We can learn a lot from absolutely nothing. I can tell you that Seinfeld has taught me not to offend anyone that runs a food establishment like a nazi regime. A lot of people read Waiting for Godot in either one of three ways: as absolutely nothing, as an allusion to the growing lack of religious fervor, and as an existential text. I am one of the people that read it as purely an existential text. I guess it can be attributed to my atheistic stance on organized religion. Personally, I have never thought it was up to a higher power or being to regulate my life or what I’m meant to do with it. And unlike many people, I have never felt uncomfortable with the fact that life just might, possibly, in all likelihood, probably have no purposeful meaning to it whatsoever.
And I have to say the cast of Seinfeld echoes how I feel about this particular question about existence completely.
Those of you who have seen Seinfeld knows what the show is about. It’s a show about nothing. Really, it’s about nothing. The show is centered around four friends living in New York who are superficially connected to one another and is completely self-centered. Their lives are always somehow entangled in one another’s and somehow something always goes wrong… yet through the grand adventure that is meant to teach them some sort of a life lesson they glean nothing from it in the end. They all still remain the same egocentric and quirky people they are in the beginning. The creators of the show described the cast of characters as “thirty-something singles … with no roots, vague identities, and conscious indifference to morals.” Sound familiar? *cough, Didi and Gogo, cough*
Both Vladimir and Estragon are vague characters with no background, no senses, and no idea about what it is that they are even waiting for. The most personal thing we know is that Vladimir has the clap (which, while highly amusing, is quite serious, children). Through two acts and several banters later, the reader still does not know why it is that Didi and Gogo wait for this Godot person. I think Beckett wrote it with the intention of leaving the audience and readers with the echoic feeling of a lack of purpose. Beckett meant for the readers to feel the immensity of nothingness, amplified by the minimal setting and miniscule time frame that seems to stretch into eternity.
I’m sure through all of this you guys are wondering how is it possible to learn something if there is a complete lack of epiphany or self-realization? Well, lemme break it down for you. Seinfeld teaches all of us that we don’t need to learn anything, because we are fine the way we are. Selfish, greedy, and narcissistic. We are fine without a definite answer. We have no one and nothing to be better for if there isn’t a purpose in life. So, if that’s the case, why not just live life the way you want to live it. With all the unholy sins and nonsensicality intact? Like Seinfeld says, “No hugging, no learning.”
With Waiting for Godot the reader gets the sense that all that waiting and all the wondering on Didi and Gogo’s part will never amount to anything. And they are correct. In the end there is nothing but this bleak, hopelessness that permeates throughout the barren landscape, a landscape that reflects a lack of purpose. In the end both Didi and Gogo still wait for the coming of Godot, despite the fact that they say:
“Well? Shall we go?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Unlike Didi and Gogo, I say it’s better to just forge forward, because we’re not going to get an answer any time soon. Or at all. Why waste time wondering what the meaning of existence is? Why can’t we simply exist for the sake of existing? There is a line of Beckett’s Comment C’est (1961) that particularly struck with me and reminded me of Waiting for Godot. It says: “you are there somewhere alive somewhere vast stretch of time then it’s over you are there no more alive no more then again you are there again alive again it wasn’t over an error you begin again all over more or less in the same place or in another as when another image above in the light you come to in hospital in the dark”
You are alive. And that is all I have to say about Waiting for Godot.
9 comments
Comments feed for this article
March 15, 2009 at 4:36 am
vgmark
I will agree that “life” may not hold an objective purpose in the traditional sense. In this, I mean that life cannot be ascribed purpose like a chair can. A chair is meant for sitting, is it not? And in this way life cannot be given a purpose. But, I do maintain the belief that our notions of purpose can be placed upon our existence. We can lead just lives, vile lives, and hedonistic lives and disregard the notion that they are illogical or in any way incorrect. This is based upon the simple observation that there are no higher truths than those that we can percieve. This means that existence is no greater then what it is. Therefore, you may just say that I would like to exist in the manner which I perceive to be most satisfying or most fulfilling. I do not believe that there is a lack of purpose for we cannot perceive our lives in a way that would permit such a thing. We are bound inextricably to our existence and our perception and I do not believe that we should abandon our sensibilities, our civilization based upon nihlism.
March 15, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Brad Hutton
I love Seinfeld, and i really like the comparison you made to waiting for godot.
March 16, 2009 at 8:31 am
kychai
The complete stylistic differences between the first previous comments made here humors me to no end. I suppose I shall be the middle ground.
I personally find myself agreeing with the views on life you put forth here. Justifying life is such a pain, and frankly, it depresses me. Let things flow, why don’t we.
Good ol’ Seinfeld. It troubles me somewhat that even his show is not above analysis though. Eh, whatever. The connection made here is surprisingly solid, though. I like it.
March 16, 2009 at 9:06 pm
sarah49
I like the comparison between a modern work, Seinfeld, and Godot, because it helps us see what an existential worldview would look like now and how one would live life devoid of meaning. This hopeless lack of purpose conveys to the reader that there is not a higher power in life and men seek their own destiny and some choose not to seek, but instead just exist.
March 18, 2009 at 3:43 am
esmith77
Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows, and i too saw a connection between the two while reading Godot. I also feel the same way you do about life, that there is no point looking for a definitive “point” of life, and instead we should all just live however makes us happy.
March 18, 2009 at 7:22 am
smcolegio
good videos . i personally do not like seinfeld but i can
see the comparison.
March 20, 2009 at 5:00 am
tcyharris
this is a very accurate comparison…the clip really captures the same feeling of waiting for Godot, with the same nonsensical and repetitive interactions between characters.
March 21, 2009 at 11:23 am
droyalty
I agree with you when you point out that Seinfeld and Waiting for Godot express the idea that having a meaningless existence is okay. I believe that Waiting for Godot also demonstrates that some people need to have the belief that there is a purpose of existence. I think that Vladimir and Estragon waiting for the arrival of Godot symbolizes the individual’s struggle with accepting the fact that life is pointless.
March 21, 2009 at 6:09 pm
cfmartinez
I enjoy Seinfeld very much and I thank you for posting these clips for my enjoyment :] In regards to the content of this post, I believe that life can be viewed as meaningless and I find that the connection between Seinfeld and Waiting for Godot a strong connection as both exhibit this sentiment very well.