Compare and contrast the play ‘ Waiting for Godot’ and novel ‘ The Stranger’

 Name : Nidhi P. Jethava 

Paper : The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II to the End of  the Century. 

Roll No. : 13

Enrollment Number : 306920200009

Email ID : jethavanidhi8@gmail.com 

Batch : 20-22( MA SEM- 2 )

Submitted to : S. B. Gardi Department of English, Maharaja KrishnaKumarsinhji Bhavnagar University 

Q. Compare and contrast the play ‘ Waiting for Godot’ and novel ‘ The Stranger’ 

Answer :-

‘The Stranger’ and ‘ Waiting for Godot’ Both are absurd works. ‘The Stranger’ is written by Albert Camus and ‘ Waiting for Godot’ is written by Samuel Buckett.

Ket Facts about ‘ Waiting for Godot’ 

The story revolves around two seemingly homeless men simply waiting for someone—or something—named Godot. Vladimir and Estragon wait near a tree, inhabiting a drama spun of their own consciousness. The result is a comical wordplay of poetry, dreamscapes, and nonsense, which has been interpreted as mankind’s inexhaustible search for meaning. Beckett’s language pioneered an expressionistic minimalism that captured the existential post-World War II Europe. His play remains one of the most magical and beautiful allegories of our time.

• Full name : Waiting for Godot

• Author : Samuel Buckett 

• When Published :  The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949 The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone , Paris. The English-language version premiered in London in 1955.

• Literary Genre : Tragicomedy (play)

• Original Language : Originally play written in French 

• Original Title :  En attendant Godot

Key Facts about ‘ The Stranger’ 

Author : Albert Camus 

Original Title : L'Étranger

Country : French 

Language : French 

Series : Collection Blanche 

Genre : Philosophic novel, Absurdist fiction, Reference work, Crime Fiction, Existential Fiction

Set in : Algeria 

Publisher : 1942 (Gallimard, French )

                  1946 ( Hamish Hamilton, English )

Pages : 159

Nobel Prize : 1969

About Samual Beckett :- 

Bio-bibliographic information

1906	Born in Dublin of Irish parents
1927	B.A. Trinity College, Dublin
1928-29	English reader at École Normale Supérieure, Paris
1930	French reader at Trinity College, Dublin
1938	Moved to France
1945	Began writing in French
1989	Died in Paris

About Albert Camus :

Albert Camus was an extremely handsome mid-20th century French-Algerian philosopher and writer, whose claim to our attention is based on three novels, 

The Outsider (1942), 

The Plague (1947), 

The Fall (1956), and two philosophical essays, 

The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) and The Rebel (1951).

Camus won the Nobel prize for literature in 1957 – and died at the age of 46, inadvertently killed by his publisher Michel Gallimard, when his Facel Vega sports car crashed into a tree. In his pocket was a train ticket he had decided not to use at the last minute.

Compare and contrast ‘waiting for Godot’ and ‘The Stranger’ :-

Character evaluation of the both works:

 Character from ‘Waiting for Godot’ :- 

 1.Vladimir 

  Vladimir is a very significant character in the play. He is the one who constantly reminds Estragon that they must wait for Godot. Even though it is left indefinite, all implications suggest that Vladimir knows more about Godot than does Estragon, who tells us that he has never even seen Godot and thus has no idea what Godot looks like. 

His quote :

Vladimir : One daren't even laugh any more.

Dreadful privation.

Merely smile. (He smiles suddenly from ear to ear, keeps smiling, ceases as suddenly.) It's not the same thing. Nothing to be done.

 2.Estragone 

 ‘Waiting for Godot’ has two important characters. Vladimir and Estragon.  In the beginning he struggles just to take off his boots, for example. Unlike Vladimir, he has no grasp of time, and is confused as to whether it is evening or morning in act two. He has a very short memory. 

       His Quote : 

       One daren't even laugh any more.

       Dreadful privation.

