Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and James Joyce's Ulysses are strikingly similar in style, content and, above all, in philosophy of life. The idea of ​​a doubly futile and liberating language is at the heart of both works. We find it in the playfulness of the language in Beckett's dialogue and in Joyce's description. Every aspect of every form is carefully used to communicate this point. Language is just one institution among many that control and confine the individual. But its many flaws and contributions to our lives may represent a broader realm of meaning. Both works constantly strive to define, even in subtle or indirect ways, the meaning of life and self. Just like language, consciousness and experience are factors in the frustration of existence and are therefore at the heart of both works. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In both works, experience is reduced to its simplest meaning, to its briefest form. This is seen in the setting and dialogue of Beckett's play and in Joyce's attention to extreme detail in every moment of the day. Beckett reduces the setting of his play to simply “A country road.” A tree. The evening ". (Beckett, 1) And Joyce's writing style, inspired by the stream of consciousness, inside Leopold Bloom's head, piles detail upon detail. It is these units of experience that are then stretched again to extend time and examine its passage. In human consciousness, these units are experiences. In the English language, the building blocks are the words themselves, down to the individual letters that make them up. (Philip Fisher, in conference, 10/25/99) Words trigger recognition in the mind of the reader or human being, in the same way that experience serves consciousness. And letters, until combined in a certain way, are absurd and meaningless symbols. Like human life, the use of letters and words to create meaningful language is a process questioned by these two authors. In Ulysses, Leopold Bloom explains the meaning of the word "metempsychosis" to his wife Molly when she underlines it in a book. (Joyce, 52) Much later, in Bloom's time, he identifies the word as "met him with pike pipes" because that's what "she called him until what he says to her…” (Joyce, 126) Here the word becomes four words and although it means the same thing to Bloom, it has been dissected and expanded for the reader. Molly's naive blunder in uttering a big word makes a comment on both the excesses and the capacity for growth of the English language. And Bloom conveys this subtle message again with "She's right after all. Only big words for ordinary things because of the sound." (Joyce, 126) It is a double unity of experience and language that is explored. Joyce illuminates a word to suggest ideas about language and reveals a moment of Bloom's consciousness to show an aspect of his relationship with his wife. The examination of language is different in Waiting for Godot because it has to take place in dialogue, otherwise the audience can't see it. he. Beckett clearly does not have Joyce's freedom to print words on a page for readers to examine, letter by letter. Instead, it should achieve the same effect in the oral form. Language survives a kind of transformation when it is actually spoken. The effect of speaking is noted when Vladimir shortens the question "Do you want to get rid of him?" with a single word: “Tu waagerrim?” » (Beckett, 31 years old)In the same way that metempsychosis became four words, Vladimir can create one word out of several. But language also transforms in different ways. To communicate this, Beckett uses repetition in dialogue. Characters say the same thing in different ways and the audience remembers the language's ability. When Vladimir asks the boy: “Does he give you enough to eat?” and "The boy hesitates", the question is simply rephrased as "Does he feed you well?" (Beckett, 56) Although these two sentences may seem like the same question, they are not asking the same thing. This is illustrated by the fact that the boy responds to the second, although he had hesitated to the first. There are many moments of renaming in this manner. Vladimir and Estragon's banter creates the perfect shape to reduce to smaller units and then repeat. The two men's short, almost incomplete sentences mean something when spoken together, each element equally completing the expression. The simple observation of a tree causes such a moment: ESTRAGON: What is it? VLADIMIR: I don't know. A willow.ESTRAGON: Where are the leaves?VLADIMIR: It must be dead.ESTRAGON: We're not crying anymore.VLADIMIR: Or maybe it's not the season.ESTRAGON: It looks more like a bush.VLADIMIR: A shrub.TARGON: A bush. (Beckett, 8) Here an idea is broken into smaller pieces, but communicated nonetheless. Beckett constantly zooms in on the language until finally arriving at two simple words. And the argument around the terms “shrub” and “bush” when it is actually a tree demonstrates the frustration caused by the limits of language. Repetition illustrates this idea as much as freedom of language shows. A viewer realizes the futility and frustration of language by hearing the same phrases repeated over and over throughout the play. Both authors take standard phrases and turns of speech, especially those considered polite or required in communication, and present them to their audience. be reconsidered. In Beckett, this criticism is found in a moment of saying goodbye. Being polite means saying goodbye and entering into a standard accepted interaction before leaving. The idiotic repetition of this interaction is illustrated when Pozzo wants to leave Estragon and Vladimir, in Act I: ESTRAGON: Then GoodbyePOZZO: Goodbye.VLADIMIR: Goodbye.POZZO: Goodbye.Silence. Nobody moves.VLADIMIR: Goodbye.POZZO: Goodbye.ESTRAGON: Goodbye.Silence.POZZO: And thank you.VLADIMIR: Thank