“Endgame” by Samuel Beckett Essay

Finished, its finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished shred upon grain, oneness by one, and one day, suddenly, theres a cumulation, a little heap, the impossible heap. (p. 3) Here the endgame starts. In chess the endgame is defined as the stage of the game when tho few pieces ar left on the board. The same is with the Becketts play as there are only four people left. The endgame is a series of moves when the game is near the ending and its return is decided before the ceremony of the endgame occurs.Samuel Beckett is known to be a chess player and in the play the author compares the endgame with the end of life death as death is inevitable as the game always ends. We see that in the play the main characters are enacting repetitive rituals labeled as the part of their endgame. Despite inevitable outcome the main characters are dragging by dint of the final moves qualification their routines and they are doing whatever it takes to get through the day and to see th e next day. The characters try to get through despite their game is lost.The idea of chess game is put in accordance with fecal matters on the stage. The roughly vulnerable piece on the board is Hamm who utters Me to play. (p. 18) Hamm is perceived as the King and he seems to be the most powerful. Clov is protective character in the centre of the board and Hamm often relies on him. Therefore, Clov is presented as the cigarette and he is able to move easily. However, his erratic way of movement seems to be more suitable to the movement of the Knight. Nell and Nagg are insignificant characters and they are viewed as the Pawns they appear only when the King calls for them.One by one the main characters are dying and one by one the chess figures are leaving the board. null is eternal in the world and every game has its ending. The theme of chess play shows cyclical creation the play ends with a stalemate. The game will be played over and over again. plant life CitedAdorno, Theodo r W. Trying to Understand endgame 1961, The New German Critique, no. 26, (Spring-Summer 1982) pp. 119-150. In The Adorno Reader ed. Brian OConnor. Blackwell Publishers. 2000. Beckett, Samuel. Endgame and the Act Without Words. USA Groove Press, 1994.