臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

論文名稱：撒姆爾‧貝克特之《等待果陀》一劇中的存在主義要素
系所組別：國立高雄師範大學研究所
畢業時間及提要別：八十九學年度第二學期碩士論文摘要
指導教授：廖本瑞博士
研究生：黃沁芬
論文提要：
存在主義和荒謬劇場均發源於法國巴黎並非巧合。第二次世界大戰中，巴黎是飽受戰火摧殘最嚴重的地方。大戰促使人們思考人生的不確定、虛無和疏離。存在主義正是一門探討這些主題的哲學，而荒謬劇場則提供了獨一無二的戲劇形式來呈現這些存在主義的觀點。在撒姆爾‧貝克特《等待果陀》一劇中，存在主義和荒謬劇場融合在一起呈現人類的存在。
論文第一章指出撒姆爾‧貝克特對評論家們評論其作品有著矛盾的態度。本章大部分的篇幅簡介此論文立論的基礎：存在主義和荒謬劇場分別為撒姆爾‧貝克特《等待果陀》一劇的內涵和形式。
第二章論述《等待果陀》表達出存在主義思想中對理性和邏輯的質疑。在本劇中，貝克特不僅顛覆了因果關係的確定性也攻破了理性的根基。劇中沒有以因果關係發展的線性情節，角色缺乏合理動機、前後一致的刻劃，時空的展現也十分模糊不清。詩的意象不只呈現存在主義的主題，也有戲劇懸疑的效果。
第三章論述貝克特的《等待果陀》傳達和沙特的無神論相同的論調。劇中貝克特瓦解了西方傳統權威的基督宗教。聖經和上帝被呈現為不可信靠的。
第四章論述貝克特《等待果陀》一劇中呈現的人類存在真象和存在主義者所提出的如初一轍。人的在世存有不能經由客觀超然的認知加以闡明。唯有人的情緒，如焦慮、無聊和絕望可以揭示人類在世存有的真象：虛無、有限的自由和做抉擇的責任為人類存在的核心。唯有勇敢的面對此一真象及做出斷然的決定才能獲得真實的存在。
第五章為結論，解析《等待果陀》一劇如何為它的觀眾帶來醫治性的震撼。藉由觀賞此劇，觀眾體驗了人生的絕對真象和奧秘。此種體驗賦予觀眾甦醒的心智和力量去面對人生。

Abstract
Both existentialism and the theater of the absurd started in Paris after the Second World War. At that time Paris was the place where people suffered the deepest distress and greatest humiliation. The war prompted people to contemplate uncertainty, nothingness and alienation of human life, and existentialism is a philosophy dealing with these human existential issues. Furthermore, the theater of the absurd offered a unique dramatic format to express existentialist viewpoints. In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, existentialism and the theater of absurd are interwoven to present human existence.
This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One starts with Samuel Beckett’s paradoxical critical attitudes toward his own works. Beckett’s ambivalent attitude grants us freedom to interpret his works by focusing on the text itself. Mostof Chapter One is a brief introduction to the critical stance of my thesis: existentialism and the theater of the absurd serve as content and form of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
Chapter Two will focuses on the uncertainty of rationality and logic, which is the mainstream of intellectual systems from Aristotle onward in the Western World. Existentialists propose that human existence cannot be explained through objective and detached logical thinking, since man’s naked existence is existential becoming that involves his inward passion, feelings and subjectivity. In Godot, Beckett undermines the certainty of cause-effect principle and attacks the foundation of rationality.
First, instead of a linear plot constructed in causality, there is actually no plot to tell in Godot. Moreover, characters in the play are eccentric ones without reasonable motivations and subtle, consistent characterizations. The setting in the play is problematic. Finally, poetic images are used not only for presenting existentialist themes but also for theatrical suspense.
Chapter Three is about subversion of Christianity, which is the dominant conventional religion of the Western World. There is parallelism between Jean-Paul Sartre’s atheism and Beckett’s Godot. In Godot, Beckett undermines the authority of Christianity.
Chapter Four highlights human existential reality. For existentialists, man’s being-in-the-world cannot be revealed through any objectified cognitive system. Only various modifications of moods, such as anxiety, boredom and despair, can disclose human existential reality: nothingness, finite freedom and the responsibility of making choices are at the core of man’s being. Only by courageously facing this reality and by making resolute choices for his life can man attain authentic existence.
Chapter Five, the conclusion, elaborates on the “therapeutic shock” Godot produces for its audience. Beyond any rational comprehension, the audience of Godot gets a mystical experience of the ineffability of the ultimate reality of human existence. This experience gives the audience the serenity of mind and the strength to face the human condition.

Table of Contents
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii
Chapter One: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter Two:
Uncertainty of Logic and Rationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Chapter Three: The Subversion of Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Chapter Four: Human Existential Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Chapter Five: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Selected Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Selected Bibliography
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