you.POZZO. Not at all.ESTRAGON: Yes yes.POZZO: No no.VLADIMIR: Yes yes.ESTRAGON: No no.Silence (Beckett, 50 years old)It is not clear who is saying goodbye or who should be thanked. But the exchange is surprisingly familiar. And the fact that no one moves indicates the ability to separate words from their standard purpose. Goodbye is linked to the act of leaving because we agree to use it in this way. But it can be as meaningless as it is common and useful. This kind of comedy isn't just funny. It illustrates the absurdity of real life by highlighting the stupidity of the things we do every day. It also communicates the stasis of life and language, ultimately ending with the double sequence "yes" and "no", once again reducing the interaction to its simplest words and meaning. The word “yes” is at the heart of the last chapter of Ulysses. This begins this chapter and even ends the novel. (Joyce, 644) This becomes a motif in this final chapter inside Molly Bloom's consciousness. Here, a word is used to explain a character, a relationship, and even the nature of gender roles. By repeating it throughout the only story featuring a female perspective throughoutstory, Joyce suggests that "yes", a common one-syllable word, is at the heart of the female character. And the repetition itself contributes to its character by making “yes” a kind of large-scale acquiescence, and acceptance, even invitation. This is an incredible expansion of a small, taken-for-granted word. Once again, language expresses so much and too little. Language is not simply examined through small units and repetitions, or social critique. Beckett and Joyce choose to play with language and words in various ways. It is often about demonstrating the absurdity and flexibility of language as it is used in everyday life. It is often comical, in both texts, because these are rituals that the audience can surely recognize and understand. Joyce includes this playfulness in his use of nonsense. Throughout Ulysses, he inserts words and sounds composed of recognizable letters in an unrecognizable order. For example, as Bloom sits in a car, the narration is brought back to an external situation by framing a sentence with: "Oot: a dull old man emerged from the sidewalk offering his wares, mouth open: oot." » (Joyce, 77) This is one of countless moments involving nonsense words like “oot.” What Joyce achieves with comic stream-of-consciousness, Beckett recounts with vaudeville-inspired action on stage. An argument ensues between Vladimir and Estragon for no apparent reason, and turns into a funny play on words. After being called an idiot, Estragon retaliates by saying "That's the idea, let's abuse each other", and the following pointless argument occurs: VLADIMIR: Fool! ESTRAGON: Vermin! VLADIMIR: Abortion! ESTRAGON: Morpion!VLADIMIR: Sewer rat!ESTRAGON: Curate!VLADIMIR: Cretin!ESTRAGON: (with finality) Crritic!(Beckett 85)Within moments, they have kissed and made up, and repeated words are used again . In a similar way, the phrase “our exercises” is repeated as “our movements,” “our elevations,” and “our relaxations” (Beckett, 86). While an audience laughs, they also witness the broad range of the English language. These language meditations aren't just fun. They also serve to illuminate aspects of human life through words. Joyce is interested in the broader view of everyday interaction and language. Phrases and rituals of daily life are scattered throughout Ulysses, as in Waiting for Godot. In a chapter where food is the central theme, Joyce connects countless common expressions to food or the process of eating. In Bloom's stream of consciousness, terms like "Eat you out of the house and in the house" (Joyce, 124), "Put your hand in the cake" (Joyce, 127) "I was bloated" (Joyce, 133 years old) or “He bit off more than he can chew” (Joyce, 139 years old) come together in a flood of thoughts related to food. They serve to highlight food in our lives, as something important enough to invade even our language. Here, Joyce gives meaning to what seems insignificant in life. Just like the intersection of memory and experience to create consciousness, language and human needs intersect to create everyday communication, an interaction that we take for granted. Our shared understanding of hunger allows us to create language that so generously references food in a metaphorical sense. Once again, the smallest units of life have been separated and reunited through language. This method of creating meaningful commentary from seemingly insignificant events is extremely important for examining the details of life. Both authors are able to address thesituation as a whole through its smallest components. Whether it's food, insulting remarks, or simply the word "yes", both texts refer to the infinite cycles of life. More importantly, they illustrate the giant web in which each individual evolves, emphasizing the relative insignificance of a being in the universe. Joyce carefully speculates on the cyclical nature of the universe in Chapter IV when Bloom buys, cooks, eats, and expels a kidney. Throughout this chapter, countless references are made to the inevitable death in life and the creation of life from death. When Bloom buys the kidney, he imagines the real slaughter of the animals with "those mornings at the cattle market, the animals lowing in their enclosures, the marked sheep, the droppings and droppings of droppings, the shod breeders with their boots dragging painfully in the litter, striking a palm”. on a ripe hind quarter...." (Joyce, 48) After cooking his kidney and eating it, he "[feels] naturally heavy, full: then a slight relaxation of his intestines" (Joyce, 55 years) in the natural human cycle of digestion As he goes to the toilet, he walks through his garden, his thoughts alluding to excrement and its usefulness: "Make a summerhouse here... I