Aineha 67- essay



aflamebooks Published Symphony of the Dead by Abbas Maroufi ___________ Qoqnoos Published Primordiality to Eternity Critical Study of Symphony of the Dead By Elham Yekta ___________
		MOVIE REVIEW of BUCKET LIST Ali Ansari
		1. An introduction or a very short summery of it: The whole story goes around the two main characters, i.e. Edward Cole (a millionaire) and Carter Chambers (a mechanic from mid-financial-but-high-cultural level). They have nothing in common except for sharing a common room in a hospital and a terminal disease. Being in a common room makes them get familiar with each other in such a strong way that they decide to leave the hospital and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before kicking the bucket based on their bucket list. In this process, both of them learn some things from the experiences of each other. 2 & 3. Personal ideas and supporting reasons for them: As I watched it twice, the efficiency of some of the terrific dialogues interacted among characters came really thought-provoking to me, albeit being imaginary and dreamy of some. These are as follows: A. At the outset of the story, this question is posed: "who invented the radio?" By the answers given to it by Carter, it is clarified that somebody has done all the things about the contrivance of radio but somebody else has won its prize, i.e. its fame and celebrity. Although no connection is found in it with the main purpose of the story, it seems to be one of the inevitable realities ruling the world: "One does something; another one wins its all." This is one of the wrong-but-already-accepted realities throughout the world which its prevalence and universality makes it justified among human beings. B. Saying rights in the face of people who seem high-prestigious needs daring and courage and it is done only by courageous and great people. This happens in the story when Edward enters the room and says: "who the hell is that?" an interesting answer is given by carter: "who the hell are you?" that's self-defension of which it necessitates to make use sometime. C. "Be easier said than done" Mostly we are used to state attractive points only in the form of motto, and when it is going to be put into practice, one understands how hard it is to act the motto. "Two beds to a room, no exception", said Edward, the owner of the hospital, but while being under treatment in that hospital, a kind of self-contradiction being made by him proved the selfishness of most the people in charge. D. Carter's wife telephones Edward: "I'm not asking for his sake…… I've been a nurse my entire adult life….had a ringside seat to move human tragedy than any woman should bear. Now, I'm prepared for my husband to die. I'm just prepared to lose him while he is still alive." The statement mentioned by her expresses everything…. E. This also needs thinking deeply. Two questions are asked by the God's from the dead in the belief of Egyptians: 1. Have you found joy in your life? 2. Has your life brought joy to the others'? I think that's useful for us to ask ourselves these two. Different responses will come to existence by different people when asking these two. Consequently, a rhetorical question is raised: How we judge the ones who give negative and affirmative answers respectively? Isn't it true that goods are answered by evils? F. Edward asks: "What if I wake up underground and nobody can hear me?" really, what do we do if so? Have we prepared ourselves for death or…? If yes, lucky us; if not, we should do something afterwards. G. After getting separated from each other, Edward and Carter have different feelings on the contrary. For example, Edward is lonely, feels empty, etc without family. Carter feels happy beside his family. Loneliness in such an age brings a lot of negative epithets such as sadness, depression, melancholy, hatred; but to the accompaniment of family; love, happiness, etc is available. So Edward cries and Carter says: "I feel like a teenager like our first time." That's the result of true love and being in the arm of family. These are sympathetic feelings carrying a lot of meanings which go one into a deep thought. H. another beautiful dialogue occurs at the end of the story: "Our lives are streams, flowing into the same river towards whatever heaven lies in the mist beyond the… . My dear friend! Close your eyes and let the waters take you home." It is too clear without needing any further explanation. It shows everything by itself. In my opinion, it is the maxim of the story, when carter returns home and looks pleadingly at his wife and is received warmly by her. Depending on different factors, each person has a unique Bucket List in his life. It is important for us to meet our bucket list by a comprehensive programme and plan. 4. Conclusion: As human beings are subject to ignoring these matters, watching these kinds of movies can be of their great help. So, I personally recommend others to watch this film. I found a couple of interesting things as mentioned above. Anyhow, paying attention to these special matters can broaden our view towards life.g

		The Self Esteem in Literature Ali Ansari
		Abstract: This review of literature displays the explanation of self esteem as a significant factor useful to the facilitation of learning. During gathering the information reported by experienced researchers, it was clarified that the high level of self esteem is extremely contributive to the effective learning; surprisingly, it was revealed that although most of the learners are subject to having the low level of self esteem, with a bit of care, it can be enhanced among the learners and consequently a sense of satisfaction and strength will come to the learners' mind. Introduction: The review of literature aims at making clear the ways by which self esteem can be produced and enhanced. Based on Salmela-Aro, k. and Nurmi.J.E (2007)’s claim self esteem is generally regarded as an evaluation in which people express approval or disapproval of themselves and make judgments about their personal worth. (p.463) After that, some principles proven experimentally by researchers will be reported. In sum, it will be explained the advantages of self esteem and the effects of it on different processes of life, and then, some variables