A ray of light in samuel beckett's plays: waiting for godot, endgame, and happy days

The purpose of my thesis is to reveal a ray of light in a world of death, suffering, and decay in Samuel Beckett's plays: Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days. In the thesis, I argue that Beckett shows how human beings can have hope, joy of life, and courage to go on in a world of void. The Introduction focuses on the time the plays were written. I discuss the impact of the post-World War II spirit on western drama and in particular Beckett's plays. Then Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days are examined in terms of suffering, human persistence, and hope. In the discussion of the three plays, first, I show how Beckett portrays a gloomy, and dark atmosphere through a bare stage, and plot. The harsh living conditions that the characters have to endure are explained. Second, I explain that hope is an essential aspect of human nature. No matter how desperate characters' condition seems to be, they maintain their strength and courage to resume the struggle. Despite poverty, solitude, and boredom, they do not yield to death. The characters have an untiring hope that their living conditions will improve one-day. Finally, I conclude that Beckett himself should have had the belief in life in order to write his plays, novels, and poems.