The Insanity of Vladimir and Estragon

The Insanity of Vladimir and Estragon 

     Literary critics have long debated whether the characters Vladimir and Estragon in the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett can aptly be characterized as “insane”. According to the Oxford Dictionary, insanity is defined as “the state of being seriously mentally ill” and “extreme foolishness or irrationality.” I agree with this definition, but I would additionally specify that this “irrationality” arises from an obsession with an action or belief that lacks logical reasoning or evidence. In the play, Vladimir and Estragon exhibit these qualities as they repeatedly wait by a road for a man called Godot, each time left disappointed as Godot fails to arrive. Therefore, Vladimir and Estragon are indeed insane by my proposed definition as they obsessively wait for Godot despite lacking any justifiable evidence that Godot will arrive.

     Vladimir himself reveals this flaw in his belief that Godot will arrive as he admits that Godot “didn’t say for sure he’d come” (Beckett, I). Although their entire purpose in waiting is to meet Godot, the pair is uncertain whether Godot will actually arrive. Despite this uncertainty and after waiting several days with Godot never arriving, the pair continue to foolishly believe that Godot will come one day. Moreover, Vladimir and Estragon are uncertain of who Godot actually is as they misidentify Pozzo to be him. This misidentification further underlines the extent of their irrationality as it suggests that Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for a man who they do not know, cannot recognize, and are unsure will actually attend the supposed meeting. They possess no logical reason to explain why they are waiting for him and what they will gain from doing so, yet, in accordance with my proposed definition of insanity, Vladimir and Estragon firmly cling to their delusion as they continue to wait for him.

     In the play however, this insanity possesses a deeper religious implication as it suggests that Vladimir and Estragon waiting to meet Godot represents them waiting for God. In addition to the similarities in their names, “Godot” and “God,” various parallels between the two figures support this symbolism. For example, Godot communicates with Vladimir and Estragon using a boy who says he “minds the goats” (Beckett, I) and that his brother “minds the sheep” (Beckett, I). This resembles the Christian belief of God using a messenger in the form of Jesus, a shepherd, to communicate with humans. Furthermore, when waiting for Godot, Vladimir asks, “suppose we repented” (Beckett, I), but quickly dismisses the topic. Symbolically, this hints that Vladimir considers repenting in order to meet Godot, mirroring the practice of repenting in order be forgiven and saved by God. These parallels suggest that the pair’s depicted behavior is not simply a result of waiting for a character called Godot. Rather, they represent two human beings going insane after constantly waiting to be saved by a God who never arrives. This entails that the play is effectively a satire that critiques Vladimir and Estragon’s unfounded faith not only in Godot, but God.

     In fact, the play goes beyond Vladimir and Estragon’s relationship with God and questions the validity of religion as a whole, particularly when Vladimir points out a discrepancy in the story of the thieves told by the various Evangelists. He explains how “out of the four Evangelists only one speaks of a thief being saved” (Beckett, I) and how “of the other three, two don’t mention any thieves at all and the third says that both abused [the savior]” (Beckett, I). More importantly, he questions the phenomenon of how despite the existence of four different versions, “everybody” chooses to believe the version of “a thief being saved” (Beckett, I). Vladimir’s doubt undermines the credibility of religion, specifically how society chose the version of the Bible that depicted a thief being saved to be the absolute truth. Although this version became accepted as the cultural norm, the story points out the irrationality in the choice to accept this version out of the four equally valid Evangelists. By questioning this lack of a credible basis, the story suggests the commonly accepted belief in a Saviour to actually be “insane,” as there is no logical reasoning to explain its validity.

     Thus, the story’s plot involving Vladimir and Estragon serves as a metaphor to criticize the flaws of religion, particularly Christianity. The play emphasizes the characters’ delusional obsession with waiting for Godot to the point where it is insane, and in doing so, highlights the questionable nature of society’s firm belief in religion. This is especially important when analyzing the context of this play, which was written shortly after World War II in 1953. While the majority of western civilization up until this time believed faith in God to be righteous, the unprecedented amount of death and destruction during the war led many to question the existence of a God who could save them from the peril. This play therefore aligns with this movement and uses Vladimir and Estragon to portray the insanity of relying on an unsubstantiated faith in God to solve societal issues.

(Word count: 840)