Endgame is both a dark, sordid tragedy and a witty,
ironic parody of life itself; as such, it has a little something for everyone.
I hope that – at the least – some parts of this story spoke to you directly.
Considering this, what are some of your favorite quotes or passages from the
text? Why do these excerpts resonate with you?
It is no secret to anyone in my 7th hour Major British Writers class that I am no fan of Endgame. Frankly, I find any literary work centered on and in favor of a nihilistic world view to be completely and utterly pointless (play on words intended). Because of this, the only excerpts from Endgame which resonate with me are those which symbolically reference the game of chess. Such excerpts include whenever Hamm says, “me to play;” when Hamm says, “my kingdom for a knightman;” Hamm’s removing of his toque in the opening scene; and many more. I find these excerpts memorable because they are very clever references to a game that I enjoy, and because their very presence is the only redeeming value in Endgame to encourage readers to actually finish the play.
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ReplyDeleteI like Endgame. It makes me think about the end of things, the meaninglessness that everyone has to work through on their own. And when I am done thinking about those things I can open my eyes and see that it is not the end. When you think about those things it's so much easier to see that there is still happiness and meaning in the world right now, and it makes the time we have seem much more valuable. My favorite passage from the play would be one of Hamm's monologues on page 36, "One day you'll be blind, like me. You'll be sitting there, a speck in the void, in the dark, for ever, like me." There will come a time when we are all alone in the dark, like Hamm, which only emphasizes how unlike Hamm we are now. I think that this a beautiful way of thinking about the universe, that things are fleeting and temporary, and they are always ready to give way to the next thing to take their place. This would be the really abstract meaning that I have gotten out of Endgame.
ReplyDeleteAs dark and depressing as Endgame is, it still possesses little bits of hope. These are the passages that I enjoy the most, as they are a change in pace from the rest of the story. The most memorable line from the play, for me, is when Hamm says "Then he is living" in response to Nagg's crying. He means that in a world where there is meaninglessness, except when it comes to human emotions. Expressing emotions is an important part of enjoying life. It is a way to give life meaning. This is directly contrasted with the end of Nell's life where she wants to cry but is unable to. Shortly after, she dies. She was unable to feel or express emotions, and as a result, she stopped living (both metaphorically and literally). Another passage that I liked was the story that Nagg told Nell. She was unable to enjoy herself, but I thought it was still cute that Nagg tried so hard to please his wife. The story was cute and even thought it's just another cycle of the past, it still shows that Nagg cared about Nell. This type of relationship is unique in the story. No one else cared for anyone/anything quite like Nagg did for his old lover.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first began Endgame, I was thoroughly weirded out and couldn't quite get into the play. It was difficult for me, at first, to look past the strange stage directions and dialogue and find the real meaning behind the piece. Once I read to about page 40, the strangeness of the setting and the play as a whole seemed to slightly fade away and served as less of a distraction as I attempted to make sense of the book on a deeper level. When I went back through the text, one of my favorite passages was that of when Nagg and Nell attempt to kiss each other while both still in their respective trash bins. This part reminded me very strongly of my own grandparents. They are still married, and have been for years, but there is a certain disconnect between them. They live in the same house, go the same places, and eat the same meals, but they are in some way isolated. They are together, but yet so far apart from the other. I guess that happens when one has been married for 50+ years, but it just seems sort of sad. Nagg and Nell seem to find themselves in this exact position, they are in close proximity of each other and lead similar lives, but they are very much isolated. The way Beckett portrayed their relationship was bizarre at first, but once I began to think about it, he definitely has a method to his madness.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I was a little skeptical of Endgame. The characters put me off, I don't really like the absurdest style, and I just wasn't feeling the whole meaningless aspect to it. However, after reading Endgame in class, I came to enjoy it and I even found some of it enlightening and humorous. One of my favorite quotes is when Clov says "All life long the same question, the same answers." Like the novel this quote can be interpreted in a number of ways. Some may look at it and point out how humans just go on repeating themselves until they die, like Clov and Hamm. Others may think about how all life is looking for the same question, "What is the point of our existence?" Endgame provides us with Beckett's answer to that question, nothing.
