Introduction to Theme
Both the literary pieces Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot deal with the theme of waiting but in a very different way. In fact, waiting has been an important part of human life since time immemorial including literary writings. It has been depicted in different literary pieces in different ways. Since the time when organizations have come into being and man has learned to dominate other men in financial and social ways, waiting or wait has become part of the modern lifestyle in which it has taken different connotative as well as denotative meanings. Wait, even in a person’s romantic lifestyle, becomes an odious time-passing activity if nothing fruitful is gained. In The Beast in the Jungle, Henry James has presented the theme of waiting in the life of a male character, John Marcher, who comes under a spell that his life is to be disturbed by a great event that would change its entire course and this illusion kept him preoccupied throughout his life until his beloved May Bartram leaves this world. However, waiting in Waiting for Godot is entirely contrary to it. It is the waiting of an elusive figure, Godot, who holds complete sway on the lives of the two tramps, Estragon and Vladimir.
Waiting in The Beast in The Jungle
As far as waiting in The Beast in the Jungle is concerned, it is a different kind of waiting. It is the waiting of an egotist person who has supposed that his life is to transform through some great tragedy or some great disaster. John Marcher falls under his self-concocted spell that something is going to happen him sooner or later. Therefore, whoever meets him in life, he dilates upon the same tale that some beast is lurking somewhere to harm or slay him including his much accompanying friend, May Bartram. May Bartram meets Marcher again in London after several years, the details of which he does not remember. Both of them talk much about each other and then they become close friends to stay with each other for a long period of time. It happens that May Bartram becomes ill and meets her fate. It then dawns upon Marcher that his long wait is over now, for he has met the beast in the shape of one passion of meeting that accident in his life that he did not leave any other moment to touch or understand any other person or thing. This transformed his entire life. He now started feeling remorse over his useless waiting which wasted most of his time in a false belief that “Something or other lay in wait for him” which was nothing (Henry 11). In other words, the waiting in the story is nothing but vanity and supposition.
Wait in Waiting for Godot
However, wait in Waiting for Godot, a play, is entirely different. It is the wait of a person named Godot by two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon. Their wait is the wait under coercion. It is because they are to wait or face the consequences. However, it is never clear anywhere in the whole play, who is Godot, why these two tramps are waiting for him, what he holds for them in store or what he would do against them in case they return without waiting for him. Even in the midst of the confusion over everything as Vladimir tells Estragon that “Nothing is certain when you’re around”, they are certain of one thing that they are waiting for Godot (Beckett 09). The wait is such that it gets very difficult to pass the time and this wait of passing the time becomes a great suffering for both of them. They even remember several things, forget several other things and then again remember to have come the day before for the same person, Godot, but again they find themselves at the same place waiting for Godot. It means that their wait is for some messiah who holds something for them to relieve them from this burden of daily coming. Other than this, there does not seem any means though it could be akin to God which seems certain from Godot. But the interesting point comes when a person forgets whether he is waiting at all and if yes, for whom. This happens with both of them. This means it is a useless waiting of humanity as contrary to the useless waiting of John Marcher who is under the vanity of his significance.
Conclusion
In short, the theme of waiting is central to both of these stories, Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle and Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. However, whereas the waiting in The Beast in the Jungle is of a single person for some unknown beast, accident, incident or happening that is to change his entire life, the waiting in Waiting for Godot is about a character, Godot, whom the characters of Gogo and Didi (short names for Vladimir and Estragon) know very well. However, still they do not know any details about him. The difference in both types of waiting is that John Marcher comes to know the pain of waiting very long after the waiting has wasted his prime years, but in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon know that they are uselessly waiting for a person who cannot change their lives, but still, they cannot do anything except waiting. Their problem is how to pass this time when waiting. In nutshell, in each case, we learn that waiting is not only useless but also very painful.
Works Cited
- Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Online Literature. n. d. Web. 13 Dec. 2022.
- James, Henry. The Beast in the Jungle. Gutenberg Project. n. d. Web. 13 Dec. 2022.
Relevant Questions about The Beast in the Jungle, and Waiting for Godot: Theme of Waiting
- In The Beast in the Jungle, the protagonist, John Marcher, spends his life waiting for a significant event to occur. How does this perpetual state of anticipation shape the narrative, and what insights into the theme of waiting can be gleaned from Marcher’s experiences?
- Waiting for Godot is renowned for its portrayal of two characters endlessly waiting for someone who may never arrive. How does Beckett use the concept of waiting as a metaphor for the human condition, and what broader existential questions does this theme raise within the play?
- Both texts, The Beast in the Jungle and Waiting for Godot, depict characters who seem trapped in a cycle of waiting. Compare and contrast how Henry James and Samuel Beckett explore the emotional and psychological effects of waiting on their respective characters and the impact it has on the overall themes of their works.