Apathy in Godot and Se7en

Why were we humans put on this earth? Are our lives just a show for some greater power? Beckett explores these ideas in his tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot. The play follows two characters, Vladimir and Estragon while they wait for a man who told them to wait for him at a spot under a tree. Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett is a portrayal of humanity as a play. The play represents the never-ending wait for God and how God told us to wait on this spot of the universe, called Earth. Throughout the play we see Vladimir and Estragon go about doing random things just to keep themselves from getting bored while waiting for a man named Godot to meet them at their spot under a tree. While reading this play, the reader may think, "What is the point of all of this?" Well the answer to this question, even though it is rather cynical, is that the play is trying to show that our lives are just a gigantic play on God's stage in which we are puppets made for God's entertainment.

Vladimir and Estragon bring up the theme of apathy in the play in Act II when they see Pozzo, blind at this point, fall and do nothing to help him up until he calls for help multiple times. From this example, we can see that Beckett is trying to present society as the reason for this apathy. The theme of apathy can also be found in David Fincher's movie Se7en.

For those of you who have not yet seen this movie, it is about two homicide detectives that are hunting a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his method of operation.

In the movie, the serial killer who is known as John Doe brings the idea forth when he writes this quote,

“What sick, ridiculous, puppets we are. What a gross little stage we dance on. What fun we have dancing, fucking, not a care in the world, not knowing that we are nothing. We are not what was intended."

Doe also believes that everyone in society has become so apathetic to everything around him or her that if you want people to listen, “you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.” Even though Doe is psycho, he has a point, people today have gotten so apathetic to the world around them that it is hard to just grab people’s attention or to get people to listen to you.

One of the detectives in the movie, Detective Somerset, believes in this apathy. He says that people would much rather “eat cheeseburgers, play the lotto, or watch television.” This is true because I sympathize with what Detective Somerset is saying. I would much rather eat a cheeseburger or play videogames than do schoolwork. I would much rather play basketball, tennis, or soccer than study for a midterm or final.  The funny thing about this is that I know I am not the only one who would do this. I know that I am not the only procrastinator here. Perhaps a reason as to why we have become so apathetic is our technology. Our technology has advanced to the point of where it has overlapped our humanity and there is no need for so much human interaction. People can be entertained endlessly through the Internet and social networking that there is no need to leave the house and have actual face-to-face conversations. Another reason for this could be our society. Our society is built upon what is easier. Apathy is the easier route. Caring for others takes time and is more difficult than just caring for yourself. We always decide to pick the easier route because, well, it’s easier. Even though the ending to the movie is pretty depressing, there is still a lesson to be learned here. The lesson is that we should not be apathetic; we should be open-minded and listen to the thoughts of others, but if we care too much, we might end up destroying ourselves in a blind fury.