Waiting for Godot is a fun play. Sure it's weird and confusing, and maybe pointless. It's also sad, difficult, and uncomfortable. Was it written for high school students to study? Probably not. Beckett, I think, just wanted to do something different, something loosely in the existentialist vein. I think he nailed it, whatever "it" is. He throws the absurdity of life right in your face, and you have to laugh or cry. So, how do you approach this with students? Well, first, you watch this video.
Then you get scripts, go outside, find a tree, and put it on. Have students take turns reading the few parts, and give them some direction as you go. That's what I've done with my World Literature class so far. Next, we're going to write our own parodies. I'm aiming for them to see how the sense of humor in Godot has permeated popular culture in the last 60 years. We'll see how it goes. Right now, my students are laughing and enjoying themselves with this. That, in itself, is worth a lot.
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