ReplyDeleteI went into Endgame with an open mind and a smile on my face, and when I finished I cannot say I felt the same way. the absurdist style did emit a slew of references which I did see, as well as pure and raw thematic elements. However, a story that is purely raw thematic elements and rhetorical devices does not make it entertaining. The entertaining quality of a book or play is an emergent property of these things. However, I did enjoy excerpts such as "My Kingdom for a Knightman" or "lick your neighbor as yourself", which showed the wit that Beckett instilled in writing this paly. For those I am thankful.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started Endgame, I wasn't really sure what to expect out of it based on its bizarre language use and overall general set up of the play, but after the first couple of pages, it began to grow on me. Though the play is dark, there are moments of light and humor and these passages were particularly striking to me, one of my favorites being when Nagg was telling Nell the story of the tailor to try to make her laugh. By trying to get a smile out of her, it's a glimmer of hope for the reader because it makes it seem like maybe their world isn't so dull and bad as they make it seem. Although this proves to be the opposite later on, it's refreshing to read that passage and see that connection between Nagg and Nell.
ReplyDelete“But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look-”
ReplyDelete(disdainful gesture, disgustedly)
“-at the world-”
(pause)
“and look-”
(loving gesture proudly)
“-at my TROUSERS!”
Perhaps the most memorable passage from the text for me was when Nagg is telling the story of the tailor to Nell. The punch line of the story, though Nagg laughs hysterically upon retelling it, is a very dark commentary on our world that at times seems accurate. This story resonated with me because it was a clever and lighthearted way to communicate the vastness of imperfections that the world contains. Also, this particular story lent a lot of insight into the author’s intentions in writing this play, which is to point out the cyclical and mechanical workings of life.
As I read Endgame, I attempted to focus my attention beyond the tragic elements of the text in order to discover the humorous aspects of the characters situation. Although it’s not a specific passage or quote, I enjoyed the exchanges between Hamm and Clov. The way Clov would respond to Hamm’s questions and statements with one or two words, which were either obvious observations that Hamm could have deduced for himself or fillers in response to Hamm’s nagging but with no interest or meaning behind them. As far as a specific passage goes, the part where Hamm told the story of the begging man stands out to me. I enjoyed Hamm’s reply to this man, that there is no cure for being on Earth. At first, I thought, why would I see humor in a sentence that is clearly a slap in the face? However, upon closer analysis, one can see the truth behind that statement. The way I looked at is that a cure is what a person seeks when they have an illness or something they desire to get rid of. If someone is searching for a cure for being on Earth they are indirectly attempting to find a way out of their mortal situation that doesn’t involve an end. But such a possibility does not exist, and instead they must wait it out.
ReplyDeleteEndgame was a very dark play and it was often difficult to find instances of positivity and hope. However, sometimes you didn't have to look too hard because the characters point it out:
ReplyDeleteHAMM: I wonder. (Pause.) Imagine if a rational being came back to earth, wouldn't he be liable to get ideas into his head if he observed us long enough. (Voice of rational being.) Ah, good, now I see what it is, yes, now I understand what they're at! (Clov starts, drops the telescope and begins to scratch his belly with both hands. Normal voice.) And without going so far as that, we ourselves ... (with emotion) ... we ourselves ... at certain moments ... (Vehemently.) To think perhaps it won't all have been for nothing!
Even though Clov quickly retorts this thought as foolish, it still shows that Hamm desires and yearns for meaning in his life. Other moments where there is brief positivity is when Hamm jokes with Clov about building a raft and leaving their home and when Nagg continually tries to cheer up Nell. In a desolate, bleak environment those little bubbles of hope truly do stand out and were my favorite parts of Endgame.