influenced by self esteem and some variables influencing self esteem will be elaboratively expressed. All the pieces of this writing quote the usefulness of self esteem and emphasize that it is the self esteem that removes the obstacles not from the learning process, but also from the aspects of life or whatever springs to the mind. The relationship between self esteem and anxiety: Anxiety has been categorized into two subdivisions (cited by Hanton.S, Mellalieu.S, and Hall.R, 2003). They believed that anxiety is not always harmful. So, based on their research, two kinds of anxiety entitled as debilitative and facilitative came into existence. Both of them are originated from self-confidence. The first one is produced by low self-confidence, and the second one by high self esteem. Consequently, the performers who have the most confidence in their ability and are able to control both themselves and their environment will experience the useful anxiety, i.e. facilitative one, and vice versa. Accordingly, in their research, they came to this conclusion that responses made under control would have facilitative outcomes referring to high self esteem, but responses made outside of the performers’ control would have debilitative effects which are derived from low self esteem. Here, the facilitative anxiety is named positive, and the debilitative one as negative. In doing an experimental research on some athletes, Halton.S et al (2003) asserted that Low self esteem leads to an increase in negative thoughts. With it (low self esteem) negative thoughts and feelings increase and have the overall effect of decreasing performance. You are not really thinking of anything positive, just negative ones … apprehensive and nervous about how you are going to perform. (p.485) Then, they found that the increase in negative thoughts resulted in a decrease in concentration. For example, one athlete said that in these situations, because the performer is worried, he has too many debilitative thoughts in his mind that cause his inability to focus on his performance. On the other hand, the increase in positive thoughts led to high self esteem and caused that the complete abilities of the performers come to use. Here, such thoughts as 'I am able to …', 'I can control …', 'I will be successful', etc. spring to the mind. They added that in the case of being confident, even if you have some doubts in your mind, it won't be really problematic to you. In other words, you believe your abilities, and it results in the existence of no anxiety. Finally, their findings proved that competitive anxiety experienced by performers will be useful provided that there exists a high level of self esteem, but the anxiety in the absence of self esteem will be harmful to the performers (Hanton.S et al, 2004). Similarly, Matsuda.S, and Gobel.P (2004) claimed that confident learners experience low anxiety and feel that they have the ability to perform well, whereas less confident learners face higher anxiety and feel that they are not able to perform as well as they are really able to. But, based on Alfally.I’s research (2004), the students with high self esteem usually overestimate their ability even higher than the extent that their teacher will do, while students with low self esteem underestimate their ability. In this research, it was found that students with low self esteem were more accurate in the assessment of their abilities rather than the students with high self esteem. On the other hand, Collins.G.H (2006) believes that language learning is the level of the self esteem of the students. (p.1) Methods of improving self esteem: Collins.G.H (2006) via the research done on some students of a veterinary school suggested these ways inserted below for creating or enhancing the self esteem among students. The students who want to enter the university for the first time should be welcomed by the other students, professors, and other authorities. Then the experienced students should try to involve the new students in the frequent social situations. They should join the current organizations in the university with the help of the personnel working there. In these situations, they will become expert in the relevant matters and will be able to take part in conferences and seminars. Relevantly, he states that students' representation on state and national committees would also enhance students' self esteem. (p.3) Furthermore, he suggested that, for new students, self esteem can be increased if the abilities related to their backgrounds are appreciated, and respected by their teachers and/or at least their classmates. For example, many students come to university with some experiences and skills in different areas. If these skills are received as valuable ones by their authorities and are applied, they will believe their own ability. As a result, their self esteem will be considerably improved. It was mentioned by him that the students, more or less, do have some skills in the areas different from their field of study; such as marketing, fund-raising, journalism, graphic design, computer programming, news letters, etc. But, if their ability, information and skills are not applied, both the self esteem and the motivation will be damaged. He emphasizes that self esteem will be enhanced if students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills at all stages of their courses. Practice tests theory; theory shapes practice. (p.5) Collins.G.H (2006) also declared that self esteem is boosted when a student can see that the standard of his/her performance approaches that of the practitioners. However, self esteem can be easily destroyed by untempered criticism. Another way to enhance the self esteem among learners suggested by Collins.G.H is the assessment of students' level of understanding and their progress in learning. If it happens during the teaching by the teacher, self esteem and the process of learning will be directly enhanced. It's better to say self esteem will be effectively enhanced by success in examinations. Consequently, we can say that a successful student usually remains uniformed about his deficiency and weak areas, whereas the correct assessment can decide the students' success or failure in the exams. Roth, Z. (2003) said that concentration is