ESTRAGON: In the meantime let us try and converse calmly, since we are incapable of keeping silent.VLADIMIR: You're right, we're inexhaustible.ESTRAGON: It's so we won't think.VLADIMIR: We have that excuse.ESTRAGON: It's so we won't hear.VLADIMIR: We have our reasons.ESTRAGON: All the dead voices.
In Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," the characters Estragon and Vladimir engage in a dialogue revealing their struggle with silence. Estragon suggests that they should converse calmly, acknowledging that their inability to stay quiet drives them to talk incessantly. Vladimir agrees, highlighting their endless capacity for conversation, which serves as a distraction from deeper thoughts and feelings.
The characters recognize that their incessant chatter is a deliberate choice to avoid confronting painful realities—symbolized by the "dead voices." This exchange illustrates their shared intent to escape uncomfortable truths through conversation, underscoring the existential themes of the play. Their dialogue serves as both a coping mechanism and a reflection of their condition of waiting, emphasizing the weight of unspoken fears they choose to ignore.
