Bring out the
significance of the Lucky-Pozzo relationship.
Through the character of Lucky and Pozzo,
the theme of oppression and cruelty is made to surface in Beckett’s tragi-comedy
Waiting for Godot. The relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is reflected
in the physical bond that holds them together- the link of the rope. The
relationship between them is that of slave and master, the dominant and the
dominating, though in Act ll it takes on another aspect, that of the dumb
leading the blind. The relationship represents the exploitation that is a
feature of social life.
In Act I, Pozzo is shown treating Lucky
worse than an animal. Lucky is being driven “by means of a rope passed round
his neck”. Here Lucky is no better than a beast of burden, and there are
sores on his neck. He is being whipped often. He is essentially the horse
pulling Pozzo’s carriage in a relationship that seems cruel, domineering, and undesirable,
and yet Lucky is strangely sycophantic. Despite his miserable condition, he
does not resist or complain. According to Pozzo, Lucky keeps on holding the
luggage all the time because he does not want to leave Pozzo’s service; he
hopes that his zeal might favourably impress his master. In explaining Lucky’s
behavior, Pozzo says, “Why he doesn’t make himself comfortable? Let’s try
and get this clear. Has he not the right to? Certainly he has. It follows that
he doesn’t want to…. He imagines that when I see how well he carries I’ll be
tempted to keep him on in that capacity…. As though I were short of slaves.”
Both Pozzo and Lucky represent the two complementary sides of society-
exploiter and exploited. They together make it up. Without Lucky, Pozzo cannot
move forward, sit down to eat, or get up. Lucky cannot move either, except in
response to Pozzo’s shouted orders and whip cracks. Together they compose a
functioning
organization.
The relationship between Pozzo and Lucky
does not, however, stagnate in act I. The very next day, when the two appears,
the rope between them is significantly shorter so that the now-blind Pozzo may
find his way. In this new situation, it is less clear which character leads the
other, or if either one is truly in control. As the stage directions read,
“Pozzo is blind… Rope as before, but much shorter, so that Pozzo may follow more easily”.