one of the necessary parts of high self esteem. It teaches learners how to ignore barriers and guides their thoughts toward the target subject. The learners should not be disappointed by the mistakes, and they should not consider mistakes as a failure. Besides, they should know that the more they fail, the more they will learn. As a result, failure should lead to the next success, not to the loss of their self esteem. For example, Thomas Edison in the reply of the question that how did he feel when he created the light-bulb after ten thousand times (10000) failure, he said that he hadn't failed, but he had found ten thousand ways that would not work. There, Edison didn't lose his self esteem and was completely successful. Learners can also follow his way of thinking. Malega, M. (2007) suggested that, in order to have a higher self esteem, learners can ask for support from their teachers, friends, parents; and in general, the people who are close to them. They should know that everyone has been created uniquely by God, and there is no need to be similar to someone else. In fact, they should believe their own abilities. McGrath, M. (2006) stated that setting small goals and becoming successful in achieving them will considerably boost the individual's level of self esteem. Individuals should identify their weak areas and strong points, and begin a training program to make their behavior better toward others professional skills. He said that if they try to recognize what makes them feel good about themselves and do more of it, their self esteem will positively enhanced. Factors affecting changes in self esteem: Such individual background items as gender, race, and social class have important effect on the changing level of self esteem in adolescent (Rhodes, J., Roffman, J., Reddy, R., and Fredericksen, K., 2004). Socioeconomic status has also been related to self esteem. In other words, it can be stated that self esteem is associated with differences in levels of support from families and community members around the matters of discrimination and class (Bowman& Fischer, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000 cited in Rhodes, J, et al, 2004). Beyond these individual and family-background factors, some other variables can be related to adolescent self esteem (Rhodes, J, et al, 2004). For example, there exist some vulnerabilities among the rural youth who like to be more isolated and to have fewer public activities such as educational, recreational, and other public resources (Apostal & Bilden, 1991; Markstorn, Marshal,& Tryon, 2000; Murry & Keller, 1991 cited in Rhodes, J, et al, 2004). Furthermore, relative to urban communities, rural areas are shown by greater isolation, fewer educational, recreational, and other public resources, and higher level of poverty (Apostal , et al cited in Rhodes, J, et al, 2004). Anyhow, based on their findings, these factors seem to result in having fewer hopes and opportunities for success. They mentioned that: "In summary, adolescent presents both challenges and opportunities, which interact with a range of individual and contextual factors to produce different pathways of self esteem. Examining these pathways across youth of varying ethnicity, social class, gender, and social context may help to illuminate the extent to which challenges in self esteem are a function of individual and contextual factors" (2001, p.245). They also found that not only race, social class, or material of the school or community will develop self esteem among adolescents, but also the students' harmony with the racial or socioeconomic environment of their school contributes to developing the self esteem. As mentioned before, disagreement and poverty were two factors effective in lower self esteem among most youth. In addition, self esteem was reduced among youth, but students with low income family and minority status who attended lower schools did not face the disadvantages of the reduced self esteem. For example, some African-American families, i.e. minority status are careful to take their children aware of the negative role that racism plays in the present societies (Constantine & Blackman, 2002 cited in Rhodes, J. et al, 2004). However, this belief that racism is being reduced in modern societies motivates many African-American families to direct their children toward confidence that their potential and future professional knowledge can exceed that of previous generations (Macleod, 1995cited in Rhodes, J. et al, 2004). Rhodes, J. et al (2004) stated that although low income didn't change self esteem among African-American youth negatively, lower income European-American youth faced the lowest level of self esteem. Here, this thought come to the mind that the effect of such factors on the level of self esteem depends, to some extent, on the cultural differences. Finally, this conclusion seems rational that the variables mentioned play important roles in the level of self esteem, but it is the cultural differences that cover all of them and remain like an umbrella which directs them. Some useful suggestions to improve the self esteem among learners: It was proven that after a fifteen-week study in foreign countries, students' self esteem changed into higher rates, and consequently, led to the lower anxiety (Tanak, K., Ellis, R., 2003). With regard to the matter that, nowadays, many institutions provides study abroad programs, teachers should encourage the students to take advantage of participating in the programs (Matsuda, S., Gobel, P., 2004). They asserted that teachers can also encourage students to involve themselves in classroom activities and create a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom. Similarly, teachers should try to reduce learners’ anxiety by making the atmosphere of the classroom as friendly as possible (Crookall & Oxford, 1991 cited in Matsuda, S., Gobel, P., 2004). Matsuda, S., Gobel, P. (2004) stated that the teacher's character and psychological state can affect the class atmosphere. Thus, teachers need to train themselves to be relaxed in the classroom. (p.32) Matsuda, S., Gobel, P. (2004) also asserted that by applying some facilitative activities in classroom such as pair work, small group work, and role-play, teacher can also play an important role