       Merely smile. (He smiles suddenly from ear to ear, keeps smiling, ceases as suddenly.)   

         It's not the same thing. Nothing to be done

3.Lucky and Pozzo 

Lucky and Pozzo Represent the concept of servant and owner. Lucky’s character represent human slavery. Pozzo is the owner of Lucky and he wants to buy Lucky. Pozzo addressed Lucky as “pig”.  He abuses Lucky and treats him as a slave, pulling him around with a rope tied around his neck and having him carry all his things. 

 4.The Boy 

“Mr. Godot told me to tell you he won't come this evening but surely tomorrow.”

  

The Boy is a very interesting character. He came with news of the arrival of Godot. His name is unknown. The boy came two times in the play. . It is unclear whether the same boy comes in both acts, or whether these are two different characters. In act two, the boy claims to be different from the boy of act one, but then again Pozzo claims in act two that he did not meet Vladimir and Estragon in act one. The boy describes working under Godot as if on a farm or plantation, where he watches over Godot's animals. 

5.The Godot 

Godot the person for whom Vladimir and Estragon is waiting. In the whole play they remain invisible. In the play there is no character of Godot. he is such a significant absence in the play that he may be rightly recognized as one of the play's characters. Whoever Godot is, Vladimir and Estragon are convinced that he alone will save them, so they wait endlessly for his arrival, which never comes. Because of his name's resemblance to God, Godot is often read as Beckett's pessimistic version of God, an absent savior who never comes to the aid of those suffering on earth.

Character from ‘The Stranger’ :-

1.Meursault

Meursault is the protagonist of the play. He is a restless and passionless young man. A young French Algerian living in colonial Algiers and working as a shipping clerk, Meursault is passionless, disaffected, and without ambition. His primary priority is his own physical comfort. Convinced of the world's indifference to him and to everyone else, Meursault himself is indifferent towards those around him and has only superficial relationships. 

His quote: 

It seemed to me as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where it all started. I shook off the sweat and the sun. I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness. 

2.Marie Cordona

Marie is a young, simple and beautiful co-worker of Meursault. Marie and Meursault has sexual relationship. Her romantic feelings for Meursault seem authentic and she is genuinely discouraged when Meursault confirms he doesn't love her as an individual, that he'd marry any woman like her. Still, she is remarkably resilient and is able to cultivate closeness and happiness with Meursault in spite of his chilly attitudes.

Her quote:

That evening, Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. Then she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't love her. "So why marry me, then?" she said. I explained to her that it didn't really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married. Besides, she was the one who was doing the asking and all I was saying was yes. Then she pointed out that marriage was a serious thing. I said, "No"...She just wanted to know if I would have accepted the same proposal from another woman, with whom I was involved in the same way. I said, "Sure." 

3.Raymond Sintès

Raymond Sintes was the neighbor of Meursault. He Lived off women. He was a pimp. When someone asked him about what he does, he said that he was a warehouse guard. He often talked to Meursault and found his talk quite interesting. He thought that he had no reason to avoid him. 

4.The Prosecutor

Determined to portray Meursault as a cold-blooded, premeditating murderer and soulless monster unfit for society, the prosecutor builds his case around Meursault's insensitive attitude towards his mother, evidence that shouldn't properly be relevant. Still, the prosecutor is passionate, articulate, and convincing. Even Meursault notes that he is a talented lawyer.

 

5.Maman 

Maman is the mother of Meursault. There is the only reference of her character as the story begins with the news of her death. The novel opens with the words:

“ Maman died today or yesterday, maybe I do not know. I got a telegram from home. Mother's deceased funeral tomorrow . Faithfully yours.”

