Indeterminacy In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot

Samuel Beckett, the Irish playwright and Nobel Prize winner in1969, is commonly regarded as one of the most influential figures in the twentieth century. Beckett presents modern people the real world that he knows in his anti-traditional dramatic works. Indeterminacy pervades Beckett’s plays, particularly in Waiting for Godot. Based on Hassan’s theory on indeterminacy, this thesis intends to study the indeterminacy in Waiting for Godot from the perspective of the characters, time and settings as well as themes. In addition, the author of this thesis attempts to reveal the relevance between the indeterminacy and the era in which Beckett lived.Apart from introduction and conclusion, this thesis includes three chapters. Chapter One concentrates on the indeterminacy of characters’ identities, holding the view that none of the characters has a determinate identity. Besides, the repetitions, silences and pauses studding in the characters’speeches are analyzed so as to fully reveal the indeterminacy of the characters in the play. Chapter Two focuses on expounding the indeterminate time and setting pieces, revealing that there is no determinate time and setting in the play. Chapter Three devotes itself to elaborately analyzing three possible but not determinate themes of the play. After close reading of the text, the author of this thesis finds that human existence, quest and death may be the possible themes that the play attempts to express. The analysis of the three possible themes reveals that the theme of Waiting for Godot is indeterminate either.The analysis and study of the indeterminate characters, time and settings as well as themes in Waiting for Godot may help further understand the play and Beckett’s other dramatic works. It may also contribute, if not completely, a little to promoting the understanding and comprehension of the survival condition for those who live in the modern society which is also full of indeterminacies.