The Identity Crisis in Beckett's Endgame and Not I

Abstract

The identity crisis is a pivotal theme in the Absurd theatre. It is so much connected with the whole idea of the Absurd theatre which is intended to depict the dilemma of the modern man especially after the Second World War. The best voice and pioneer of this theatre and its philosophy is Samuel Beckett. He manipulates all elements of this theatre and uses them to serve his purpose of exploring the theme of the identity crisis in his plays Endgame and Not I.
   In these plays, he presents to us unwell-observed characters through a disintegrated dialogue, which most of the time seems meaningless outwardly. He depends on depicting images rather than actions or events to unveil his theme. He does not present the plot in a conventional sense of the word nor the structure, the setting, the character and their conflict.
   These plays take the form of something like a dream or nightmare flowing through symbolically maimed characters uttering outwardly nonsensical language. However, his genius shows itself when he gradually and philosophically reveals his main theme of the loss of identity throughout and at the end of each play. He makes the experience of going through these plays very enriching and enjoyable.