Waiting For Godot Act Two
The second opens at the same spot next to the tree, and Vladimir enters the scene to find Estragon’s shoes and Lucky’s hat placed next to the tree. He smells the shoes and puts them away in disgust. He begins to sing a song and soon Estragon arrives. He appears to be hurt, and Vladimir immediately begins to ask him whether he has been beaten. Estragon does not supply any answers but only suggests that there was more than one attacker. Vladimir believes that the beating occurred because Estragon had unknowingly done something to those people, something that wouldn’t have occurred if they had been together. Estragon accuses Vladimir of being happier on his own without Estragon’s presence and cites the singing as evidence. Vladimir is reluctant to admit this, but Estragon continues that he too is happier without Vladimir, and unsure why they remain together. Vladimir suggests that they remained together because Estragon couldn’t defend himself. They begin to talk of the previous day, but Estragon has no recollection of the events that transpired at that spot. Their discussion devolves into an argument, and they force peace between themselves, but Vladimir grows tired of the peaceful silence.
Vladimir notices that the tree now has a few leaves on it, and points it out to Estragon as he wonders if it means the arrival of spring. Estragon is unsure about everything, and he still isn’t quite convinced that they had been there the previous day. Vladimir tries to jog Estragon’s memory, but he does not recall anything about Lucky, the bone, or even the wound that he had received on his shin. Vladimir asks Estragon about his shoes, and he answers that he must have got rid of them. Vladimir triumphantly points out the shoes next to the tree, and Estragon examines them closely. He finally deduces that they are not his shoes, given that they are the wrong color but he isn’t certain about the color of his shoes. Vladimir postulates that someone must have taken Estragon’s shoes and left their shoes. He urges Estragon to try on the new pair of shoes, and he does. They feel too big for his feet, but they no longer hurt him. Vladimir suggests that they lace the shoes, and Estragon vehemently refuses the offer. Estragon asks for something to eat, so Vladimir gives him a black turnip, which Estragon refuses as he claims he only likes the pink ones. Estragon decides to try sleeping. He makes his way to the mound and sleeps in much the same manner as the previous day. Vladimir sings him a lullaby, but Estragon soon wakes up with a start.
Estragon sleeps some more, while Vladimir walks around and he comes across Lucky’s hat on the ground. He is extremely pleased because the hat indicates that they are in the right place. He shows the hat to Estragon, who asks to see it, and they begin to exchange their hats. They exchange their hats several times until Vladimir decides to keep Lucky’s hat since his hat has always bothered him. They decide to imitate the roles of the guests from the previous day to pass the time as they wait for Godot. Vladimir takes on the role of Lucky, while he gives Estragon instructions about Pozzo’s behavior since he still does not have any recollection of the past day. Eventually, Estragon tires of the play, and leaves, but he soon returns in a panic as he hears someone coming. Vladimir is certain that Godot is coming, they go to the opposite ends of the stage to watch for any new arrivals. They speak over one another which devolves into an argument. After their argument, they decide to make up with each other by embracing each other warmly. They stagger about on one foot until Lucky and Pozzo appear on the scene. It turns out that Pozzo has become blind and so he does not see when Lucky stops to stare at the pair waiting below the tree. Pozzo slams into Lucky, causing the both of them to fall along with the things that Lucky was holding. Pozzo begins to call for help, but the pair of them are too occupied being glad that their time would pass more quickly now that Lucky and Pozzo had arrived. They discuss whether they can ask Pozzo for some more bones, while Pozzo continues to ask for help and Lucky remains mute. Vladimir decides to help Pozzo, but he too falls in an attempt to help the blind. He seems unable to get up, so he requests Estragon to help him. Estragon doesn’t wish to help and makes it as if to leave. Vladimir begs him to help and promises to leave the place together with him. Estragon agrees to help him, but he falls just as soon as he tries to help Vladimir up.
The four men remain in a heap on the floor. Vladimir and Estragon begin to sleep, but they are eventually woken up by Pozzi’s screams for help. They decide to hit him and begin to kick and punch him while lying prone. Pozzo crawls away from them in a panic, but the pair try to stop him. Estragon wonders if he can guess the name of the individual and Pozzo responds to both Abel and Cain. Estragon concludes that he must be all of humanity. They decide to get up and manage to do it quite easily and go over to help Pozzo up. They heave him up with difficulty and ask him whether he remembered them from the previous day. He claims that he does not remember, so they ask about the cause of his blindness. Pozzo does not know how he became blind, but he just woke up blind one morning. He asks them about Lucky, who happens to be sleeping. Pozzo wakes him up with rope and makes to leave, but the pair ask him to have Lucky recite something for them. He tells them that Lucky is dumb and departs in much the same manner as the previous day. Estragon goes to sleep, while Vladimir begins to pace about but he eventually grows tired of waiting alone so he wakes Estragon up. He is annoyed to be awoken so, and immediately begins to attempt to remove his shoes. A boy enters the stage and Vladimir approaches him. He is aware of what the boy is going to say before he says it, and confirms with the boy that he had not visited them the previous day. The boy confirms that Godot would not come today, but he would come the following day. Vladimir asks the boy about his brother, the boy replies that his brother is sick. Vladimir questions the boy about Godot’s activities and his appearance. The boy says Godot doesn’t do anything and that he has white hair, which seems to surprise Vladimir. He takes the same message from Vladimir as the previous day.
Night falls, and Estragon gives up getting rid of his shoes. He approaches Vladimir and suggests that they leave. Vladimir explains that they can’t go too far since they need to return to that spot to wait for Godot the following day. Estragon says that they can’t go on like that for much longer, and Vladimir agrees. They decide that they will hang themselves the following day if Godot does not arrive. They resolve to return to the spot on the following day with some rope and make to leave. They remain inert on the stage as the curtain closes.
