Whitney hsu
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The Author
Samuel Beckett
Birth: 1906 13 April
Born in Dublin Irish
Died in 1989
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Samuel Beckett

Born in Irish and write his works both
English and French

Faced world war two times. Worked in
the Red Cross in Irish

joined the antinazi party and being
hunted by the gestapo
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Samuel Beckett

his work was divided into two category
the novel and the play

In his early work he depicted the
anxiety ,confusion, uncertainty and
loneliness in modern people.

in his novel, there are symbolism and
stream of consciousness.
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Samuel Beckett

his novel:
murphy
Summary:
The plot of Murphy follows an eponymous "seedy solipsist" who, urged
to find a job by his lover Celia Kelly, begins work as a male nurse at the
Magdalen Mental Mercyseat, and finds the insanity of the patients an
appealing alternative to conscious existence.
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Samuel Beckett
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Samuel Beckett

His play-----------absurdism

the theater of the absurd
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The Theater of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular
plays written by a number of primarily European
playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as
to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work.
Playwrights commonly associated with the Theatre of the
Absurd include Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean
Genet, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard
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The Theater of the Absurd
The style:

tragicomedy

Surrealism, and Dadaism

Relationship with Existentialism

Formal experimentation
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Samuel Beckett

His play-----------absurdism

the three play:
Waiting for Godot
Oh Happy day
Endgame
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Samuel Beckett

his legacy------------------
Also he won
a Nobel Prize
in 1969
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The play
Waiting for Godot
published in 1948
debut on 1953
written in French
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The play
The characters:
Estragon
Vladimir
Pozzo
Lucky
The boy
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The play
Estragon <Gogo>
He is a bum and sleeps in a ditch where he is
beaten each night. He has no memory beyond what is
immediately said to him, and relies on Vladimir to
remember for him. Estragon is impatient and constantly
wants to leave Vladimir, but is restrained from leaving by
the fact that he needs Vladimir. It is Estragon's idea for the
bums to pass their time by hanging themselves. Estragon
has been compared to a body without an intellect, which
therefore needs Vladimir to provide the intellect.
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The play
Vladimir <didi>
Vladimir is one of the two protagonists. He is a bum
like Estragon, but retains a memory of most events.
However, he is often unsure whether his memory is playing
tricks on him. Vladimir is friends with Estragon because
Estragon provides him with the chance to remember past
events. Vladimir is the one who makes Estragon wait with
him for Mr. Godot's imminent arrival throughout the play.
Vladimir has been compared to the intellect which provides
for the body, represented by Estragon.
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The play
Pozzo
Pozzo is the master who rules over Lucky. He stops
and talks to the two bums in order to have some company.
In the second act Pozzo is blind and requires their help. He,
like Estragon, cannot remember people he has met. His
transformation between the acts may represent the
passage of time.
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The play
Lucky
Lucky is the slave of Pozzo. He is tied to Pozzo via
a rope around his neck and he carries Pozzo's bags. Lucky
is only allowed to speak twice during the entire play, but his
long monologue is filled with incomplete ideas. He is
silenced only by the other characters who fight with him to
take of his hat. Lucky appears as a mute in the second act.
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The play
The BOY
The boy is a servant of Mr. Godot. He plays an
identical role in both acts by coming to inform Vladimir and
Estragon the Mr. Godot will not be able to make it that night,
but will surely come the next day. The boy never
remembers having met Vladimir and Estragon before. He
has a brother who is mentioned but who never appears.
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The ?
WHO IS GODOT??
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WHO IS Godot?
Is he God??
Does he even exist?
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WHO IS Godot?
Beckett is believed to have said that the name
Godot comes from the French "godillot"
meaning a military boot. Beckett fought in the
war and so spending long periods of time
waiting for messages to arrive would have been
commonplace for him. The more common
interpretation that it might mean "God" is almost
certainly wrong. Beckett apparently stated that if
he had meant "God," he would have written
"God".
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WHO IS Godot?
The weird point
Buckett stated that he didn’t mean God while in act
one in the beginning he used a story from the bible.
Which is very “odd”!!
And another point is that he claimed that the Godot
was not God. However, almost every expert in
playwright studying said that Godot refers to God.
Was it implied? Or the author just left us a question ?
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WHO IS Godot?
Or, perhaps
It is just a name!!!!
We can use our imagination to
portrait the look of Godot!!!
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Act 1: a scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoC9Kx5QvK0
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