in the improvement of classroom participation among learners. In this case, students feel more secure and comfortable about speaking with a small number of their classmates rather than having the whole class as their audience. Depending on the situations and the type of students, the teachers should recognize which method is more appropriate to employ for their students. They added, by trying these ways, a sense of achievement and satisfaction come to the learners' mind, they value their ability by learning new things via games, the teacher gradually change the instructions into more challenging ones, at last, the feeling of self esteem created among the students causes the facilitation of learning process. The ways by which self esteem facilitate and/or predict students' performance in different situations: Selmela-Aro, k., Nurmi, J, E. (2007) expressed that high self esteem will cause a foundation for success in dealing with probable challenges related to the future occupations and careers. On the contrary, low self esteem may lead to difficulties and obstacles in dealing with the future occupations. They also asserted that there is several mechanism by which the careers are affected by the levels of self esteem after the passing of young-adult period. One possibility is that young adults with high self esteem are more active in their issues such as finishing their education on time, finding a favorable job, etc. which help the achievement to success related to early career. Another one is that high self esteem increases the efficiency of individuals' ability in their future works and makes them able to overcome the obstacles existed in their jobs. Third possible mechanism is that individuals with low self esteem are apt to be emotionally more vulnerable in the face of negative thoughts at their works. The fourth mechanism can be interpreted in this way that self esteem contributes to the self-acceptance of the real abilities which performers have. Then, in their research, it was revealed that the level of self esteem during university predicted the future conditions of the individuals' employment status as follow: If the students during the university studies benefit from a low level of self esteem, they are more likely to be unemployed ten (10) years later. Similarly, it was predicted that the students with the high level of self esteem are more likely to have permanent jobs in the future; while the students with low self esteem may face difficulties in finding an appropriate job or at last; they may find a temporary job rather than a permanent job and also jobs with lower salaries. Selmela-Aro, K., Nurmi, J, E. (2007) stated that the higher the level of self esteem during their university studies, the less exhaustion and cynicism and the greater the sense of accomplishment the participant reported in relation to their work. (p.470) Generally, they understood that self esteem during university studies predicted how individuals' working life turned out to be ten years later. Conclusion: The results captured by this review of literature revealed that although the high level of self esteem has one short coming, i.e. the learners' overestimation of their own abilities, there exist many qualified features which cover that shortcoming. With regard to the statements quoted from prestigious researchers, to have a more efficient scientific system in any society, it should be done the best to improve the self esteem of learners, by far, before the adolescent duration. ___________________________________________________ References Alfally, I. (2004). The role of some selected psychological and personality traits of the rater in the accuracy of self- and peer assessment. System, 32, 48. Apostal, R., and Bilden, J. (1991). Educational and occupational aspirations of rural high school students. Journal of Career Development, 18, 153-160. Bowman, p., & Howard, C. (1985). Race-related socialization, motivation, and academic achievement: A study of African-American youth in three-generation families. Journal of American-Academic child psychiatry,24, 134-141. Collins, G., H. (2006). Give self esteem a hand and improve learning. Prospective: GVME. 1-2-3-4-7-8. Constantinate, M. G, & Blackman, S. M. (2002). Black and adolescents’ racial socialization experiences: Their relations to home, school, and peer self-esteem. Journal of Black Studies,32, 322-335. Crookall, D., Oxford, R. (1991). Dealing with anxiety: Some practical activities for language learners and teacher trainees. 141-150. Demo, R. M., and Savin-Williams, R. C. (1983). Early adolescent self esteem as a function of social class: Rosen bery and Pearlin revisited. American Journal of psychology, 88, 763-774. Hanton, s., Mellalieu, S., D, and Hall. R. (2004). Self-confidence and anxiety interpretation: A qualitative investigation. Psychology of sport and exercise, 5, 477-478-479-485,…, 490. Jones, G. (1995). More than just a game: research developments and issues in competitive anxiety in sport. British Journal of Psychology,18, 144-157. Macleod, j. (1995). Ain’t no makin’ it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood. Bulder, CO: Western Press Malega, M. (2007). Ways to improve self esteem. Internet page: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ways-to-improve-self-esteem.html Matsuda, S., and Gobel, P. (2004). Anxiety and prediction of performance in the foreign language classroom. System,32, 21-32-33. McGraph, M. (2006) Increase your self esteem in a few easy steps! Internet page: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5.16.2006.96336.asp Rhodes, J., Roffman, J., Reddy, R., and Fredricksen, K. (2004). Changes in self esteem during the middle school years: a latent growth curve study of individual and contextual influences. Journal of school psychology, 42, 244-245-257-258. Roth, Z. (2008) Tips to build high self esteem. Internet page: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tips-to-build-high-self-esteem.html Salmela-Aro, K., Nurmi, J., E. (2007). Self esteem during university studies predicts career characteristics ten years later. Journal of vocational behavior, 70, 464-465-470-473. Tanaka, K., Ellis, R. (2003). Study abroad, language proficiency, and learner benefits about language-learning. JALT journal 25, 63-85.