want to fertilize the whole place, a crusty soil... Just a soil like that, without excrement Household waste, what is it? Chickens from the neighboring garden: their droppings are a very good top dressing. , it's the cattle, especially when they are fed these meals” (Joyce, 55) Here, as part of an everyday human process, Joyce uses the imagery of fertilization with excrement to constantly illustrate the. bigger picture, the larger cycle that is happening all the time The last word of this chapter is "Dignam", (Joyce, 57), the name of a friend who has just died, in a final reminder of. human mortality. Beckett illustrates his vision of a cyclical universe in many aspects of his work. The redundancy of Vladimir and Estragon's daily waiting, in the same unidentifiable place, is a great symbol of this idea. But in dialogue and action, Beckett references the cycles so evident in Joyce's worldview with "One day, isn't that enough for you, one day he became mute, one day I became blind, one day we will become deaf, one day we are born, one day we will die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you?... They give birth astride a grave, the light shines for a moment, then it's night again. » (Beckett, 103) Beyond the idea of ​​a brief human life, so clear in this frightening vision, the unity of “one day” as a significant event. Like the words that make up language, the days that make up a human life are worth examining. This inspires the whole structure of Odysseus to follow on a day, the same as any other but important in its details. Waiting for Godot goes beyond a particular day to assert that each day is the same, unrecognizable from the previous one. Much like language, day labeling is another man-made institution that demands conformity. When Vladimir and Estragon realize that Godot asked them on a Saturday, Estragon wonders "But which Saturday? And is it Saturday? Is it Sunday? (Pause). Or Monday? (Pause). Or Friday?" (Beckett, age 10) Like people's names, the names of days don't actually mean anything beyond the passage of time. Beckett's characters experience moments of clarity where they can vocally consider this expanse of existence. Like Pozzo's outburst, Vladimir later reinforces the same ideas with a dark vision of the world: "Astride a grave and a difficult childbirth.bottom of the hole, for a long time, the gravedigger puts on the forceps. We have time to grow old. . The air is full of our cries. (Beckett, 104) Both works consider the role of the individual during his or her brief and relatively insignificant time on earth. The lack of importance of isolated human beings is an idea alluded to by the use of names. Some people think that names are just labels, like so many rituals and public formalities. In Waiting for Godot, many nicknames and even incorrect names are used to refer to the characters. Vladimir and Estragon often become “Didi” and “Gogo”. These two versions play with meaning and language. There is a hint of action with “go” and stasis with “did”. Besides, the only thing that separates one man from another is his name. The characters do not recognize each other without names. And even once the names are known, they constitute even more meaningless language. This is emphasized when Pozzo introduces himself to Vladimir and Estragon:VLADIMIR: Godot?ESTRAGON: Yes.POZZO: I introduce myself: Pozzo.VLADIMIR: (to Estragon). No way ! ESTRAGON: He said Godot. VLADIMIR: Not at all! ESTRAGON: (timidly, to Pozzo). You are not Mr. Godot, sir? POZZO: (terrifying voice). I'm Pozzo! (silence) Pozzo! (Silence.) Does this name mean nothing to you? (silence) I say, doesn't this name mean anything to you? Vladimir and Estragon look at each other questioningly. ESTRAGON: (pretending to search). Bozzo...Bozzo...VLADIMIR: (same) Pozzo...Pozzo...POZZO: PPPOZZO!ESTRAGON: Ah! Pozzo... let me see... Pozzo... VLADIMIR: Is it Pozzo or Bozzo? ESTRAGON: Pozzo...no...I'm afraid...no...I don't seem to. ...Pozzos advances menacingly. VLADIMIR: (conciliatory). I once knew a family called Gozzo. The mother applauded. (Beckett, 19) What appears to be another comic episode is once again a commentary on the stupidity of relying on names to identify people. Names can symbolize words and language, and this is how we again allude to the futility of language. Importantly, considering a name as important relies on considering an individual as important, an idea often contradicted in both works. By examining the place of the individual, both authors create characters and relationships to express their ideas. Several themes are addressed in both texts through characterization. One of the most obvious is the slave/master relationship. Lucky and Pozzo serve as a vehicle for considering this manifestation in human relationships. Bloom is essentially Molly's slave, as revealed by her thoughts during a normal day. None of these “slave” characters fit a traditional interpretation of slavery as a purely negative or imposed state. Pozzo explains Lucky's position as a slave by choice: "Ah! Why couldn't you have said that before? Why isn't he getting comfortable? Let's try to clear things up. does he not have the right? It follows that he does not want to. And why does he not want to? .. He wants to impress me. (Beckett, 30 years old) It seems that slavery is as plausible a choice as freedom, in this life where one is a slave to so many institutions whatever one's position L. Bloom's subjugation to Molly is less directly addressed, but certainly central to the novel. In chapter fifteen, there is a strange sequence written as a play. In this strange conglomeration of characters, Bloom confronts his father and mother. , a bar of soap, many street characters and even Stephen Dedalus When Molly appears, having heard only one voice, her first words to him are “At your service” (Joyce, 359), a clue to the..