The play is so very fragmented and abstract that it is those rare moments is makes perfect, coherent sense that are my favorite. More specifically, the one passage that had evoked most thought is on page 414, spoken by Winnie:
"Ah, yes, so little to say, so little to do, and the fear so great, certain days, of finding oneself... that the days go by, quite by, the bell goes, and little or nothing said, little or nothing done."
This existentialist outlook is not so inspiring to do more as it is rather depressing in portraying the futility and "smallness" of human actions in relation to the overwhelming greatness of the world, where "oneself" is never really "found".
My favorite passage of the play Happy Days by Samuel Beckett is found on page 410. There is ambiguity in Winnie’s language. For example, she mentioned “Words fail, there are times, when they fail. Is that not so, Willie? That even words fail, at times.” In my opinion, she is cognizant of the fact that she talks a lot, in fragments. How can words fail Winnie when she talks so much? This seems ambiguous and hilarious. Secondly, the language she uses while addressing, Willie, her husband, to guide him back to his hole is ambiguous and their tones suggest a sexual understanding. For example, “Go back into your hole now, Willie, you’ve exposed yourself enough… not head first stupid how are you going to turn? That’s it…right around…now…back in… but it is rewarding in the end. You have left your vaseline behind. More to the right. The right I said."
I like the imagery/subtext of aging that's found in the play. Winnie's lament in Act 2 in which she says "Oh no doubt you are dead like the others..." and "the bag is still here..." are the reflections of a person growing older and losing those who were dear to them as time passes on. The "bag" I read as that the passing of time does nothing to take away all the silly, petty, daily trifles that make up life.
The struggle that this woman is going through to keep hope alive is sad, depressing and yet, unfortunately, so very true in reality for many woman (and even men). I enjoyed the following passage because to me it shows her trying to turn away from a negative option--"(To revolver)'Oh I suppose it's a comfort to know you're there, but i'm tired of you...I'll leave you out, that's what i'll do.'"She lays revolver on ground to her right" 'There, that's your home from this day out. (Smile) Unfortunately, she ends up putting it back in her bag later.
When I first read this play, I thought of the Metamorphsis by Franz Kafka, how the characters were given animalistic qualities. I saw this when Willie was always walking around on all fours, Winnie even says "Keep your tail down". My favorite passage is when Winnie says " Oh you are going to talk to me today, this is going to be a happy day!. Another happy day. Ah well, where was I, my hair, yes, later on, I shall be thankful for it later on" (409)" and on page 411 she also says "Bless you Willie I do appreciate your goodness I know what an effort costs you, not you may relax I shall not trouble you unless, im obliged to... just to know that in theory you can hear mme even though in fact you don't is all i need, just to feel you there within earshot and conceivably..." (411). These two passages makes clear sense to me. I think this is the whole theme. Winnie is scared to be alone. Willie's presence is very important to her, even though she talks more than him throughtout the play. That is human nature. Willie beiing there with her gives her those happy days that she constantly talks about. When she starts to talk to him, you always see in the narration that most of the time she is smiling. Even on page 414 she says that she finds joy in him just being there and that is what gives her happy days. I just dislike the fact that she takes to him as a child. He is old or else he would not have been bald.
On the top of page 406 there is a combination of description and dialogue from Winnie that is my favorite part:
" [turns to bag, rummages in it, brings out revolver, holds it up, kisses it rapidly, puts it back, rummages, brings out almost empty bottle of red medicine, turns back front, looks for spectacles, puts them on, reads label.]'Loss of spirits..lack of keenness..want of appetite..infants..children..adults..six level..tablespoonfuls daily-[head up, smile]"
I know this seems to be a strange passage to like the best, but I thought it interesting that Winnie would need to read the directions out loud as if she had forgotten. Not to mention the revolver, she just passes it over like it isn't important. I think Winnie reading her medications out loud shows how simple minded and 'old style' she really is. The concept to her seemed strange. The intensity of this play led to some very difficult readings and understandings of the dialogue but more so in the descriptions.
I really did not have a favorite passage or a least favorite passage in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. I really did not understand this play. I found it to be weitd and confusing.
I really did not understand what ws going on or what this play was about. Maybe class discussion will clarify this play!
Well, in that case, all you need to do is take a passage, say what you find difficult about it, and take a stab at interpreting it. Just taking that first step can lead to a process of writing yourself into better understanding.