		Critical Study of The Waiting for Godot Elham Yekta eyektam@gmail.com translated by:Ismail Salami
		The universe is comprehensible To an artist through metaphors. Samuel Barclay Beckett The Waiting for Godot opens with the dialogue of two men Estragon and Vladimir. In the course of their conversation, they implicitly or explicitly reveal their personalities. Soon it transpires that Estragon is an artist and an intellectual: Vladimir: You should have been a poet. Estragon: I was (Gesture towards his rags) Isn't that obvious? [p. 12] (1) He is a romantically poetic type. When Vladimir asks him about the Gospels, he gets immersed into profound meditations and gives a seemingly irrelevant answer. This, of course epitomizes his true self: Vladimir: Do you remember the Gospels? Estragon: I remember the maps of the Holy Land coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That's where we'll go for honey moon. We'll swim. We'll be happy. [p. 12] Estragon's first name is Adam. He is an archetypal Adam who has painfully descended from the paradisal lushness and bliss to the land of sorrows; a fatal plunge which has disturbed his equanimity. Estragon: I was falling… I was on top of a… . [p. 70] The wish to return to paradise in the form of journeying towards the promised land and the reification of utopia have been main concern of religious or non-religious intellectuals. Despite his religious belief and the irreligiousness of his time, he cannot rid himself of this wish. Therefore, the Gospels is a gentle stroke to take him into a delicious ecstasy. In the golden ages of when the ideals reigned, the Dead Sea was not black. It was bright blue. It was so favourable that the look of it was enough to cause desire and ecstasy. To describe this paradise, Estragon uses past tense so adroitly that you would think he had experienced that age. The last sentences are in future. If his future dream comes true, he will have his honey moon. Vladimir however, mocks this dream of him which is somewhat tinged with religious belief: and deems it proper for only the poets to have such a dream. Still, there is no escape from his nature. He is an idealist. Although he has not attained his ideal in the world of reality. He can definitely reach it in the world of dreams. Therefore he constantly scolds Vladimir for not letting him sleep: Estragon: Why will you never let me sleep? … I was dreaming. I was happy. [P. 89] By sleep, he intends to escape the drab realities of life and at least to taste the sweetness of happiness thereby. He is no longer patient. His contemporary streams of thoughts have offered him inappropriate shoes to tread on the road of life. In the first act, his boots are tough and loose in the second act. Therefore, they have wounded his feet and exhausted his energy to walk on. Exhausted. He rebels and wishes to walk barefoot. Yet, Vladimir refrains him from doing so. Vladimir: But you can't go barefoot. Estragon: Christ did. Vladimir: Christ! What's Christ got to do with it? You are not going to compare yourself to Christ! Estragon: All my life I've compare myself to him. Vladimir: But where he lived it was warm, it was dry! Estragon: Yes. And they crucified quick. [P. 52] Vladimir does not believe in Christ. He makes attempts to banish the thought of Christ from the mind of Estragon(s). By reminding Estragon of Christ's environment, he tries to divert his mind from Christ. However, there is a hidden metaphor in the word "Hot". In spite of Vladimir's land, Christ's is both geographically and emotionally hot. There. People do what they believe. And the protestant puts his protest in a practical shape, even though he might die on the cross. This Estragon knows. On the other hand, he knows that he is powerless to follow Christ, for the simple reason that he is not a man of action. His pet name is Gogo. In fact, the repetition of the verb "Go" in his name orders him to go. He constantly says: "I am going." But He does not move. In the course of the play, Estragon is constantly busy touching his boots while sitting. He is more a man of thought than a man of action. This his trait becomes hazardous when the situation is critical and he must act. But his doubts and fears take the place of resolution. Estragon doubts everything: TIME: He debates with Vladimir whether it is sunset or sunrise. PLACE: He constantly doubts whether he was here yesterday or not. PEOPLE: He is not sure whether he has already seen Pozzo and Lucky or not. Therefore he doubts Godot when he has never seen. He and his friend have done something which has lost its sense and turned into a mechanical performance. As a result, they deep forgetting what they have done or if they have been sinking in the bog. Estragon's legs give off a repulsive smell. Where Estragon represents an intellectual/artist Vladimir represents a party, a certain stream of thought which requires activity if it wants to survive. He is constantly walking and touching his hat. His recent action has to be compared with Lucky's behaviour so that we may understand Beckett's meaning in this allegorical action. When Lucky wanted to think, he put on his hat. As for Vladimir, he constantly takes off his hat, shakes it, searches the inside of it and puts it on. In fact his hat symbolizes his frame of mind. By putting on his hat, he conceals his frame of mind from the public. He is constantly thinking or talking to himself. But in the end, His mind becomes blank. I don't know what to think any more. He has imposed his way of thinking upon Estragon and in a sense he has put a hat on his head. The aftermath of these reactions is predetermined. If they want to see an unusual