Life is a Speck

Life is a Speck

Samuel Beckett's absurdist play, Endgame, presents a view into the lives of four survivors who go about their daily routines in an attempt to hold on to a shred of their former normality. Interspersed throughout this routine is a series of lengthy conversations that reveal the true bleakness of the post-apocalyptic environment raging outside the relative comfort of the shelter. Among these conversations is a speech delivered by Hamm, the blind and cynical man who dominates most of the dialogue, that expresses his inner feelings of insignificance. Hamm states that he, as well as his fellow survivors, is “a speck in the void” (Beckett 2954); this metaphor shows that Hamm sees himself as a miniscule entity in the vastness of the universe. The metaphor does not end there, however. The feeling of insecurity extends farther into Hamm's psyche by manifesting his views on blindness and his isolation in the ravaged world into one concise image. The metaphor is Hamm's bitter, three-pronged criticism of the world that provides audiences with an insight into the mind of the angry survivor.

Hamm's speech begins abruptly, catching the audience off guard with his sudden surge of dialogue. He delivers the speech quickly and without preparation; the sudden genesis of the speech implies that Hamm's feelings of isolation in the universe are constantly bubbling inside him, waiting only for the opportune moment to be expressed. The metaphor of being a “speck” parallels Hamm's belief that humanity and, in a direct extension of thought, the earth are merely a tiny ball of dust in the infinity of the cosmic void. This belief of insignificance is the tenor of Hamm's metaphor, while the vehicle is the speck of dust swirling in the infinite darkness. Hamm's reality is defined by these very polarizing images; he sees the world in terms of large and small, light and dark, and futile and fruitful. Hamm's metaphor does not end with just his own reality, however; by including the entirety of the world in the image, Hamm extends the insignificance of life the consciousnesses of his fellow survivors. He is not the only speck of dust floating in the void, but adding three other specks does little to diminish his feelings of insecurity.

The metaphor of isolation in the dark implies Hamm's feelings of insignificance in the universe; however, the image extends farther into Hamm's mind than the feelings of futility. Hamm is a blind individual and, knowing that, the concept of “infinite emptiness” (2954) becomes vastly more revealing. Hamm's audience knows of his disability and would be aware of the implication of an infinite darkness. Hamm lives his entire life in this isolation, knowing only the memories of sight and the sounds of the people he now spends every moment with. His consciousness and his thoughts are his metaphorical “speck in the void” (2954). Through his various speeches, Hamm attempts to shape the void around him, trying to provide more substance to the darkness. However, as his metaphor in this speech attests, nothing he can say or do can overcome the emptiness of his blindness. No manner of speech or no way of acting can reverse the damage done to his eyes. Hamm will remain a mere speck in his own physical void for the rest of his life.

In the same speech, Hamm compounds upon the isolation metaphor. He states that he and his fellow survivors are a “little bit of grit in the middle of the steppe” (2954). This addition to the metaphor adds the final layer to the overall image; Hamm's shelter is a miniscule dot in the maelstrom of post-apocalyptic nothingness raging outside the four, thin walls. Saying that the shelter is a “bit of grit” adds texture to the image Hamm is attempting to conjure; this added texture transforms the previous image of a “speck” into a physical representation of isolation. The steppe in Hamm's image is a reflection of the flat nothingness that Clov observes every day as he looks out the windows. Though the image of human perseverance in the face of apocalyptic destruction would usually be seen as a positive, Hamm spins the metaphor into a bleak and unforgiving image of the futility of human perseverance. Hamm is speaking to three other survivors; his audience is aware of the bleak conditions surrounding the shelter. The knowledge of the outside world compounds the hopeless image for Hamm's audience; their own experiences add a sense of reality to their isolation. Hamm knows this and uses these strong images of isolation to further drag his audience into believing his cynical view of life in the wasteland.

Hamm's metaphor of isolation after the destruction of society has numerous layers that depict both his inner thoughts of insignificance and his thoughts on his physical isolation from the outside world. Hamm uses these metaphors to force his world view upon his audience; he places emphasis upon the images of isolation as he growls out his speech. His audience is forced to listen to his ramblings. They are all isolated from the outside world and only have each other for company. In this case, Hamm's image of isolation in the “infinite emptiness” (2954) is accurate and further strengthens his arguments. Hamm's well constructed metaphors of isolation and insignificance are hard to deny, especially for an audience who is trapped in a post-apocalyptic shelter surrounded by the remnants of society.

Hamm's speech: http://youtu.be/nLgd1viQ9hs?t=6m25s The speech continues until 7:57.