The Quest Theme In Samuel Beckett’s Theaters

The theme of quest is the traditional topic in the western literature. As one of the greatest playwrights in western literature, Samuel Beckett continued the theme of quest in the process of promoting the Theater of the Absurd to its limit. But he went even further. In his theaters he tried his efforts to manifests the dying people in absurd reality who were always waiting negatively and hopelessly, which seem to have transferred strong tragic color. However, this is an misunderstanding for himself! Because hopeless wandering is also the aimless pursuit. There is miserably throbbing soul wrapped in the never-give-up body. Based on the reason, this paper chooses the Beckett’s theaters as researching object and takes the quest theme as the cut to discuss the theme of theaters, and attempts to display the glittering light of life in Beckett’s theaters, then illustrates the playwright’s suffering consciousness and humanity care.This paper is divided into five parts:Introduction, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four and Conclusion. At the beginning, the thesis combs the present study situation of Beckett at home and abroad, and clarify the purpose and significance of this thesis. In Chapter One, based on Beckett’s life experiences, the thesis tries to trace its influence on the playwright life philosophy and literary creation. Chapter Two focus on the quest theme in western literature, digs out the unique value of Beckett’s quest theme. In Chapter Three, the thesis presents the characters’ anxiety from the context, analysis the body crisis, spirit crisis and language crisis in dilemma they suffered, which actually constitutes metaphor with the existence. In Chapter Four, the thesis examines the corresponding relationship between deconstruction theory and Becket’s works, then traces back to the generation of the theme of quest in Beckett’s theaters by reference to Gilles Deleuze’s generation theory. At last, the conclusion that the dying characters’ survival dilemmas reflect their strong desire to get rid of the absurd reality, then the humane rescuing soul embodied in Beckett’s theaters were concluded, by which the quest theme was illustrated perfectly.Through the analysis of the quest theme in Beckett’s theaters, we found that Beckett was pregnant with the great feelings of compassion, full of suffering consciousness.Through the theaters, Beckett showed the authentic state of human beings to his readers, who never yield to the harsh reality and struggle against fatalism. Beckett helped mankind restore confidence, the infinite desire, the aspiration of keeping life forever, also aroused the audience’s consideration and the query on human existence and the meanings of life.