Social Issues In Waiting for Godot and Enduring Love
Compare and Contrast the social issues which cause conflict in Waiting for Godot by Beckett and Enduring Loveby McEwan. Evaluate different readers' views of the writers' interpretations and discuss the impact of contexts.
Social issues have long been a problem in our world, complete breakdown in communication can have disastrous consequences for society. Many wars, civil wars and uprisings have occurred as a cause of idealogical differences, but it has been through a social aspect, that those ideas were misconstrued or rejected (due to a difference in social opinion). The same can be said for the social aspects in 'Waiting for Godot' and 'Enduring Love', albeit on a smaller scale. Social issues are prevalent in both texts, this can be attributed to the style of writing used by Samuel Beckett and Ian McEwan, both of whom use allusory devices and utilise the in-communication of protagonists. Waiting for Godot is a 1952 play originally called 'En Attendant Godot', the play is widely viewed as a response to WW2. Enduring Love is a 1997 novel written by Ian McEwan and focuses on psychological issues in today痴 society, and how they impact on society. I intend to explore the social issues (the majority of which) that arise in the texts as a result of the protagonists inability to communicate.
The characters' state of mind is a major sub-plot intertwined in both Enduring Love and Waiting for Godot. The fact that all the characters are written as to possibly be mentally unhinged and anxiety ridden, this is hinted at through Estragon's reaction to Vladimir's perpetual questions,
'Vladimir: The same lot as usual?
Estragon: The same? I don't know'.
Ian McEwan has said, 'the task of the artist is to find a form that accommodates the mess' , which sums up Waiting for Godot I think. Continuing the theme of WW2 in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky are portrayed in erratic surroundings and the carnage of a society in combat with itself, as
Social issues have long been a problem in our world, complete breakdown in communication can have disastrous consequences for society. Many wars, civil wars and uprisings have occurred as a cause of idealogical differences, but it has been through a social aspect, that those ideas were misconstrued or rejected (due to a difference in social opinion). The same can be said for the social aspects in 'Waiting for Godot' and 'Enduring Love', albeit on a smaller scale. Social issues are prevalent in both texts, this can be attributed to the style of writing used by Samuel Beckett and Ian McEwan, both of whom use allusory devices and utilise the in-communication of protagonists. Waiting for Godot is a 1952 play originally called 'En Attendant Godot', the play is widely viewed as a response to WW2. Enduring Love is a 1997 novel written by Ian McEwan and focuses on psychological issues in today痴 society, and how they impact on society. I intend to explore the social issues (the majority of which) that arise in the texts as a result of the protagonists inability to communicate.
The characters' state of mind is a major sub-plot intertwined in both Enduring Love and Waiting for Godot. The fact that all the characters are written as to possibly be mentally unhinged and anxiety ridden, this is hinted at through Estragon's reaction to Vladimir's perpetual questions,
'Vladimir: The same lot as usual?
Estragon: The same? I don't know'.
Ian McEwan has said, 'the task of the artist is to find a form that accommodates the mess' , which sums up Waiting for Godot I think. Continuing the theme of WW2 in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky are portrayed in erratic surroundings and the carnage of a society in combat with itself, as