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Essay / Main Metaphors of “Endgame”
It is impossible to analyze Beckett without wrestling with the abstract and surreal nature of his work; Typical minimalist language mixed with abnormal premises make it difficult to find comprehensible meaning. Because of this universal difficulty that Beckett deliberately creates, his plays are open to free interpretation. “Endgame” is the pinnacle of Beckett’s abstract style; Understanding it in the usual sense is deliberately made difficult by Beckett, so that every symbol, allusion and metaphor must be carefully explored. It is the audience's experience of these details, which have immense depth, that forms the meaning of "Endgame." The play effortlessly transcends many aspects of human life, from faith to death, and Beckett forces the audience to reflect on his life through his completely open play, which contains many fragments of life that they can relate to , and they must understand what each metaphor means. . It's debatable whether Beckett actually had strong opinions on the subjects of Endgame or whether he explores each concept simply because it's interesting; Beckett once wrote: “I take no sides. I am interested in the form of ideas. ” (i), which suggests that any value audiences find in “Endgame” simply stems from their own personal experience and Beckett only slightly inspired them. However, accepting everything Beckett says about his plays is naive. Elements of "Endgame" and "Waiting for Godot" can be recognized in Beckett's life, implying that certain parts of the plays have deep meaning for him. Therefore, Beckett intends to make his audience re-examine their own lives, so I believe this statement to be true. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Beckett addresses so many features of the audience's lives using metaphor that I will only look at the main metaphors and how they interact with the audience. One of the most common readings of Endgame is that it is the tale of a single individual and the scene is his head. This view can be easily saved; the windows are the eyes, the room is the brain and the trash cans are the memories. The scene being a metaphor of a head has implications that resonate for the audience. The constant bickering between Clov and Hamm may be an internal struggle of conscience or even a battle between the superego and the ego (Hamm being the superego and Clov the ego). Internal conflicts affect everyone and Beckett reflects them on the audience. This may be because Beckett wants the audience to evaluate his way of living; What part of their mind are they giving in to? The rational Clov, who declares: “I like order. This is my dream.', or Hamm, very emotional, who asks himself: 'Is there any misery higher than mine?' Beckett has no preference but simply implores the audience to understand themselves; If this theory is true, then "Endgame" is about an individual in turmoil, with each character physically injured, showing how erosive internal struggle can be. The individual also loses contact with his reality; Clov describes the outside beyond the windows, the realm through the eyes, and “The light is dipped.” This means that for the individual the tangible world has nothing to offer him, it is dead to him because he has become obsessed with his own mind. Beckett warns the audience against this complete introspection by proposing that the individual goes mad at the end of the play because Clov, a part of the mind, can leave and leave Hamm "screaming" because of the "infinite void ". shows the public that not only fixationinternal leads to madness, but that isolation can also have similar effects. The setting has a very circular theme; the room is claustrophobic and closed as is the stage symmetrical. At one point, Hamm asks to be moved in a circle, then asks to be exactly center stage, thus emphasizing the symmetrical, circular nature of the piece. This cyclical pattern reflects how an individual survives in the face of severe isolation , the banal routine repeating itself constantly. The characters experience this much as Beckett did during World War II, when he spent long periods of time in dark, abandoned trenches. It was also the time when he suffered from severe depression. This is one of Beckett's clearest messages to the public, it is not an ambiguous symbol, it clearly states that a person should not be alone. Beckett even emphasizes this by referring to “Dante’s Inferno”; As Hamm listens through the wall, he describes it as "the other hell", which alludes to the cyclical qualities of the 9 stages of Hell. For Beckett, being alone is hell. The main source of dramatic tension in the play is whether Clov will leave Hamm. Nell tells him to "desert" and constantly threatens Hamm by saying "I will leave you." Even at the end of the play, we do not know whether Clov will leave; the choice defines the movement of the piece for the audience. This may give the impression that Beckett places great emphasis on choice among human priorities, however, one line sheds light on his true thoughts. When a rat enters the room, Clov says, "If I don't kill this rat, it will die"; Beckett makes the audience understand that Clov is the rat. Clov can leave the room but he will then die because Hamm has the only source of food, but if he stays the food will run out and he will die anyway. Beckett presents us with the idea that choice is an illusion, in a way the whole play is a farce because the dramatic tension is objectively wrong. Beckett forces the audience to evaluate the importance of choice in their lives and whether it adds meaning or whether by accepting determinism they will actually feel less responsibility and pressure, resulting in obsessive introspection, and become more happy. The characters in “Endgame” bring richness. Among the metaphorical possibilities, one of the major themes that Beckett examines is the concept of memory, specifically the question of whether memory has value to an audience. The general opinion about memory, in a non-logistical form, is that it is pleasant. Beckett uses Nagg and Nell to force the audience to re-examine this view. Both characters are consumed by their memories of the "Ardennes" or the "rowing boat", except that each time they remember it, they "laugh less heartily". Their appearance is laughable; they're pale, old, broken, and sitting in trash cans like they're literally trash. They are gripped by memory and have lost reality; they have no influence in reality, all they want is “Me, Dad!” » They can't even kiss each other anymore. Beckett sets up the clash between reality and memory with the help of Nagg and Nell, which ultimately makes it pathetic. Beckett believes that we should place less emphasis on memory and live life more in the present. Clov and Hamm's interdependence is evident from the beginning, when Clov leaves the room, Hamm shouts "Come back!" » and Clov understands that “there is nowhere else”. What's very interesting about this relationship is that Hamm's main argument for their continued relationship is to "keep the dialogue going" and Hamm even becomes annoyed when Clov doesn't do this. The language is often overtly theatrical and not naturalistic, as they try to " ?.