event, they have got to take off their hat In order to be able to see: Estragon: Let me see. (He takes off his hat, concentrates.) Vladimir: Let me see. (He takes off his hat, concentrates. Long silence.) Ah! They put on their on their hats. Relax. [P. 65] They achieve repose when they are under the umbrella of that stream of thought. Estragon calls his friend Didi. "Dis" in French means "to talk". This combination shows that Vladimir talks on behalf on a party and that his words are pointless. Just like Lucky who talks nonstop when he puts on his hat. What does this stream of thought stand for? The answer to this question lies in the Russian name Vladimir. He defends a country in which everything is red: Vladimir: … You can't tell me that this (gesture) bears any resemblance to… (he hesitates)… to the Macon country, for example. You can't deny there's a big difference… But down there everything is red. [P. 61] Since Vladimir relies on a group who thinks unanimously and has abundant possibilities, he has more repose than Estragon. His name also shows his position. Vladimir means someone who is in possession of the world. Therefore, he is able play the protector and protects the breathless Estragon who is lonely. Vladimir: (Vladimir gets up softly, takes off his coat and lays it across Estragon's shoulders… Estragon wakes with a start, jumps off, cast about wildly. Vladimir turns to him, puts his arms around him.) There… there… Didi is there… don't be afraid… . Estragon: Ah! Vladimir: There… there… . It's all over. Estragon: I was falling… . Vladimir: It's all over, It's all over. Estragon: I was on top of a- Vladimir: Don't tell me! Come! We'll make it off. [P. 70] Estragon feels lonely. He is a wanderer in the land of thoughts. He does not even know why. I don't know why I don't know. [P. 67] He can neither choose nor tolerate the present sufferings. So he feels he is sinking. He dreams he is falling. Vladimir tries to quiet him down. However, he refrains from narrating his dream lest Estragon's nightmarish dreams may posses him as well, and shake his belief: Estragon: I had a dream. Vladimir: Don't tell me. Estragon: I dreamt that- Vladimir: Don't tell me! Estragon: (gesture towards the universe) This one is enough for you? It is not nice of you, Didi. Who am I to tell my private nightmare to if I can't tell them to you? Vladimir: Let them remain private. You know I can't bear that. [P. 15] Vladimir knows full well that intellectual doubts are destructive. So he neither listens to Estragon nor talks about his fears to him. When Estragon falls asleep, he starts talking about his anxieties: Vladimir: Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? [P. 90] Too, Vladimir knows these doubts destroy his dominion. Therefore, he fights them not lose a power which he has acquire in the course of years. How can he leave while he has dominance on Estragon's emotion. He wants Estragon to express his feelings parrotlike: Vladimir: you must be happy too, deep down, if you only know it. Estragon: Happy about what? Vladimir: To be back with me again. Estragon: Would you say so? Vladimir: Say you are, even if it's not true. Estragon: What am I to say? Vladimir: Say, I am happy. Estragon: I am happy. Vladimir: So am I. Estragon: So am I. Vladimir: We are happy. Estragon: We are happy. Estragon finds out that he has lost his human rights and protests: Estragon: We've no rights any more? Vladimir: You'd make me laugh, if it wasn't prohibited. Estragon: We've lost our rights. Vladimir: We got rid of it. [P. 19] At all events, he prefers to lose the "I" and dissolve into the "we" of Vladimir. He no longer has individuality. He is a slave like Lucky. And Vladimir treats him like Pozzo. He calls him pig as Pozzo calls Lucky. Estragon feels this invisible chain of servitude round his neck. After all, he is responsible for this servitude, for the reason that they have a unilateral relationship, from the very first. Estragon was a sinking intellectual and Vladimir was a guarding thinker: Estragon: Do you remember the day I threw myself into the Rhone? Vladimir: We were grape harvesting. Estragon: You fished me out. Vladimir: That's all dead and buried. [P. 53] Although Vladimir intends to forget that memory by feigning superciliousness. Estragon is not willing to do so. He tries insidiously to remind him of promises. That day, the sun was shining. Everywhere was full of light. Estragon had thought the long night of despair had ended. And this savior of the world would leave no knots untied. But Vladimir says There is no good harking back on that, come on. And he insists that they forget the memory of that day. Because half a century has passed since then. They do nothing but talk. All the knots have remained tied up. Vladimir breath stinks. Now Estragon is aware of a mirage that Vladimir has created for him. He mocks him: Estragon: You and your landscapes! Tell me about the worms. [P. 61] But the passage of fifty years has frozen him to the extent that he does not feel its coldness. In the course of the play, he is the only one who complaint about cold- which may refer to his cold land. He has no choice but to bear the present situation. He starts nominal fights to amuse himself and not let time weigh upon him. Estragon lives in the heart of a capitalistic country. Estragon is a French name which drags the symbol of Estragon intellectual. Vladimir is well aware that the rebel of a society members is more effective than that of one who lives outside of the society. Therefore, he dictates Estragon to question any capitalistic action for which Pozzo stands: Estragon: Why doesn't he put down his bags? Pozzo: But that