Obedience and Submissiveness in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a timeless play which continues to remain relevant across all generations due to its presentation of ideas that are fundamental to humanity. The play highlights aspects that relate to the society of not only Elizabethan England but also that of our modern society. Hamlet, as a character, considers ideas from outside his time and is somewhat relatable to modern day man. By drawing from ideas of archetypes and the human psyche, it reveals that Hamlet relates deeply to the elements of humanity.

When looking at Hamlet, one could say that William Shakespeare put the play together as a very cathartic tragedy. The emotional result of dealing with so many deaths brings on a plethora of emotions which are not usually felt in a typical play. Hamlet begins not with the normal prosperity and good fortune as do most tragedies, but with a more stifling and depressing sort of mood (Tekany 115). However, something else could be said about this play as well. The play centers on Hamlet and his existential characteristics, such as angst, isolation and his confrontations with nothingness. The exhibition of these characteristics proves Hamlet to be an existential character.

Handful’s two strong character qualities is her witty attitude and intelligence. “If he called your name, you felt like it would fly straight to heaven and hit God between the eyes” (Kidd 161). Kidd gave Handful a witty attitude for comic relief. This novel is about the very harsh time during slavery. When the novel becomes remorseful, Handful comes in and makes a funny remark. A few moments after Handful said this funny remark,

While Beckett’s works are often defined by their existentialist themes, Endgame seems to offer no solution to the despair and melancholia of Hamm, Clov, Nagg, and Nell. The work is replete with overdetermination that confounds the efforts of critics and philosophers to construct a single, unified theme for the play. Beckett resisted any effort to reconcile the problems of his world, offer solutions, or quench any fears overtly. However, this surface level of understanding that aligns Beckett with the pessimism of the Modernist movement is ironically different from the symbolic understanding that Beckett promotes through his characters and the scene. Beckett’s work does not suggest total hopelessness,

The best feeling one can experience is winning a prize. For example, when one wins the lottery, one is excited, however not the lottery in the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The lottery in this story represents a certain kind of irony known as situational irony. Now, this is not the only example of irony included in this story there are also examples of verbal irony and dramatic irony. In The story “The Lottery” there are countless instances of situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony that presents readers with the barbaric ways of the town and allows readers to have an insight on the town’s issues.

     Irony is a main theme in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” The irony in the story can be separated into three main

Joseph Conrad once said, “It is the mark of an inexperienced man not to believe in luck”. Nailer, the main character of Paolo Bacigalupi’s book Ship Breaker, wasn’t born lucky, he was born a ship breaker. Ship breakers are child and adult laborers who spend their days starving, poor, and working away to take the anything valuable off old ships for the big companies. Throughout Nailer’s life, he has suffered through various unfortunate events. However, with a strong belief of luck and having other superstitions, his life becomes more manageable. In Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi demonstrates that being superstitious and believing in various degrees of luck allows people to more easily feel in control of uncontrollable situations.

Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.

More than once in every man’s life he has yearned for something that is out of his reach. Whether it be fashionable clothes, an elaborate home, a newer car, or a more desirable career, some things are unattainable. George Milton, one of the main characters

In modern times one would substitute the expression “hard man” with something along the line of “jerk”. Mr. Wright was a jerk and as a result of that he made the lives of everyone one around him miserable. Who want to be miserable? No one does. That is why no one liked to visit. “I could've come. I stayed away because it weren't cheerful -- and that's why I ought to have come. I -- I've never liked this place. Maybe because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road. I dunno what it is, but it's a lonesome place and always was. I wish I had come over to see Minnie Foster sometimes. I can see now ” said Mrs. Hale. (Glaspell B: 21, L: 3) With hardly any company over and no children around the house Mrs. Wright must have been awfully lonely. Living alone with a man that mistreated her and suppressed all her individuality and talents must have been hellish. When suppressing one’s talents the effects are that it deprives them at what they are good at. As a result of that it makes them feel like they are worthless and not good at anything. That is what Mr. Wright did to his wife; he killed her self-esteem so that she would think that the only thing good in her life was he, when in actuality the only thing wrong in her life was her husband. She was no longer Minnie Foster. She was now a sad housewife only known as Mrs. Wright - quite a departure from her days as a youth. She

There are many themes that can be found within William Shakespeare’s works of literature. In the play Hamlet, it is evident that there is a prominent theme of obedience. Throughout the course of the play obedience is shown numerous times and involves many characters. These instances can be divided into three categories of reasoning to be obedient: obedience through family, obedience through an authority figure, and obedience through friendship and trust. These characters include Hamlet, Ophelia, Fortinbras, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Horatio and Marcellus.

In “ A Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, she used Situational Irony to prove that oppression leads to depression,because Mrs.Louise Mallard thought her husband was dead. She seemed very upset, but she was actually happy that he passed away because she felt free, because her husband made her feel like he was holding her back she haven’t lived her life

There is no denying that Shakespeare is a definitive playwright. He has presented us with classic works that have set the precedent for drama and the theatre. Among Shakespeare’s more notable plays are his tragedies. In the tragedy his protagonists are often given flaws in their character and hence, are suitably named tragic heroes. The downfall of these protagonists is often a result of their own character flaws and unfortunately, they suffer a doomed and unhappy ending. While the tragic hero is flawed they must also be honorable and worthy of the audience’s understanding and sympathy. On a quest for righteousness the tragic hero often goes through immense suffering which is why the audience can feel bad for him. For the most

The word ‘tragedy’ is a common in the modern world, and it is often associated with a “sad or unhappy ending”. Accordingly, every time there is misfortune in a work, it is classified as a ‘tragedy’. Arthur Miller offers the observation that a tragedy is something that is more than just sad. Miller argues that tragedy is not a ‘pessimistic’ view on an event, but it allows for “the reinforcement of the onlookers brightest opinions of the human animal”. Since humans are not in control of his/her own fate, unfortunate things are bound to happen. However, the human spirit that is able to withstand catastrophe allows for hope. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare presents his tragic hero, Hamlet, as a noble figure who is to be admired because he

In Waiting for Godot, Beckett often focused on the idea of "the suffering of being." Most of the play deals with the fact that Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for something to relieve them from their boredom. Godot can be understood as one of the many things in life that people wait for. Waiting for Godot is part of the ‘Theater of the Absurd’. This implies that it is meant to be irrational and meaningless. Absurd theater does not have the concepts of drama, chronological plot, logical language, themes, and recognizable settings. There is also a split between the intellect and the body within the work. Vladimir represents the intellect and Estragon the body, both cannot exist without the other.