Language & state of chaos Essay

The lexical choices made by Beckett in the number one practise show many things, such as the relationship betwixt estragon and Vladimir, and the confusion of the tones as to the time and the meaning of their actions. The main characters, tarragon and Vladimir, switch roles continually, so not using language as an manifestation of their selves, therefore the manner of speaking used show no badge of identity. This shows interchangeability in the characters, so keeping the audience searching for the characters own typical personality.This role switching that not even the characters roles/ personalities ar certain. This confusion is change magnitude with the characters inclination to talk in adjacency pairs like they be some(prenominal) speaking from the same train of thought To say that the language is in a state of sanatorium suggests there is utter confusion in the play, the audience cannister hear and understand the individual words cosmos said, but cannot put them in to a relevant context or meaning.This chaos is seen frequently throughout Vladimir and tarragons conversations although taking turns with one an some other(prenominal) while speaking, they do not engage in a received conversation, one character talks about one topic, while the other talks about a different subject all together. The freshman significance I excite elect reflects this chaotic language the ii characters talk about the bible, beginning in conventional adjacency pairs, Vladimir Did you ever so read the bible? tarragon The bibleI must have looked at it but consequently the conversation starts to waver on estragons part Vladimir Do you remember the story? Estragon none Vladimir Shall I tell it to you? Estragon No. And finally, the language and conversation among the 2 becomes chaotic Estragon Saved tenor what? Vladimir Hell. Estragon Im going. This deterioration in the exchanges between the two characters shows the pettiness of them both(prenominal ) they seem to squabble about anything, no matter how inane it seems to the audience.This can be seen as due to the lack of meaning or operation in their lives, with them using any method of keeping boredom at bay. This interaction between the two characters shows their abuse of Grices maxim of relevance, as one characters speech holds no relevance to that of the others. In this moment in the play there is a atomic pile of incertainty for both the characters and the audience, which Beckett creates in the first place via the language used by the two main protagonists. The characters are unsure about what the other is talking about, Estragon Who? Vladimir What? Estragon Whats all this about? , and they are in addition uncertain of what really happens in the bible, Vladimir But all four were there why opine him rather than the others? The audience is made uncertain of the meaning of the characters talking about the bible, it is near the start of the play so they do not know wha t is to come. My second moment is different form my first as Estragon and Vladimir are now joined by two passing characters, Pozzo and Lucky, although Lucky does not speak till later on on in their meeting.Pozzo speaks of how much pressure Lucky, his knook, puts on him, this is all an act on his part, but Estragon and Vladimir believe him, they repeat Pozzos words to add definition and to show their feelings of sadness towards him, Pozzo Its terrible he must go Im going mad I cant bear it any colossaler Vladimir He cant bear it. Estragon Any longer. Vladimir Hes going mad. Estragon Its terrible. This makes Estragon and Vladimir look rather naive as they believe Pozzo straight away and accuse Lucky of crucifying Pozzo, but are then told by Pozzo that he was lying.Estragon and Vladimirs language in this moment is still chaotic, repeating themselves and individually other, and showing confusion at what each other said, using the word what several times as a response. Their adja cency pairs are jarred and do not seem to fit together, Vladimir I foundert think so Estragon What? Vladimir I dont know Estragon Ask him. They then go on to talk mundanely about the evening, which turns into babblings of irrelevant words, Vladimir Worse than the pantomime. Estragon The genus Circus Vladimir The music-hall. Estragon The circus This is an example of their words and thoughts reflecting a single unit, as if it were just one person speaking, showing their relationship to be so close they are starting to think alike. This chaotic language also reflects the uncertainty theme, which runs through the play, shown through the characters lexis and actions (seen in the standby text). This chaos is shown when Pozzo appears to have lost his pipe, Estragon says Hes a scream. Hes lost his dudeen. This is a word coined by Beckett which does not seem to have any meaning, showing how Beckett uses language to confuse the audience, as it seems slightly ridiculous how Estragon makes up a word strictly to rhyme with scream. The chaotic language in the play seems mainly on a humorous level, for example, in the second moment chosen Vladimir rushes off to relieve himself, while doing this Estragon shouts end of corridor on the leave, even though both the characters and audience are aware they are in the middle of nowhere with just a tree.Both of the moments chosen show language to be in a state of chaos, and then supporting the opinion that nothing is certain in the play, although there are certain factors that make this statement debatable which should be taken into account, for example, Vladimir and Estragons relationship, they have known each other for a long time as they share memories etc. It can also be said that the certainty of some topics in the play is left up to the audience to understand, through the situation and the characters.