What's so Funny?

Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, is an entertaining and comedic play with perhaps one of the most depressing themes audiences will come across. Audiences laugh at the silly antics of Vladimir and Estragon, but the end of the play leaves one questioning the world and universe around them. “A life without meaning is not worth living.” “Do more than just exist.” “Find your purpose.” These phrases are seen everywhere, from posters to Facebook posts.  Some people believe in them so wholeheartedly they have them permanently branded on their bodies in ink. Waiting for Godot seems to go against all these clichés. In fact, the whole play is written based on the absurdism principles that say the universe has no meaning or purpose. So why do so many people find the play funny? Well the play falls perfectly into the category of tragicomedy. Estragon and Vladimir are living a life with one sole purpose: waiting for Godot. Audiences never meet the mysterious man because he never shows up. While audiences are chuckling at, for lack of a better word, the absurdity of Estragon and Vladimir, the two main characters are also calmly contemplating hanging themselves just for something to do. This odd juxtaposition between the comedic and the dark seems to mirror life. The world is filled with tragedy, and yet many people find a way to smile and enjoy themselves in every day life. Why? It’s a distraction. Maybe audiences find comedy in the play because it allows them to avoid the real, somewhat scary, meaning behind the performance. Just as perhaps one laughs at the world in order to avoid accepting the hard to accept and tragic. Many use comedy as deflection and Beckett capitalizes on that. The laugher of the audience seems to emphasize the whole point of the play. Humans tend to avoid what they cannot understand. According to Beckett the world has no meaning, and most people refuse to accept that.