would surprise me. Vladimir: You are being asked a question… I think he is listening. Estragon: What? Vladimir: You can ask him now. He's on the alert. Estragon: Ask him what? Vladimir: Why he doesn't put down his bags? [P. 29] Estragon has a more significant function. He serves as a laboratory rat. If the result is positive, Vladimir the party enters the scene. It seems more logical to a party to Jeopardize the position of all in case of fiasco by sacrificing one member: Estragon: Let's hang ourselves immediately. Vladimir: From a bough? I wouldn't trust it. Estragon: We can always try. Vladimir: Go ahead. Estragon: After you. Vladimir: No, no, you first. Estragon: Why me? Vladimir: You are lighter than I am. Estragon: Just so!... . Vladimir: You are my only hope. [P. 17] Estragon is not too an idiotic intellectual. He realizes the aim of the party/ Vladimir: Estragon: Gogo light- bough not break. Gogo dead. Didi heavy- bough break. Didi alone. Where as- [PP. 17-18] At this point, Estragon finds meaning. Perhaps the critics who claim that the word ESTRAGON originate from TARRAGON are right. Estragon's words go down Vladimir's threat as bitterly as tarragon. Estragon: You see, you feel worse when I'm with you. I feel better alone too. [P. 59] In the pre/post war years, Intellectuals were the first who clung tenaciously to Vladimir(s). Meanwhile, they were the first who let out the cry of protest. Some separated from the party and some others remained loyal to it but tried to mention its mistakes. As Estragon constantly tries to bring the reality of the situations before Vladimir's eyes. He constantly asks questions but Vladimir evades answering or busies him with something: Estragon: I asked you a question. Vladimir: Ah. Estragon: Did you reply? Vladimir: How is the carrot? Estragon: It's a carrot. Vladimir: So much the better, so much the better. What was it you waited to know? Estragon: I've forgotten. That's what annoys me. I'll never forget this carrot. Ah yes, now I remember. [P. 20] Vladimir tolerates Estragon's nagging because he is sacred of being left alone within the iron walls: Estragon: Why will you never let me sleep? Vladimir: I felt lonely. [P. 89] By so doing, he tries to keep Estragon by his side whether through menace or promise. But Estragon has understood his intention. Estragon: The best thing would be to kill me, like the other. Vladimir: What other? (Pause) What other? Estragon: Like billions of others. [P. 62] However, Vladimir is conscious of the consequence of martyring the opponents. That's why he signs the song of the dog and mocks Estragon in order to drive the thought of martyrdom and heroism out of his mind. Vladimir: To everyman his little cross. Till he dies. And is forgotten. [P. 62] Separation is a way Estragon puts before his feet. But he himself demands the opposite: Estragon: Don't touch me! Don't question me! Don't speak to me! Stay with me! [P. 58] This behavior stems from his trait of escaping from action and from fear of solitude. Because when he is alone at night, he is assaulted and cudgeled by strangers. The horror of the real or unreal strangers keeps him loyal to the party. Now both of them know that they are bound to tolerate catch other. But they look for an excuse. The best excuse is Godot. The savior. That's why anytime Estragon calls to go, Vladimir refuses and mentions that they are waiting. We are waiting for Godot. But this deed of Vladimir is mingled with treachery. The waiting that can create action turns to an idle action: Vladimir: We've nothing more to do here. Estragon: Nor everything else. Vladimir: Ah, Gogo. Don't go on like that. Tomorrow everything will be better. [P. 52] As they sink in the bog and Estragon bears witness to it: Estragon: All my lousy life I've crowled about in the mud. [P.61] Vladimir's treatury becomes apparent, when Estragon realizes that he was aware of Godo's not coming. When the shepherd comes, Vladimir starts giving the news that He won't come this evening. Yet, he encourages Estragon to remain. Not having a proper conception of Godot, he takes another one for Godot: Pozzo: You took me for Godot. Estragon: Oh no, Sir, not for an instant, Sir. … Pozzo: You took me for him. Estragon: That's to say… you understand… the dusk… I confess… I imagined… for a second… [P.23] At all events, Pozzo arrives instead of Godot. But he claims that he is liberal: Pozzo: But I am liberal. It's my nature. [P.39] He has a watch and a pair of glasses with which he has tied his greedy eyes to the world in order to see things faster and have them to himself. Pozzo is an Italian name which suggests a well. He always laughs because the others do not have to laugh: Pozzo: The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh. [P. 33] Pozzo rightly bears witness to his nature: Pozzo: I am perhaps not particularly human but who cares. [P. 29] He claims he is a liberal but this is the way he treats his subordinates: Pozzo: Back! Stop! Torn! Closer! Stop! Coat! Hold that! Coat! Whip! Stool! Closer! Back! Further! Stop! Basket! Further! [P. 24] All the sentences are imperative mood. He is a slave who does not want to relax a minute. Lucky must always be busy: Pozzo: … Up pig! Every time he drops falls asleep. (jerks the rope) Up pig! [P. 23] Lucky carries all the wealth of Pozzo but what he has is his master's left-overs. Pozzo's deed is not out of kindness. His fear is to lose his slave: Pozzo: … Nice business it'd be if fall sick on me. [P. 27] The method of Pozzo in exploiting Lucky is so advanced and complicated that he has used his ideas although his ideas are perse worthless. Yet, Pozzo does not feel safe. He continually checks