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Acknowledgments My deepest and most sincere gratitude goes first and foremost to Associate Professor Huai , my supervisor, for her constant encouragement and guidance. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis from start to finish. Without her consistent and enlightening instruction and advice, this thesis could not have reached its current form. 32056
- 上一篇：后殖民主义视角下的《为奴十二年》
- 下一篇：从文化价值观角度比较中美《花木兰》
Besides, my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great faith in me through all these years. I also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who offered me their help and support in listening to me and helping me to solve my problems during the hard and difficult course of the thesis.
Abstract
Samuel Beckett opens a new chapter in the history of drama through creating Waiting for Godot. In the first act, two tramp-like guys who are known as Estragon and Vladimir have nothing to do. In order to flee from life’s misery and despair and find relief, they wait on a path in an open field for a savior-like figure named Godot. They do ridiculous games and have ludicrous conversations during the waiting process in order to pass time. Pozzo and Lucky come later. They only stay for a while and then leave. After that, Godot’s messenger BOY comes and tells Estragon and Vladimir that Godot is not coming today but will come tomorrow. The second act almost duplicates the first one with only a few minor modifications of Pozzo going blind and Lucky going mute. At the end, the same boy tells Estragon and Vladimir the exactly the same thing he said yesterday.
In this paper, the absurdity of human existence is to be analyzed in two aspects. From the work itself, the paper tries to analyze the significance of the author, the historical background — the whole western society suffered from disillusionment. Besides, from symbolic perspective, the paper analyzes the play’s theme -- the momentary and insignificant human existence.
Key Words: futility; absurdity; human survival
摘要 塞缪尔•贝克特通过创作《等待戈多》为戏剧语言开辟了一方新的天地。在第一幕中，被称为埃斯特拉贡和弗拉基米尔的两个流浪汉无所事事。为了逃离生活的绝望痛苦，找到救赎之路，他们在等待一个类似于救世主的人--戈多。在无趣冗长的等待过程中，他们做着可笑的游戏，讲着可笑的笑话来打发时间。波卓和幸运儿稍晚出场，并且只待了一会便离开了。随后，自称是戈多信使的一个小男孩出现并告诉埃斯特拉贡和弗拉基米尔戈多今天不来了，但明天回来。第二幕中，波卓失明了，幸运儿哑了，除了这少数几处的修改，第二幕几乎复制了第一幕。结尾处，同样的男孩告诉埃斯特拉贡和弗拉基米尔戈多今天不来了，但明天会来。
本文主要从两个方面分析人类生存的荒诞性。本文从作品本身进行分析，分析作者的成就与贡献以及当时的历史背景, 即充斥着幻灭，惶恐和无所适从的焦虑心理。另外，本文从象征的角度出发，分析了该剧的主题--短暂和一场空的人类生存状况。
毕业论文关键词：徒劳、荒诞、人类生存
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments..i
Abstract…………………………..ii
摘要.iii
1 Introduction
1.1 The Significance of Samuel Beckett.1
1.2 The Significance of Waiting for Godot2
1.3 The Historical Background.4
2. Absurd Being
2.1 Irrational Being of Id and Ego12
2.2 Life in the Dark Abyss of Time.14
2.3 The Futile and Meaningless Wait for the Absence of Godot.16
3. Absurd Self-realization
3.1 Complex Consciousness..19
3.2 Absence of Universal Value..20
4. Conclusion21
Bibliography.23
1 Introduction
Waiting for Godot by the English play writer Samuel Beckett who won the Nobel Price in literature is the classical work of the theater of the absurd, a post-modernist literary school. From the standpoint of the structuralist literary criticism, this paper thoroughly analyzes the absurd being among mankind, expounding the social and psychological reality and Beckett’s existentialist philosophy and uncovering the warning and purifying role of the work to readers from the standpoint of the aesthetic of reception and the reader and gain a thorough understudying of thematic and artistic values of the work.