Both Waiting for Godot and
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are examples of the "Theater of the
Absurd," which affirms:
- Humanity’s sense of
alienation and existential angst: its loss of bearings in an illogical, unjust, and
ridiculous world. - The heavy use of sarcasm. Although
serious, the plays can be quite comical…with much verbal and situation
irony. - Use non-linear, circular, episodic, or
non-sequitir ("it does not follow") plot structures and use of
dialogue.
In both plays, the characters are
waiting around from someone who is not coming or does not exist. In
Godot, they are obviously waiting for Godot, and even though
Beckett says this is not necessarily "God," the implications are unavoidable. This begs
the questions: why do we wait for God to reveal himself? And, when he does not, why has
God removed Himself from the world? The players are unable to exist with or without
Him. In the end, the two resolve to leave, and yet they do not move; they have reasoned
themselves into inaction and paralysis--quite a paradox of illusion versus
reality.
In Woolf?, the couple says
they are waiting for their son to return for his birthday. Obviously, the son doesn't
exist; he is symbolic of George, Nick, and Martha's father--all the young aspiring men
in search of the American Dream. In the end, George must kill the son and exercise the
demon from Martha. He must convince her that the American dream is an illusion, that
all her hopes of becoming the son her father wanted (or at least marrying him) have
created a life of games and illusion. So, again, a major theme is the games we play to
convince ourselves that illusion is truth.
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