, then death will not serve as the defining moment
as it does for the characters, but rather highlight these achievements. When
this is done, a reader will then escape the unpleasant fate of Hamm, Clov,
Nagg, and Nell.
After the conclusion of the play, a
reader may wonder what was the point of reading it in the first place. Very
little action occurs and there does not seem to be a lesson to be learned.
However, when you take a step back and think about the monotonous routine of
the characters and how they were not living for anything, you can see the point
that Beckett was trying to make. Beckett uses the characters to show the reader
what happens in the final phase of life when the characters did not accomplish
anything, but rather got caught up in their routines. This leads one to
speculate over whether they will look back and be satisfied with what they
accomplished or will they see that they got caught up in the hustle and bustle
of life, fell into a routine, and failed to accomplish anything at all. With
this in mind, Beckett uses the play Endgame
to urge present day readers to not get caught up in the same day-to-day routine
and accomplish something remarkable. If an individual does this, then when the
end does come, death will not be the only defining moment.
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