There have been many theories of why Samuel Beckett chose
the name “Godot” in Waiting for Godot.
Personally, I find the idea that the first three letters represent the
character the most intriguing: God. According to the absurdist philosophy, one
of the ways humans attempt to give the world meaning is through religion. Godot
does seem to share many aspects of his being with God. Godot never takes a
physical form in the play. Audiences never see him, yet everyone is completely
convinced that he must exist because Vladimir and Estragon continually speak of
his coming. Godot has messengers who he sends to speak to Vladimir and Estragon,
instead of appearing himself. Vladimir and Estragon seem to have a great
respect for Godot and at time take up a reverent tone when speaking of him. The
play addresses all seven of the ways in which humans attempt to tackle the
meaning of the universe, but religion seems to be emphasized. Maybe Beckett
felt the need to incorporate so many references to the Bible and God because
religion is such a large part of society and culture. It seems to be the most
common way that people find meaning in life. I would like to be clear and state
that Samuel Beckett is just one man and his philosophies are simply his ideas
and opinions, not fact. However, in the literary sense, the ambiguous name of “Godot”
was rather ingenious. Maybe Beckett actually had not intention of Godot
representing God but rather wanted people to automatically arrive at that
conclusion in order to point out society’s obsession with a higher being. The
name “Godot” allows readers to attach whatever meaning they want to the name.
This is a great insight into the play! I must agree with you on the reason that Beckett used the name Godot. Taking into consideration his philosophical background of absurdism, and the idea that there is no meaning to existence it makes sense why Beckett chooses to display religion in the play the way he does, as religion tries to creating a meaningfulness to our existence. Throughout the play religion comes up several times, mostly by Vladimir, in contemplation of what they are doing and what they have done but in each instance after consideration Vladimir shrugs of these ideas as insignificant and unimportant. Just what Beckett hopes to display for religion. I believe that what Lily said about Beckett's possibly intentional placement of this name to "point out society's obsession with a higher being" and to catch his readers and watchers in the act of presumptuously assuming that a higher power is at play in this play built on the fundamentals of absurdism.
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