Beckett's Endgame and the Philosophical Concept of the Absurd

Samuel Beckett was one of the authors at the crux of the twentieth-century French philosophical movement known as the “Theater of the Absurd”. The concept of the absurd manifests itself in Beckett’s Endgame, through it’s irrationality, meaninglessness, and use of dark humor, particularly in the interactions between Hamm and Clov. The absence of meaning is the element most representative of the philosophical concept of the absurd, and is shown in several ways throughout the play. Firstly, there is no particular resolution or redemption for any character in the play. Hamm and Clov are tormented throughout the play while they engage in the same meaningless, repetitive routine day after day. Clov will threaten to quit serving Hamm, or Hamm will tell him to leave. 

They engage in the same repetitive conversations every day, and even the characters Nagg and Nell go through the same daily farce of attempting to kiss one another from their respective bins. Additionally, Clov’s opening lines in the play where he states, “Finished, it’s finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished. Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there’s a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap.” (2210) Clov is trying to explain how since everything keeps repeating there is no final situation to analyze and that prevents everyone from extracting any meaning from their lives. This quote sums up early on the meaningless that Beckett was trying to create in his play. Instead of trying to obtain some type of meaningful lifestyle, Hamm and Clov choose to sit inside and wait for death.