Symbolic evaluation in the both works:

Waiting for Godot	The Stranger
1. Tree   This tree portrays the world as barren or meaningless, lack of purpose. However, the apparent growth of leaves on tree in the start of Act 2 still do nothing for the meaning of life. It only adds to the uncertainty about the place and passage of time. Despite Vladimir’s description of a tree in the play as; “covered with leaves,” the stage direction specifies only “four or five” leaves.	1. The Courtroom It symbolized society as a whole. The law functions as will of the people and the jury represents society. People in society are generally judgmental and rigid in their beliefs. This considers people devoid of religious faith as criminals.   Albert Camus strengthens this court as society. The court makes attempts to construct a logical explanation Of Meursault’s crime. The faith of the court and the laws exemplifies the futility of human’s endeavor to impose order in the chaotic universe.
2. Lucky’s Baggage Lucky never puts down the items he carries, except when Pozzo orders him to do something. He again picks it up without any reason. This action shows the human tendency of enslavement and burdens which are unnecessary. The baggage contains mostly items for Pozzo’s comfort but, in Act 2 it is revealed that the bag which is never opened in Act 1, contains sand. This is another example of a character “deadened” by a habit. The relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is shown as capital and labor, master and slave, exploiter and exploited, between old testament God and new testament Christ.	2. The Crucifix The Crucifix symbolizes Christianity. It also symbolized the rational belief structure of Christian faith. The examining magistrate waves at Meursault. Meursault believed in existential theory. He did not believe in God at all. Judge saw Cross and advised him to be faith in God.
3 Pozzo’s Rope Lucky is a slave for his master Pozzo. Lucky is tied with rope, holding both master and slave together. This is the symbol of distance between God and his slave. However, when the rope is short the distance between them is smaller. When Estragon and Vladimir try to hang themselves with cord and it breaks, they remind themselves to bring rope tomorrow. This rope has the same purpose as for Pozzo and Lucky.	3. Sun and Sea The sun represents, for Meursault, hostile forces in nature or the universe. On the beach as Meursault stares at the Arab, in Part 1, Chapter 6, the sun oppresses Meursault: "the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire." When the Arab draws his knife, the light reflects off the steel "like a long flashing blade cutting at [his] forehead," propelling Meursault toward murdering the man. Throughout the novel, the sun and the heat it creates make Meursault uncomfortable, including during the funeral procession and in the courtroom. Even when Meursault goes outside in the morning, in Part 1, Chapter 6, the sun hits him "like a slap in the face." His perception of nature as a hostile driving force allows him to refuse to engage in the experiences of life. As a contrast to oppressive heat and light and as a link to the physical life the protagonist so clearly values, the sea and water offer some relief. In the sea, he first touches Marie; as he waits for his trial, he pictures the freedom of running toward the water.
5. Hat Hat represents thinking, as the long monologue of Lucky in Act 1 and stops when his hat is knocked off. Estragon and Vladimir also exchange their hats with Lucky’s hat back and forth. This scene is the representation of instability of individual identities and exchanging represents the exchange of identities.
6. The Bone Bone is the symbol of poverty, the characters do not have enough food for themselves and they beg for their survival. This shows the relationship between Feudalism or Capitalism who has dominated over the poor.
7.Night Fall While Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot, they also wait for the nightfall. This nightfall shows that darkness is like a death and falling of night is like to reprieve from daily suffering as death is death to reprieve from life.

 

Conclusion : 

To sum up we can say that both works are very interesting. Both are connected with absurd literature. We can do various kinds of reading of both the work like political, cultural and we can compare it with our Indian culture as well. We can evaluate our contemporary time as abused time. We are passing with that time where there is no hope for anything. One side coronavirus and another side natural calamities. Now there is a new disease called mucormycotic. We are living with absurdity. 

Thank you...

Citation :

Camus, A., & Gilbert, S. (1954). The stranger. New York: Vintage Books.

Litchart . n.d. 27 may 2021.

Power, Chris. "An introduction for Waiting for Godot ." (2017).

Shaheer. Literature Times . 26 March 2020.

Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts/ By Samuel Beckett. First English edition. London: Faber and Faber, 1956.

Characters:13787

Words: 2372

Sentences:149

Paragraphs:142