Into the silence of the objects : analyzing Samuel Beckett’s nothingness
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2011
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Edições Universitárias Lusófonas
Resumo
Os objetos têm sempre desempenhado um papel fundamental nas nossas vidas, pela forma como
eles, passivamente, fazem-nos companhia e transmitem tacitamente a sua quietude inata. Contudo, o que acontece quando os objetos se tornam uma presença tão poderosa que, como resultado, dominam
a vida das pessoas? Noutras palavras, o que é que acontece quando os objetos sobrecarregam
as pessoas com as suas potentes (falando literalmente, sempre lá) presenças?
No silêncio dos objetos há um lugar onde nos tornamos conscientes da nossa insignificância, da
nossa crise de identidade,ansiedade de linguagem e entorpecimento. Mas nas peças Endgame e
Act without Words I de Samuel Beckett, o dramaturgo gradualmente capta a inutilidade da vida das personagens principais e a transformação das suas mentes e corpos numa coleção de objetos arquivados.
Sem interagir com outras pessoas e por se autoencarcerarem estas personagens de Beckett esquecem-se o que é ser humano e tornam-se «uma não-coisa, nada». Pode haver um facto perturbador nesta realização, e, sem dúvida, até mesmo uma infeliz aliteração; mesmo assim, o que
é ainda mais chocante é que estas personagens são paradigmáticas em relação ao que significa ter
pisado uma aniquilação prematura ontológica e existencial. Estas são agora objetos abandonados entre outros objetos, uma espécie de coleção ineficaz. Com base nestes argumentos, este ensaio mostra uma tremenda influência de Beckett no desenvolvimento
da teoria da descarnalizaçao e da desmaterialização do corpo e mente do povo, culminando
na revolução tecnológica onde queremos ser empilhados dentro de incontáveis arquivos
de computador. O principal argumento propõe uma reflexão sobre como podemos pôr em perigo a
nossa sofisticação emocional e social, jogando este complicado «jogo» digital.
Objects have always played a fundamental role in our lives, as they passively keep us company and tacitly impart their innate quietude. However, what happens when objects become such a powerful presence that, as a result, they dominate characters’ lives? Put differently, what happens when objects overwhelm people with their potent (that is literally, always there) presence? Into the silence of the objects is a place where we become aware of our nothingness, identity crisis, language anxiety, and stasis. In Samuel Beckett’s plays Endgame (1958)and Act without Words I (1956), the playwright gradually captures the uselessness of the main characters’ lives and the transformation of their minds and bodies into a collection of archived objects. Without interacting with other people and by self-incarcerating themselves, these Beckettian characters forget what is to be human and become “not-a-thing, nothing.” There may be a disturbing fact in this realization, and, arguably, even an unfortunate alliteration; nonetheless, what is even more shocking is that these characters are paradigmatic for what it means to have stepped into premature ontological and existential annihilation. They are now abandoned objects among other objects, an ineffectual collection of sorts. Based on these arguments, this essay shows Beckett’s tremendous influence toward the development of the theory of de-carnalizing and/or de-materializing of the people’s body and mind, culminating to the technological revolution when we want to be stacked up within uncountable computer files. The main argument proposes a reflection on how much we endanger our emotional and social sophistication by playing this digital, tricky “game.”
Objects have always played a fundamental role in our lives, as they passively keep us company and tacitly impart their innate quietude. However, what happens when objects become such a powerful presence that, as a result, they dominate characters’ lives? Put differently, what happens when objects overwhelm people with their potent (that is literally, always there) presence? Into the silence of the objects is a place where we become aware of our nothingness, identity crisis, language anxiety, and stasis. In Samuel Beckett’s plays Endgame (1958)and Act without Words I (1956), the playwright gradually captures the uselessness of the main characters’ lives and the transformation of their minds and bodies into a collection of archived objects. Without interacting with other people and by self-incarcerating themselves, these Beckettian characters forget what is to be human and become “not-a-thing, nothing.” There may be a disturbing fact in this realization, and, arguably, even an unfortunate alliteration; nonetheless, what is even more shocking is that these characters are paradigmatic for what it means to have stepped into premature ontological and existential annihilation. They are now abandoned objects among other objects, an ineffectual collection of sorts. Based on these arguments, this essay shows Beckett’s tremendous influence toward the development of the theory of de-carnalizing and/or de-materializing of the people’s body and mind, culminating to the technological revolution when we want to be stacked up within uncountable computer files. The main argument proposes a reflection on how much we endanger our emotional and social sophistication by playing this digital, tricky “game.”
Descrição
Babilónia : Revista Lusófona de Línguas, Culturas e Tradução
Palavras-chave
LINGUÍSTICA, TEATRO, TEORIA DA LITERATURA, LITERATURA, ANÁLISE LITERÁRIA, LINGUISTICS, THEATRE, LITERARY THEORY, LITERATURE, LITERARY ANALYSIS