Essay

Watch the play Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett  

Modernism had human beings looking inward to try to better understand themselves, rather than just considering their exterior world.  Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) was part of a drama literary movement called Theater of the Absurd.  His works were abstract and looked at the condition of humans in modern society confronted with a world that contained war, industrialization, technology, widespread migration to cities (which were largely overcrowded and unsanitary), and other dehumanizing entities.  The works of writers in Theater of the Absurd was meant to challenge realism yet connect to the audience psychologically.  In the play, Krapp is listening to recordings of himself when he was younger (instead of keeping a paper diary, he uses a tape recorder) and makes a recording of his impressions of listening to his younger self.  What does the play say about youth, getting older, and how a person changes over time?  Also, what were your impressions / opinions about the play?

A Brief Essay Response should consist of at least 8 sentences, following this format:
A topic sentence that answers the essay question generally.
A sentence that makes your first point or gives your first answer.
A sentence that further supports, illustrates, or discusses the first point or first answer
A sentence that makes your second point or gives your second answer.
A sentence that further supports, illustrates, or discusses the second point or second answer.
A sentence that makes your third point or gives your third answer.
A sentence that further supports, illustrates, or discusses the third point or third answer.
A concluding sentence that relates what your Sentence 2 thru Sentence 7 have to do with the Topic Sentence 1.