The passage that I enjoyed the on page three where Clov has just gotten Hamm up, yet Hamm wants to go back and Clov says that he has things to do and does not have time to keep getting him up and then putting him back to sleep. This whole conversation is just very absurd because Hamm just got up yet he wants to go back sleep. Also, Clov comments that he has other things to beside help Clov get back to bed. But he actually does not because he does not leave the house that they live in and the only things he has to do is wait on Hamm. I think this passage, along with other absurdism shown through out the novel, resonates with because it is poking fun at people. People always say I have so much to do, so I can not help with you that at the moment, but in reality most of the people really do not have much to do. I think that since this passage relates a lot to me that is the reason that I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI first found reading Endgame to be a chore, but as I got into it, I found that it was actually quite amusing. The passage I enjoyed the most was when Clov douses himself in insecticide to kill one flea. In the world he lives in, there is no hope; so, when the hope of life emerges, he kills it. Clov does not want the flea to have babies and restart the world, so he kills it. I found this passage amusing because of how odd this action was. Clov doesn't squash the flea to kill it; he annihilates it so there is not even the smallest chance for survival. The way he kills it was overkill. I think the thought of new life was too much for him, so Clov had to extinguish any chance of the world restarting.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that stuck in my mind was Hamm's line "Every man his specialty". It might not seem very memorable but it just seemed strange to me. The quote was a response to the idea that Hamm could not stand and Clov could not sit. It seems out of place to me because of its optimistic nature. Most everything that Hamm says is a negative remark or complaint about his current situation and the predicament occurring outside. Rather than say that every man has his flaw (as most would see it) he turns it into a positive thing by saying that they just specialize in certain things. The only explanation I can come up with for it is that Hamm he says it because it involves how he is viewed or portrayed. Since he sees himself as a king-like figure, he must show that he is in no way handicapped or any less paramount.
ReplyDelete"I use the words you taught me. If they don't mean anything any more, teach me others. Or let me be silent"
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say about Endgame that hasn't been said already. Can we find meaning in its strange plot and stranger characters? Is an impressive author and recognized form of literary style enough to secure its place as art, not the mindless musing of a crazy Frenchman? When I look at quotations like the one above, I hope so. After spending so long on Endgame, page by page, pouring over the individual words and what they could possibly mean, analyzing the movement and the number of steps in a certain page, I have to give this play merit. Not so much out of respect for the author, or respect for the play, god knows if given enough time we can find mountains in molehills with literary works. Instead, I give it merit for the simpler things. The quotations that make me thing, in a sea of madness there might be a few drifters of reality. Because, in the end, words are all we have.
Although Endgame is comprised of seemingly meaningless strings of words riddled together to form conversations that seem to reach no definite conclusion, Hamm appears to express the most coherent opinions about the nature of life and creation throughout the play. He critically charges Nagg with his creation: "Scoundrel! Why did you engender me?". Nagg confesses that he "didn't know," conceding the purposelessness of creating new life and of life itself. The absurd nature of life is further recognized in Hamm's observation, "You're on earth, there's no cure for that!" Though Hamm recognizes the suffering that is an inevitable element of living, and thus criticizes creation, he does not appear to promote the elimination of his life, clarifying the distinction between nihilism and aburdism that is essential to viewing Endgame as hopeful.
ReplyDeleteEven though many parts of Endgame confused me with their seeming triviality, I still enjoyed the way Beckett was able to forge in the idea of cycles throughout the play. One of my favorite parts of the play was the ending, where many parts from the beginning were repeated and the end scene resembles the beginning. This intrigued me because it brought to full extent the idea cycles and habits that Beckett worked to weave into the play. Overall, this passage, better than any closed ending could do, brought to full circle the concept that humans are trapped in their habits, doing the same daily activities and going through the same motions as the day before. Although one of the main points of Endgame is that it is supposed to have no meaning, there is quite a bit to be understood from Beckett’s commentary on our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eman Masood, above me. My favorite part of Endgame was the story Nagg told Nell about the tailor. If anything, I liked this story because it juxtaposed the tone of the rest of the play, while still delivering the same theme; the world is a messed up place. Hamm and Clove's story focused on the cyclical nature of time, but the story of the tailor had a very clear beginning, middle, and end. Also, Hamm and Clove are unable to confront the chaos of the world, while the tailor happily embarrassed. It was because of how much it stood out that I enjoyed the story of the tailor.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Endgame was an interesting play. Not having had prior exposure to the theater of the absurd, I was at first very confused and admittedly a bit vexed at the meaningless nature of the play; however, through the message of meaninglessness Samuel Beckett paradoxically added meaning. A quote that embodies this message is when Hamm says, "We're not beginning … to … to … mean something?" And Clov dismisses the thought, saying "Mean something? You and I mean something? Ah that's a good one!"
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