At the end of Winnie's ritual she says... "world without end." I find this to be intriguing because it shows that she is an optimistic person. It also shows that she believes that the world in everlasting.
Another line that she tends to keep repeating is "this is going to be a happy day(or something in this nature). Again, this quotes shows that she has a positive outlook on life regardless if she is stuck in her current position. It also makes me question whether her "happy day" would be the day of her death because on page 407-408, she refers to the "happy day" as "when flesh melts at so many degrees and the night of the moon has so many hundred hours.
The repetition of “[smile]–to speak in the old style–[smile off]” intrigues me for two reasons: what is this “old style” and what does its frame of “[smile]… [smile off]” connote?
When reading through the play, one notices that every time Winnie mentions “the old style” it is prefaced by words concerning time, like day, night, and hour. Time is viewed as a past entity, alluding to the fact that this play occurs outside its realm.
Winnie’s actions are superficial and mechanical; in an obsessive-compulsive manner, she goes through her routine of holding the toothbrush, wiping her glasses, putting on her glasses, etc. “[Smile]… [smile off]” is a repetitious occurrence that demonstrates this principle. Her smile arrives predictably and leaves suddenly, indicating that her smile is not real but part of a rendition.
My favorite passage in the play was when Winnie finally explains what her "happy day" is. From the beginning of the play, I was confused of what was going on and was unable to grasp the play in a way that made sense to me. When you finally get to a point where your able to make significant connections, you become more confident of what your reading about. On page 407 in the play Winnie states, "And if for some strange reason no further pains are possible, why then just close the eyes-and wait for the day to come-the happy day to come when flesh melts to so many degrees and the night of the moon has so many hundred hours." The idea of status vs. change is brought up and and it is clear to us that her happy day is the day of herr death.
"Goon now Wilie. Not the head first stupid, how are you going to turn? That's it...right around...now...haw are you going to turn? You have left your vaseline behind" For one strange reason or another, I think this has some sort of sexual connotation lurking in the dark. I would not say that it's my fvorite or least favorite, I don't think I enjoyed the play that much. However, that statement keeps replaying in my mind. I'm not sure why, but I think there is a deeper meaning.
12 comments:
The play is so very fragmented and abstract that it is those rare moments is makes perfect, coherent sense that are my favorite. More specifically, the one passage that had evoked most thought is on page 414, spoken by Winnie:
"Ah, yes, so little to say, so little to do, and the fear so great, certain days, of finding oneself... that the days go by, quite by, the bell goes, and little or nothing said, little or nothing done."
This existentialist outlook is not so inspiring to do more as it is rather depressing in portraying the futility and "smallness" of human actions in relation to the overwhelming greatness of the world, where "oneself" is never really "found".
My favorite passage of the play Happy Days by Samuel Beckett is found on page 410.
There is ambiguity in Winnie’s language. For example, she mentioned “Words fail, there are times, when they fail. Is that not so, Willie? That even words fail, at times.” In my opinion, she is cognizant of the fact that she talks a lot, in fragments. How can words fail Winnie when she talks so much? This seems ambiguous and hilarious.
Secondly, the language she uses while addressing, Willie, her husband, to guide him back to his hole is ambiguous and their tones suggest a sexual understanding. For example, “Go back into your hole now, Willie, you’ve exposed yourself enough… not head first stupid how are you going to turn? That’s it…right around…now…back in… but it is rewarding in the end. You have left your vaseline behind. More to the right. The right I said."
I like the imagery/subtext of aging that's found in the play. Winnie's lament in Act 2 in which she says "Oh no doubt you are dead like the others..." and "the bag is still here..." are the reflections of a person growing older and losing those who were dear to them as time passes on. The "bag" I read as that the passing of time does nothing to take away all the silly, petty, daily trifles that make up life.
The struggle that this woman is going through to keep hope alive is sad, depressing and yet, unfortunately, so very true in reality for many woman (and even men). I enjoyed the following passage because to me it shows her trying to turn away from a negative option--"(To revolver)'Oh I suppose it's a comfort to know you're there, but i'm tired of you...I'll leave you out, that's what i'll do.'"She lays revolver on ground to her right" 'There, that's your home from this day out. (Smile) Unfortunately, she ends up putting it back in her bag later.
