The Choice Never Made

【Abstract】Samuel Beckett is regarded as one of the representatives of the Absurd Theater and his Endgame one of his most famous masterpieces that fully embodies the features of the Absurd Theater. By analyzing the living of the characters in Endgame， this paper reveals the worry and confusion felt by people against the backdrop of turbulence and intranquility in the western world after WWII.

【Key words】Endgame; Samuel Beckett; Absurd Theatre; choice; attitude

【作者簡介】宋莹（1985-），女，四川资阳人，四川外国语大学成都学院英语教育学院讲师，文学硕士，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。

1. Introduction

Endgame， is a representative piece of work of the school of Absurd Theatre， which includes dramatic works mainly created in the 1950s and 1960s. During that time， apart from the rapid development of science and technology， the western world was also filled with turbulence and intranquility， a result of WW II. From then on， people began to doubt the social order and system they had been abiding by for a long time; meanwhile， they realized the crisis and absurdity that had been latent in their lives. Therefore， in the Absurd Theatre， the atmosphere is always depressing and hopeless; the characters are always funny clowns who talk only nonsense most of the time.

Samuel Beckett， the author of Endgame， was an Irish novelist and playwright， and one of the great names of the Absurd Theatre. As an Absurdist， he believed that human life was essentially absurd， purposeless， meaningless， beyond human rationality， and out of harmony with its surroundings， the result of this being a chronic state of uncertainty， anguish and depression. His plays are concerned with human suffering and survival， and his characters are struggling with meaninglessness and the world of nothing. Endgame， his second play， was published in February 1957 in France， on which his fame was founded， his novels having been either unpublished or largely ignored in the previous 15 years. Although one of his most difficult， Endgame has proved one of the most popular Beckett plays. The main character Hamm， old and blind， confined to a chair， irascible and despairing， contemplates death while manipulating his servant Clov into repeatedly performing tasks which might mitigate the long wait for the inevitable end of the game： life. Instead of trying to obtain some type of meaningful lifestyle， both of them choose to sit inside the room and wait for death. At intervals， the senile Nagg and Nell （Hamms parents） reminisce about happier times and about love， and go through the same daily farce of attempting to kiss each other from their respective bins. This play vividly reflects the dilapidation of the western life after WWII， poses a series of complicated questions about human existence， and shows the worry and confusion humans feel when seeking the meaning of life.

2. Meaningless Living of the Characters in Endgame

In Endgame， all characters are confined in a dark box-like room， with two small curtained windows in the back wall high enough for Clov to need a ladder to see out of them. The four people in the room continuously repeat their own queer actions. They moan and groan one moment， and tell old jokes and stories the next. Actually， the whole setting is just like a skull. The two windows form the eye sockets of the skull， and the characters represent the brain and memory. The entire stage serves as a metaphor for an aging mind. The audience can hardly understand what on earth they are doing or talking about. On the one hand， these people seem tired of their status quo and wish an early end of it; on the other hand， their situation seems to defy any change. Hamm thinks outside the room is death and that they are not ready to end all this yet. The whole play is actually a painful process of waiting， or rather， a deliberate delay of the end. It depicts the cruelty， loneliness and stubbornness of those bewildering people.

The title of the play is a term used in chess to designate the third and final parts of the game， when most of the chessmen have been moved away. It was perhaps chosen for its uncertainty， for its capacity to denote the end of many things， or perhaps the end of life itself. Beckett was an avid chess player， and saw the parallel between the chess endgame and the final stage of life， in which death is the inevitable outcome. The characters enact repetitive actions that are part of their endgame. Like a losing player who strains through the final moves even though his demise is imminent， the characters make routines out of their lives and do whatever it takes to get through one more day， even though the game has lost whatever appeal it may have once had. Based on metaphor， Beckett uses the word “endgame” to describe the dilemma people got bogged down into after WWII， which created terror and panic， and cast on peoples mind a shadow that was there to stay. For a time， people felt lost and were left doubting the whole world. They doubted whether the society was really progressing， whether there were any trustworthy leaders and authority. They couldnt find answer to the disasters and injustice in the world， and wondered what on earth they lived for. Beliefs were immediately discarded， and civilization and development were turned into lies. Thus， people did not know what to do， and even had no idea how to carry on their life. Just like the end stage of a chess game， which is a stalemate， people were caught in a hopeless situation. No matter what they tried to do， to carry on or to give up， the result would still be the same， for the end had already been doomed. Even if the game was continued， the only difference would be the delay of that unavoidable end.

3. The Choice Faced by the Characters in Endgame

In truth， the real question people were facing was the one of life. After living through numerous cruel wars and upheavals， the choice they had to make never changed， that is， death or survival. If they chose death， then all agony and uneasiness would still continue; besides， death is actually another kind of agony that is even harder to bear. Its natural for people to be afraid of suffering， therefore they were reluctant to choose death; but if they chose survival， then how to live？ To let things go on as they are， or to stop it and create a new world？ Endgame throws to readers such a complicated question.

As a matter of fact， no definite answer is given at the end of the play， and no choice is made by any of the four characters. For instance， Clov says many times that he will be leaving， but he never makes it. At the end of the play he is still at the door. Nobody knows whether he will leave at all. The beginning and the end of the play are pretty much the same， the only difference being the question of existence brought to the audience. Some socialist believe there is a lack of moral standard in the western society， therefore many contemporary dramas only raise questions with no solution. Thus， people have to contemplate their attitude towards life and way of life.

Modern western society attaches importance to individual choice， especially in an era full of doubt and uneasiness. In such a chaotic world， people are only left with endless terror and bewilderment. The only way out is to make ones own choice and seek ones own living style and everyone should be responsible for their own life. Endgame， through showing the loss of belief and the absurd part of human life， suggests that humans should take full responsibility for their life while enjoying full freedom. This play is quite obscure and ambiguous， which， however， allows readers to interpret it in their own ways， so that they can contemplate life more deeply.

In Endgame， the characters have two choices in front of them， i.e. to maintain the status quo or change it. From the beginning to the end of the play， however， no sign of their efforts to adjust themselves to carry on the quiet life is found， except the endless repetition of their ridiculous actions and words. The characters are trapped in a tortured existence and do not have the desire or will to change it. They just go on and on， playing out their games， without real conversation， and without the ability to feel anything or form connection with others. Throughout the play， Hamm and Clov make statements which indicate that they long for the end， and that they think it is time to end. And yet， they hesitate. They go on， never making it off the stage. At the end of the play， Clov， dressed for travel， is believed to be leaving the room， but he remains frozen， standing motionless at the door， just like he was at the beginning of the play. Their final words to each other seem to suggest another game will begin， and that it will go on and on. If they neither regulate their mindset nor actively change their present situation， they will only end up dying in endless desperation.

4. Conclusion

In a word， what Endgame expresses is the worry and confusion people feel in the pursuit of the significance of existence. Such feeling originates from humans fear of death and instinct to gain the truth. With the loss of beliefs and collapse of systems in the western world， its really difficult for people to find out a unanimous answer， let alone to make a choice.

References：

[1]Andonian， Cathleen， The Critical Response to Samuel Beckett[M]. New York： Greenwood Press，1998.

[2]Knowlson， James and Pilling， John， Frescoes of the Skull： The Later Prose and Drama of Samuel Beckett[J]. London： John Calder， 1979.