A Street Car Named Godot

Last week at work, while sitting in a conference room passing time before the arrival of a key participant, I declared to my colleagues, “Man, this is like waiting for Godot.”  We giggled and nodded knowingly at each other, as if to say, “Yes, this IS like waiting for Godot.  It is indeed.”  I am not sure how many in the room had read Beckett’s play, seen it live or otherwise ‘got’ the reference but…as a collective we agreed it was proper and doled out self-congratulatory smiles to each other. 

 

For my part, as I sat there I became agitated with myself.  I couldn’t remember who the hell wrote ‘Waiting for Godot’ or what the hell it really was about.  I hadn’t read or seen it and thus became a bit disgusted with my dilettante nature.  I realized, for example, that I can sing the entire Flintstone’s theme song but can’t remember whether Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett or Boxcar Willy authored this famous play.  Looking back I didn’t really know ‘why’ my nifty remark was smart (or seemingly so), as it wasn’t tethered to any real substance.  I might as well have yelled ‘STELLLLLA!!!’ in the conference room, thus providing another round of gleeful banter (note: I haven’t seen or read A Street Car Named Desire either).   

 

I am now confronted with the reality of my transparent references and the occasional hollowness of wit…I wonder how often the smiles and nods received are backed by similar emptiness – ‘just wait until I get back to my computer, I will GOOGLE IT!’.  It seems that most of us are just wiki-savvy, googling, searchbotting, cyber-jugglers of factoids and cerebral tidbits…‘tidbits’ not earned but sopped up by a computer and mental swiffer.  I wonder how many recipients sweep up my dustballs without knowing, really, what I am referencing – empty ‘knowing’ nods?  

 

In the end I was so annoyed with myself I read the play.   What’s interesting to me is that the Godot reference made sense then, in that conference room, and makes more now.  The play has been widely described as ‘about hope’ or the ‘hopelessness of life’.  As I am sure you are aware, the play centers around Vladimir and Estragon and their futile wait for hope to arrive – hope in the name of a visitor named ‘Godot’, who never shows up.  At various times during the play, ‘hope’ is constructed  as a form of salvation and the premise of the play seems to slowly evolve into an example of how to pass the time in a world that offers no hope.

 

After reading Godot, it occurs to me that the blogosphere, chatworld, twitter, etc., is all of us questioning, searching, exposing, exchanging hats, eating carrots, insulting each other and wondering if we are at the right location for the arrival of our visitor.   

 

Vladamir: They all speak at once.

Estragon: Each one to itself.

Silence.

 

Vladamir: Rather they whisper.

Estragon: They rustle.

Vladamir: They murmur.

Estragon: The rustle.

Silence.

Vladamir: What do they say?

Estragon: They talk about their lives.

Vladamir: To have lived is not enough for them.

Estragon: They have to talk about it.

Vladamir: To be dead is not enough for them.

Estragon: It is not sufficient.

Silence.

 

Vladamir: They make a noise like feathers.

Estragon: Like leaves.

Vladamir: Like ashes.

Estragon: Like leaves.

Long silence.

 

Vladamir: Say something!

 

Here we are, you and me…struggling to pass time in an endless loop, waiting for someone to show up, something to happen.

So, we will all go on making empty references, googling our genius…laughing, reading, searching, and ‘waiting’.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Chris]

I think there's an equal amount of intellectual pretentiousness and goofiness in social media. I Google words and topics all the time when writing and reading -- I've learned a lot by doing so!

I haven't seen or read the play you're referring to, but I did play Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire" when I was in college. :-)

[slouchy]

I love that you read the play. That says a lot about your character.

[Hack]

Well you made me think today anyway...so that made the waiting better.

[Kelly]

I read the play online so who knows if it was even the right play, lol...it could have been some Canadian grad student's interpretation...I was curious with all the 'ehs' at the end of the sentences.

[Stephen]

You have done some quality work here. I hate to admit it but "Godot" escaped me. Depending on the day, I would have either laughed along with you or asked, "what does Godot mean?" That could have been uncomfortable. When I read the word "Godot," the exhausted hampster spinning the creaky wheel in my mind started obsessing over its meaning. "Godot"? Is that similar to "bogo"? There is far too much lingo these days. G-O-D-O-T. "Get one . . . get one down . . . curses, what does it mean?" So thank you for the explanation, which, while educational, leaves me wanting. "The riddle, so far, was now unriddled." But why the name "Godot"? That doesn't sound the least bit Russian. The wheels go round and round. Off to wiki. And you must read Streetcar. The dialogue alone has a rhythmic cadence.

[Mama Jude]

Funny, I picked up the Godot reference after reading about the play in the book "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri (a book I highly recommend btw) and by inference figured out the backstory to the source, but have yet to read it. You have inspired me. Keep up the great work!