When I first read this play, I thought of the Metamorphsis by Franz Kafka, how the characters were given animalistic qualities. I saw this when Willie was always walking around on all fours, Winnie even says "Keep your tail down". My favorite passage is when Winnie says " Oh you are going to talk to me today, this is going to be a happy day!. Another happy day. Ah well, where was I, my hair, yes, later on, I shall be thankful for it later on" (409)" and on page 411 she also says "Bless you Willie I do appreciate your goodness I know what an effort costs you, not you may relax I shall not trouble you unless, im obliged to... just to know that in theory you can hear mme even though in fact you don't is all i need, just to feel you there within earshot and conceivably..." (411). These two passages makes clear sense to me. I think this is the whole theme. Winnie is scared to be alone. Willie's presence is very important to her, even though she talks more than him throughtout the play. That is human nature. Willie beiing there with her gives her those happy days that she constantly talks about. When she starts to talk to him, you always see in the narration that most of the time she is smiling. Even on page 414 she says that she finds joy in him just being there and that is what gives her happy days. I just dislike the fact that she takes to him as a child. He is old or else he would not have been bald.
On the top of page 406 there is a combination of description and dialogue from Winnie that is my favorite part:
" [turns to bag, rummages in it, brings out revolver, holds it up, kisses it rapidly, puts it back, rummages, brings out almost empty bottle of red medicine, turns back front, looks for spectacles, puts them on, reads label.]'Loss of spirits..lack of keenness..want of appetite..infants..children..adults..six level..tablespoonfuls daily-[head up, smile]"
I know this seems to be a strange passage to like the best, but I thought it interesting that Winnie would need to read the directions out loud as if she had forgotten. Not to mention the revolver, she just passes it over like it isn't important. I think Winnie reading her medications out loud shows how simple minded and 'old style' she really is. The concept to her seemed strange. The intensity of this play led to some very difficult readings and understandings of the dialogue but more so in the descriptions.
I really did not have a favorite passage or a least favorite passage in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. I really did not understand this play. I found it to be weitd and confusing.
I really did not understand what ws going on or what this play was about. Maybe class discussion will clarify this play!
Well, in that case, all you need to do is take a passage, say what you find difficult about it, and take a stab at interpreting it. Just taking that first step can lead to a process of writing yourself into better understanding.
At the end of Winnie's ritual she says... "world without end." I find this to be intriguing because it shows that she is an optimistic person. It also shows that she believes that the world in everlasting.
Another line that she tends to keep repeating is "this is going to be a happy day(or something in this nature). Again, this quotes shows that she has a positive outlook on life regardless if she is stuck in her current position. It also makes me question whether her "happy day" would be the day of her death because on page 407-408, she refers to the "happy day" as "when flesh melts at so many degrees and the night of the moon has so many hundred hours.
The repetition of “[smile]–to speak in the old style–[smile off]” intrigues me for two reasons: what is this “old style” and what does its frame of “[smile]… [smile off]” connote?
When reading through the play, one notices that every time Winnie mentions “the old style” it is prefaced by words concerning time, like day, night, and hour. Time is viewed as a past entity, alluding to the fact that this play occurs outside its realm.
Winnie’s actions are superficial and mechanical; in an obsessive-compulsive manner, she goes through her routine of holding the toothbrush, wiping her glasses, putting on her glasses, etc. “[Smile]… [smile off]” is a repetitious occurrence that demonstrates this principle. Her smile arrives predictably and leaves suddenly, indicating that her smile is not real but part of a rendition.
My favorite passage in the play was when Winnie finally explains what her "happy day" is. From the beginning of the play, I was confused of what was going on and was unable to grasp the play in a way that made sense to me. When you finally get to a point where your able to make significant connections, you become more confident of what your reading about. On page 407 in the play Winnie states, "And if for some strange reason no further pains are possible, why then just close the eyes-and wait for the day to come-the happy day to come when flesh melts to so many degrees and the night of the moon has so many hundred hours." The idea of status vs. change is brought up and and it is clear to us that her happy day is the day of herr death.
"Goon now Wilie. Not the head first stupid, how are you going to turn? That's it...right around...now...haw are you going to turn? You have left your vaseline behind" For one strange reason or another, I think this has some sort of sexual connotation lurking in the dark. I would not say that it's my fvorite or least favorite, I don't think I enjoyed the play that much. However, that statement keeps replaying in my mind. I'm not sure why, but I think there is a deeper meaning.
Post a Comment