“Vladimir: we nearly hanged ourselves from it. But you wouldn’t. Do you not remember?
Estragon: You dreamt it
Vladimir: Is it possible that you’ve forgotten already?”
Vladimir and Estragon seem to have quite a benevolent relationship and they seem to enjoy winding each other up. Estragon seems to act quite naive at times however he then acts more intellectual in others so I think that this is just an act.
In Part 1, Estragon gets bored of waiting and suggests that they pass the time by hanging themselves from the tree. They both like the idea but cannot decide who should go first. They are afraid that if one of them dies the other might be left alone. In the end they decide it is safer to wait until Godot arrives. From this I think that they are both afraid for themselves and so are quite selfish about each other. They don’t particularly get on well but they are too apathetic to part and have to try and find another companion.
Vladimir seems to be the more stable of the two, while Estragon is more of a dreamer. Vladimir pretty much makes all of the decisions, and he is the only one to remember significant events from the past. He is always the one to remind Estragon that they must wait for Godot, and he seems to be the only one who cares about the consequences of not waiting. Being the more religious of the two (by quoting the bible), he is more concerned about the fate of the two thieves and wonders “why one was saved while the other was damned?”, whereas Estragon simply accepts the story. Vladimir is also more empathetic toward civilization and recognizes that he does not contribute to society. Estragon focuses more on himself than anything else. When Pozzo and Lucky fall down and cry for help, it is Vladimir who realizes that this is a unique chance to help them rather than Estragon.
By act 2, the distinctions are blurred between Estragon and Vladimir. Both Estragon and Vladimir engage in mental and physical exercises to pass endless time, and Vladimir seems to be more agile in each area. At the end of Act I, it is the active Estragon who asks, “Well, shall we go?” and the meditative Vladimir who assents, “Yes, let’s go.” Act 2 closes with the same lines, but the speakers are reversed.
Many conversations take place in this play, which seem to be pointless and don’t really head anywhere. This could be their way of passing time. Estragon always seems to draw the conversations to a close. This may mean that he doesn’t like talking and prefers silence rather than pointless “chats”e.g,
This sort of stichomythic conversation is used very frequently during the play and helps to confuse the audience by talking about nothing in particular.
The other pair, Pozzo and Lucky has a more complicated relationship. According to Pozzo, Lucky taught him all the higher values of life “beauty, grace, truth”; Lucky almost acts as Pozzo’s mind and spirit—Pozzo is body and material; but they are still tied together. Also, Pozzo's announcement about his pipe, that the second pipe is never as "sweet" as the first, can be appropriate to experience in general—it suggests that events and feelings are tedious with repetition.
An interesting interpretation of this play could be that Lucky is so called, because he is lucky in the context of the play. Since most of the play is spent trying to find things to do to pass the time, Lucky is lucky because his actions are determined absolutely by Pozzo. Pozzo on the other hand is unlucky because he not only needs to pass his own time but also must find things for Lucky to do. Pozzo's power came only from his ability to control others, rather than some inner self-esteem, and when he could not control others, he became upset. Pozzo responds to Vladimir’s questioning by saying, "Don't question me! The blind have no notion of time. The things of time are hidden from them too". Pozzo's situation could symbolize the effects of time on humans.
In my opinion, the more progress Vladimir and Estragon made, the further the fall for both Lucky and Pozzo. Which leads me t ask, are Estragon and Vladimir superior to Pozzo and Lucky because the former has a relationship built on friendship rather than one dominating over the other? Or are the two couples equally strange and stupid? Lucky and Pozzo both benefit from the kind of slave and master relationship because the relationship gives them identity and purpose. But if they spilt up, Pozzo would be left helpless for no one to do as he said; and Lucky would have no one to “impress” or serve under.
The relationships between Pozzo and lucky and Vladimir and Estragon are extremely different. Pozzo and Lucky seem to have a more Slave & Master relationship whereas Vladimir and Estragon are much more loving and giving. The audience is kept interested in this play by the relationships between these main characters although in my opinion there is not really that much basis to make a play.
