Samuel Beckett was one of the authors at the crux of the twentieth-century French philosophical movement known as the “Theater of the Absurd”. The concept of the absurd manifests itself in Beckett’s Endgame, through it’s irrationality, meaninglessness, and use of dark humor, particularly in the interactions between Hamm and Clov. The absence of meaning is the element most representative of the philosophical concept of the absurd, and is shown in several ways throughout the play. Firstly, there is no particular resolution or redemption for any character in the play. Hamm and Clov are tormented throughout the play while they engage in the same meaningless, repetitive routine day after day. Clov will threaten to quit serving Hamm, or Hamm will tell him to leave.
They engage in the same repetitive conversations every day, and even the characters Nagg and Nell go through the same daily farce of attempting to kiss one another from their respective bins. Additionally, Clov’s opening lines in the play where he states, “Finished, it’s finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished. Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there’s a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap.” (2210) Clov is trying to explain how since everything keeps repeating there is no final situation to analyze and that prevents everyone from extracting any meaning from their lives. This quote sums up early on the meaningless that Beckett was trying to create in his play. Instead of trying to obtain some type of meaningful lifestyle, Hamm and Clov choose to sit inside and wait for death.
Another way Beckett’s plays represent the philosophical movement of the absurd is the way the reader or viewer is constantly reminded that Endgame is a play, and that what they are reading or seeing is not reality. Instances such as Clov addressing the audience at the beginning with his opening statements, or using the telescope to look out into the audience are the small ways which Beckett accomplishes this. Additionally, the way Beckett uses dark humor is characteristic of the philosophy of the absurd. This is a play that in theory should not be funny, since it just follows a day in the life of depressed characters, waiting for death, who go about the exact same routine every day.
In part two, Nell states, “Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that” (2216), to show how despite a miserable existence humor is at times inescapable. Particular events in the play are comical to the point of absurdity, such as Nagg and Nell’s kissing routine, or the routine with Hamm’s stuffed three-legged dog. This stuffed dog routine is both tragic because it is obviously a daily occurrence, and Clov is telling blind Hamm what he wants to hear about the dog’s appearance to appease him, and also humorous because of the ridiculous requests Hamm is making.
Hamm makes Clov put a ribbon on the dog, identify the color of the dog, make him stand upright on his three legs, and answer him when Hamm asks if the dog is “gazing” at him. He eventually gets angry, calls the dog a “dirty brute” and throws him away. This display of dark humor is representative of the philosophy of the absurd because we as the reader are aware that these actions are a daily routine, and we are aware of their ridiculousness and irrationality. Ultimately, the overall way that the philosophical concept of the absurd manifests itself in Endgame is that the characters spend their lives in the paradox of searching for meaning, when really there is not any meaning to be found.
