SAMUEL BECKETT AND ARNOLD WESKER
BIOGRAPHY:
Samuel Beckett : Dublin 1906 to 1989. From
a Protestant Anglo-Irish family he decided to study Romance languages, after
his graduation he went as an exchange lecturer to Paris, where he started to
meet people in relation with writing. After some time inside in the circle of a
writer he wanted to return to the college where he studied but it were not so
good so he decided to go by himself. To improve his ability he travelled a lot
between Europe, England, but finally he designed his habitual residence on
Paris.
Arnold Wesker : Was born in London in
1932,from a Russian father and a Hungarian mother. Before he started to write
he worked in various jobs, like carpenter, kitchen boy, pastry cook, etc. so
this experiences taken to him information and ideas to write about. As he
criticised the society of his time, the illiteracy of the workers class etc. he
form part of the Angry Young Men theatre, in the generation of the 1956.
COMPARATIONS:
First, we are going
to talk about the play of Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot . It is
about two men (Estragon and Vladimir) and one decision: To be waiting for a man
called Godot or to commit their suicide. There are few actions in this play
only the two men talking. But in the other way the play of Arnold Wesker, The
Kitchen , is about 32 workers of a kitchen who are always in movement and doing things because
he refers to the daily routine of a restaurant.
The things that two
plays have in common are the theme and the situation. The thematic of Waiting
for Godot is about the every day life although one is about 2 days and the
other The Kitchen is also about the daily routine and only takes place
in one day since they starts to work to the closing of the restaurant.
The situation in the
two plays is only one, they are in the country, with a tree and a road, and The
Kitchen is in a restaurant in general but the major part of the play is
based in the kitchen.
FINALITY:
Now talking about the
finality we have to pay attention in the society of the time, the people is
trying to survive after the world war so there is no food, no work, the major
part of the population have an elevate grade of misery. In the way of politic
is also bad because they do not help the people that need it. So Beckett tries
to transmit this situation to the people saying that they have two options
(like Estragon and Vladimir) have illusion and expectation of life or to leave
their life. On the other hand Weske wants to represent the worker’s life,
showing 32 people working, having their usual relations between they (love,
emotions, preoccupation, …) and also with their boss.
MY
OPINION:
Finally talking about
my opinion I only have to say that these two plays were so important because
they had got an elevate grade of social critic, also Waiting for Godot
has a complex thematic and a lot of symbol ( the tree, the way …). And The
Kitchen was also important because it was the first play that left the
traditional thematic and started to talk about the daily routine, love,
friendship…
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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