Criticism: Expressions Of Existentialism

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Introduce the Theme Upon reading many literatures in order to deepen and reflect our understanding about who we truly are, and why do we exist, “ Expressions of Existentialism” seems to be one of the possible themes that can best describe the above questions by conveying us, the readers, to learn the real meaning of our existence through each main character’s actions. Existentialism, from my interpretation, refers to how people in the society attempt to create meaning of their life to justify their existence and to give themselves a reason to live as a force to push them further. In this case, Godot is the reason for Vladimir and Estragon to stay at that place, and is a force that push them to wait longer. While, money is the reason for Harry…show more content…
And many events that occur in the story “Waiting for Godot” and “Chinese Coffee” explains how crucial it is for the main characters to be recognized by others. However, there are some differences regarding the theme “Expression of Existentialism” in both story. The first difference is that in “Waiting for Godot”, every characters seem to have forgotten the identity of both Vladimir and Estragon, while in “Chinese Coffee”, Harry, however, was regarded with the identity although that identity may several time be mistakenly regarded as a can collector or a serial killer, which in fact provoke his anger and make him, every time, feel anxious about his existence. In short, identity recognized is the first difference. Another difference is that in “Waiting for Godot”, there seems to be no character development in terms of achieving their goal. To illustrate, we can see that even at the end of the story, Vladimir and Estragon are unable to move on and is stuck with the feeling of waiting for somebody to come and claim the existence of their beings. While in “Chinese Coffee”, we can see the development of Harry, who from the beginning of the story seems to be nervous about the feedback of the book, the repayment of his money and the trembling body, but at…show more content…
And sometimes in order to gain recognition and response from the society, we, however, can do something absurd like what Vladimir and Estragon have done by waiting and being stuck in that place for eternity. In this case, I can compare it to an absurd act in which people in today’s society want to gain recognition and response in the way they want by going after surgery, and this case does happen to my family member. To me, it is an absurd idea for people to go for surgery only for the purpose to looks better in the same way as others. For me, going for surgery means that we are replicating the same shape of nose, mouth or facial structures, in which we can no longer distinguish our identity from others. And when ask my sister, the reason for her is to look better, so that people will recognize her in a better way, despite the fact that my sister is already another good looking person. And after reading and learning the characters in “Waiting for Godot” and “Chinese Coffee”, this helps me see the vital link in which the response of other people can have an impact on our lives to do an absurd thing or to make an amendment like what Harry does to change his life. In short, learning from the literature can help me see the world and the actions of human in a clearer way, since the actions of characters
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