his thoughts lest he has changed them. At times, he puts a hat on Lucky's head so that he might give expression to his feelings and he listens to him for hours on end. Lucky in English means fortunate. But how can he who is a porter be fortunate? This pungent black humour caused by the stupidity of Lucky(s) makes him feel happy. The degree of Lucky's stupidity must be realized through the tongue of Pozzo: Pozzo: He imagines that when I see how well he carries I'll be tempted to keep him on in that capacity. [P. 31] Pozzo: He imagines that when I see him indefatigable I'll regret my decision such in his miserable scheme. As though I were short of slaves! Atlas, Son of Jupiter. [P. 31] Pozzo calls Lucky Atlas, just like one who has the burden of the world upon his shoulders. And once Hercules took his place. But Atlas is again deceived by Hercules because of idiocy and takes the burden of the world upon his shoulders. This mythological background is a burden that Beckett puts on Lucky's shoulders to show the enormity of his stupidity. Lucky is so immersed in his own stupidity that he bursts into weeping if Pozzo ever decides to sell him. To delineate the identities of these four characters in the framework of European leftist intellectual, the communist party, the capitalistic government and all the capitalistic communities, we can refer to other pieces of evidence. For example, Vladimir sees the sores on Lucky's neck. Just like the sores Vladimir saw on the people who were prisoner in the hands of capitalism and he rebelled against it. But the passage of a century tempered Vladimir and induced him to compromise: Pozzo: How did you find me? Vladimir: Oh, very good, very good. [P. 38] And he pretended that he was not able to tolerate pozzo's behavior towards Lucky: Vladimir: After having sucked all the good out of him you chuck him away like a… like a banana skin. [P. 34] But this is just a ceremonial protest which does not help Lucky who has given way beneath that burden. Vladimir even does not have the courage to approach him. He watches him from a distance. Pozzo notices this point and gives warning. He is a wicked with strangers. [P. 22] When Estragon goes to help Lucky, he kicks him. On one hand, this reaction is another sign of his stupidity and on the other hand this stems from the weakness of Estragon/Intellectual. He is not capable of attracting other's trust. Estragon's reaction also springs from his lack of ability in establishing relationship with others. He gets angry and kicks Lucky. Because the encounter with the masses, even if they are ignorant, is to the loss of the intellectuals. And Estragon hurts himself only and turns away from him by calling him a savage. The eventuality of this conduct leads him to turn to the opposite pole, that is to Pozzo. At the beginning Pozzo boats a lot and calls himself a god: Pozzo: I woke up one fine day as blind as Fortune. [P. 86] Fortune is an Italian name which is associated with Tyche who had a cornucopia in his hand as a symbol of fertility. However, he was always blind. According to the Greeks, they worked obscurely lifting up one man and pushing down another. It is like Pozzo describes himself. But Pozzo's blindness holds a different meaning. It implies his inability. Lucky falls down, he also falls down. As he had a rope in his hand by which he dragged Lucky, an invisible rope joins him to Lucky. The death of people leads to his own death. He asks for helps. At first, the two friends get involved into an intellectual discussion. Vladimir talks about helping his fellow-beings. It seems as if he has forgotten how Pozzo has sucked Lucky's blood. Then, Estragon plays the role of a lawyer and haggles over the price of salvation with Pozzo. Ultimately, Vladimir stretches a helping hand towards Pozzo but he gets involved like him. It seems as if Vladimir's party conflict with capitalistic world is superficial. In the end, they stretch a helping hand towards each other. They are two friends: Pozzo: -but are you friends? Estragon: he wants to know if we are friends! Vladimir: No, he means friends of his. Estragon: Well? Vladimir: We're proved we are, by helping him. Estragon: Exactly. Would we have helped him if we weren't his friends. [P. 85] Vladimir tries to assure Pozzo: Vladimir: Mr. Pozzo! Come back! We won't hurt you! [P. 86] Considering all this, we can now conclude that the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is the same one which exists between Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky and Estragon are not allowed to sleep. They should constantly be doing something. Vladimir and Pozzo determine their course of action and their frame of mind. Meanwhile they need them. Both see each other every day and will the next day. Therefore they shared a single destination. Attar Neishabouri the Persian mystic poet narrates the story of thirty birds which are in quest of a mythological bird called Phoenix. When their journey comes to an end they find out that they are the Phoenix themselves. If this four people were not blind and could make the best of their time- Pozzo: The blind have no notion of time. The things of time are hidden from there then too. [P. 86]- they might have found Godot. After all. Godot is the combination of Go and Do. If these two words were not heard in their pet names (Didi and Gogo) and got manifested in their action they might have arrived at Godot. As Beckett starts I can't go on. I'll go on.g ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- !. Beckett, S. B. Waiting for Godot. Great Britain: Western Printing Services Limited, 1969.
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