Psychological Dimension of Waiting for Godot Keshav Praveen Jindal College

Beckett condemns humanity that’s ailing from positive schizophrenic disorder, whereby the symptoms are hallucinations and delusions. The protagonists are in a treacherous illusion that their “personal god” (30) can resolve their existential crisis and indulge in complex metaphysical arguments resorting to the tormenting Wait for “Godot”. Pozzo is entangled in his intricate net of timelessness. On the contrary, Lucky isn’t in an impoverished state of spirituality as he has accepted the absurd revelations of life despite his grotesque living conditions.

The plot circulates in a cyclical time loop whereby time does not flow in a linear fashion but is a reoccurring continuum. There is no closure to this sombre time loop, but with every cycle humans are more degenerated. Another pertinent idea delves into notions of how time has been manipulated throughout the plot from its cyclical structure in the play to its delusional and endless nature. A fascinating idea to consider is, when we ecstatically wait for something; then even few hours seem like days. This can be explicative of the human condition that constantly desires Godot to resolve their existential crisis. Then, he doesn’t show up, but humans continue to wait onwards....