Significance of the ‘Tree’ in the Setting of Waiting for Godot
The
‘Tree’ generally represents the ‘cross’ on which Jesus Christ was crucified. As
such, it is argued that the ‘Tree’ stands as a symbol of hope in the play;
because it means that the religious dimension is not completely absent. Indeed,
the cross, which is often referred to as the tree in Christian literature, is
not a symbol of despair to the Christians. In the light of the Resurrection, it
is in fact, the very opposite; it is a sign of the Victory over the forces of the
world. Moreover it is claimed, this interpretation of the tree in Waiting for Godot is confirmed by the fact that the tree is seen to have grown leaves in
the second Act.
But
we see that the growth of leaves of the tree does not attract the attention of
the tramps in the second Act. When Vladimir tries to convince his friend that
they were in the same place the day before, Estragon describes the entire
landscape as a ‘muckheap’.
In
view of this lack of response, it is difficult to interpret the tree as a symbol
of hope. The tramps hardly make any response to the growth of the leaves. Thus
if there is hope, they certainly do not recognize it. So the tree would rather
seem to be a symbol of the irrelevance of the Christian response to their
predicament.
The tree represents life and hope
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