Reading Questions Act One Vladimir and Estragon 1.In a Sentence Or Two, Characterize What

Reading Questions
Act One
Vladimir and Estragon
1.In a sentence or two, characterize what we know of Vladimir and Estragon's situation by the first two pages of the play. How often have they met in this way? Does their situation seem to be urgent?
2.What does Vladimir imply about why today they could no longer go "hand in hand" off the top of the Eiffel Tower? What is their tone as they discuss suicide?
3.The Bible is referred to directly and indirectly a few times. How strong is their connection to it?
4.Why does Vladimir say, "One daren't even laugh any more"? What is suggested about the past versus the present?
Their Situation, That They Are
"Waiting for Godot," Is Clarified
5.How much do Vladimir and Estragon know about Godot? Why are they waiting for him? Does the name have a particular meaning or significance?
6.Events, thoughts, memories, and ideas are constantly overshadowed by confusion. Find two or more examples of uncertainty.
7.Why do they consider suicide? Look carefully at their discussion of hanging themselves.
Pozzo and Lucky Enter
8.What categories do Pozzo and Lucky fall into?
9.First we see Lucky alone on stage, and then Pozzo is seen alone. Why does Beckett do this?
10.Characterize Pozzo and Lucky and their relationship.
11.In Pozzo's speech that begins "I am impertinent," he worries about appearing to falter. Why does this concern him?
12.Why does Pozzo want to get rid of Lucky? Who, according to Pozzo, is the victim in the relationship?
13.Lucky makes no move to leave when Pozzo puts down the reins. What does this suggest? Why does Pozzo use the reins?
14.Pozzo counters Vladimir's suggestion that time has stopped by listening to his ticking watch. Is a functioning watch proof of time's movement?
Lucky Makes His Speech
15.To entertain Vladimir and Estragon, Pozzo instructs Lucky to think. What does thinking become in this context?
16.Do any of Lucky's utterances connect to other lines, themes, or moments in the play?
17.Pozzo makes to leave with Lucky several times before he actually departs. What is the effect of this delayed departure on the play?
Vladimir and Estragon Alone Again
18.How do Vladimir and Estragon describe their encounter with Pozzo and Lucky? Have they ever seen them before?
The Boy Enters
19.Which character dominates the discussion with the boy and why?
Vladimir and Estragon Alone Again
20.The men decide to go at the end of the scene, but then they fail to move. What does this underscore? How does it affect the tone of the act as it draws to an end?
Act Two
Vladimir and Estragon
1.How has the scene changed?
2.As with Act One, this act opens at evening time. How important is this detail? Would the scene feel different if it were morning? What's the difference?
3.How does Estragon respond to the signs of spring? How does he see them?
4.In a few sentences, define the differences in character between Vladimir and Estragon.
5.Why do they stay together and talk so much, according to Estragon?
6.To what do Vladimir and Estragon refer when they discuss the dead voices? How much do we know?
7.Why does Vladimir suddenly start talking to Estragon as Pozzo does to Lucky?
8.Estragon says that they always find something to give them the impression that they exist. Why do they need to do so?
9.When they believe Godot has arrived, Vladimir believes that they are saved. From what, do you think? And how does he view the power of Godot?
Pozzo and Lucky Enter
10.How is the entrance of Pozzo and Lucky different in Act Two?
11.Vladimir and Estragon consider their options while Pozzo cries for help. What does this suggest about their characters?
12.Why does Estragon see Pozzo and Lucky as Cain and Abel? Does this make any sense?
13."The blind have no notion of time," according to Pozzo. Why, do you think?
14.Since yesterday, Pozzo has become blind and Lucky dumb. Are they being punished? What effect do these developments have on the tone of the play?
15.How does Pozzo characterize birth and life?
Vladimir and Estragon Alone Again
16.Vladimir wonders if he was sleeping while the others suffered. What does this suggest? Do we know to what "others" he refers?
17.Habit is a great deadener, according to Vladimir. How does this statement relate to the themes of the play?
The Boy Arrives
18.Why does Vladimir start to go after the boy?
Vladimir and Estragon Alone Again
19.Which of the two men constantly reminds the other that they are waiting for Godot? Why doesn't Estragon leave?
20.As the play ends they decide to go, but they do not. What does this suggest? Do we have a sense of their future?
The Play as a Whole
1.Looking back at how the play begins, what is the significance and effect of the opening?
2.The action of the two acts flows along similar lines. What is the result of this structure?
3.Why do you think Beckett makes the setting of the action as spare as he does?
4.Is this play by definition atheistic?
5.Within the world of this play, is hope a possible or logical response to life? Why, or why not?
6.To what extent is Vladimir and Estragon's predicament a disaster of their own making?
7.Do they seem to "like" any part of their situation?
8.Comparing the two pairs of characters, does one pair seem more intelligent? More effective at being alive in any sense?