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Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Becket is a very interesting play that addresses several issues. One of the issues addressed in the first act is religion. By constantly refereeing to biblical stories, the duo of Vladimir and Estragon are driving forward the theme of religion. There is the constant use of biblical quotations throughout this conversation. Vladimir applies a biblical proverb when he says hope deferred maketh someone sick. Also, the aspect of crucifixion which is very prevalent in the Christians faith as it is associated with salvation due to the death of Christ. The author further uses the life of Christ as Vladimir tells on the story of Christ. Also, the walking on water by Jesus is referred to by estragon. The aspects of religion are evident in the first act due to the constant use of biblical allusion.
Another issue that is addressed in the first act is suffering. The characters are subjected to different forms of suffering. There exist multiple cases of suffering from the first act. One of the most prevalent of them all is the emotional and mental suffering that both Vladimir and Estragon go through as a result of uncertainty. The duo waits for Godot for quite some time. They have no information of his arrival time. This uncertainty has brought about mental anguish to the duo as they have no idea how long their wait might be. This leads to them losing hope at the end of the scene whereby they are seen to have resolved on leaving, but none of them makes the initial step to actually leave. Another case of suffering is the one that Pozzo and Lucky subject each other too. The two share a master-servant relationship; however, they both subject each other to unfair treatment. From the text, it is evident that Pozzo has been suffering at the hands of lucky as he was serving him. Also, Pozzo mistreats lucky and has little regard to him, and that is why he plans on sacking him despite having served him for sixty years. This form of mistreatment leads to emotional and mental suffering.
Religion is one of the most controversial issues in the world. There exist numerous forms of worship and religious groups under which every group tends to believe they are on the right track. However, religion is more of a physical aspect rather than a spiritual. The actions of an individual should be only set standards to determine merit in any religious setting. By doing so, there will be a global standard for religion rather than the current systems which seem more of competition among denominations. Faith is the building block of all religions as it presents events that took place in the past but have no tangible evidence, and believers can only have faith.
Suffering is in human nature. There exists some balance between human survival and suffering. Suffering is a part of the day to day life. The daily hardships and situations vary from one being to another, and so does the level of suffering. No human is immune to suffering; the only intervention that exists is that some are better adapted than others. Some individuals have resources which allow them to cushion and minimize the suffering, whereas others are forced to endure the full effects of suffering. Different people react to suffering differently. The main cause of human suffering is human greed and selfishness, which if minimized it would help in reducing suffering too.