--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I belong to that generation who, as…" description: "\"I belong to that generation who, as students, had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology and existentia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/michel-foucault-1134_beckett_i-belong-to-that-generation-who-as-stude_1713475.jpg" --- # I belong to that generation who, as students, had before… ![“I belong to that generation who, as students, had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology and existentialism. For me the break was first Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a breathtaking performance.” quote by Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/michel-foucault-1134_beckett_i-belong-to-that-generation-who-as-stude_1713475.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/michel-foucault-1134_beckett_i-belong-to-that-generation-who-as-stude_1713475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/michel-foucault-1134_beckett_i-belong-to-that-generation-who-as-stude_1713475.jpg) > “I belong to that generation who, as students, had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology and existentialism. For me the break was first Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a breathtaking performance.” [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A generation confined by dominant philosophies discovers freedom through confronting absurdist theatre, which expands intellectual horizons. **In simple terms:** Breaking from rigid ideas opens new perspectives. Key Takeaway Embrace the absurd to broaden thinking. Themes philosophy generation freedom absurdism Mood reflective introspective provocative Type analysis inspirational When to use this quote - University lecture - book club - art exhibition - personal crisis - creative writing Key Concepts Existentialism marxism phenomenology theatre theory Questions to Reflect On - How can absurdism be introduced gently? - What role does discomfort play in learning? A Different Perspective Absurdist works may alienate those unprepared for its lack of conventional meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathtaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathtaking/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Godot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godot/) [Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horizon/) [Marxism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Phenomenology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenology/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Waiting for godot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-for-godot/) ## Related quotes > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We are waiting not for a Godot but for another-doubtless very different-St. Benedict,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/we-are-waiting-not-for-a-godot-but-for-another-doubtless-very/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [Waiting for Godot was not allowed. Neither was Henry Miller. The Soviets condemned them both. Miller would have been used as an example of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-rosset/waiting-for-godot-was-not-allowed-neither-was-henry-miller-the/) Barney Rosset > [Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot,' billed as 'the laugh sensation of two continents,' made its American debut at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, in Miami,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/samuel-beckett-s-waiting-for-godot-billed-as-the-laugh-sensation-of/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/let-s-go-we-can-t-why-not-we-re-waiting-for-godot/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [When we'd suggested doing it, the Theatre Royal management had said, 'Nobody wants to see Waiting for Godot.' As it happened, every single ticket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/when-we-d-suggested-doing-it-the-theatre-royal-management-had-said/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [Waiting for Godot . . . has achieved a theoretical impossibility—a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps the audience glued to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waiting-for-godot-has-achieved-a-theoretical-impossibility-a-play-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I saw Waiting for Godot when I was 17 in rep with a then unknown actor called Peter O'Toole playing Vladimir. I remember leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/i-saw-waiting-for-godot-when-i-was-17-in-rep-with-a-then-unknown/) [Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/) > [I played Lucky in Waiting for Godot at Yale and it was a thing that Stanislavski talks about: he says you don't need his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-waterston/i-played-lucky-in-waiting-for-godot-at-yale-and-it-was-a-thing-that/) [Sam Waterston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-waterston/) > [ Waiting for the implosion \[of the government of Romano Prodi\] is risking to turn into Waiting for Godot. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianfranco-fini/waiting-for-the-implosion-of-the-government-of-romano-prodi-is/) [Gianfranco Fini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianfranco-fini/) > [We're teaching a generation of students who've been schooled to produce quick, right answers on demand. They are not comfortable with ambiguity. The implications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-tomlinson/we-re-teaching-a-generation-of-students-who-ve-been-schooled-to/) [Carol Ann Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-tomlinson/) > [If we raise a generation of students who dont believe in the process of science, who think everything that weve come to know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/if-we-raise-a-generation-of-students-who-dont-believe-in-the-process/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [My generation those who were students in the late 60s was always, in the words of the Who, talking about our generation. That's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/my-generation-those-who-were-students-in-the-late-60s-was-always-in/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [What is this generation of students worth? It's worth everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/what-is-this-generation-of-students-worth-it-s-worth-everything/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [The success we are seeing in Connecticut's education system is credited to the amazing teachers, faculty, staff, volunteers, and parents who dedicate themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-lamont/the-success-we-are-seeing-in-connecticut-s-education-system-is/) [Ned Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-lamont/) ## More by Michel Foucault > [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“But a punishment like forced labour or even imprisonment – mere loss of liberty – has never functioned without a certain additional element of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/but-a-punishment-like-forced-labour-or-even-imprisonment-mere-loss-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Death left its old tragic heaven and became the lyrical core of man: his invisible truth, his visible secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/death-left-its-old-tragic-heaven-and-became-the-lyrical-core-of-man/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I'm no prophet. My job is making windows where there were once walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/i-m-no-prophet-my-job-is-making-windows-where-there-were-once-walls/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Let us ask... how things work at the level of on-going subjugation, at the level of those continuous and uninterrupted processes which subject our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/let-us-ask-how-things-work-at-the-level-of-on-going-subjugation-at/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [What makes power hold good, what makes it accepted, is simply the fact that it doesn't only weigh on us as a force that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/what-makes-power-hold-good-what-makes-it-accepted-is-simply-the-fact/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“It was a matter of showing by what conjunctions a whole set of practices-- from the moment they became coordinated with a regime of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/it-was-a-matter-of-showing-by-what-conjunctions-a-whole-set-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“The preferred medications were those that forestalled corruption. We know 'as a result of more than three thousand years of experience that Myrrh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-preferred-medications-were-those-that-forestalled-corruption-we/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“The man described for us, whom we are invited to free, is already in himself the effect of a subjection much more profound than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-man-described-for-us-whom-we-are-invited-to-free-is-already-in/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“Confined on the ship, from which there is no escape, the madman is delivered to the river with its thousand arms, the sea with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/confined-on-the-ship-from-which-there-is-no-escape-the-madman-is/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Believe what is productive is not sedentary but nomadic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/believe-what-is-productive-is-not-sedentary-but-nomadic/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Are the prisons overpopulated, or is the population over-imprisoned ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/are-the-prisons-overpopulated-or-is-the-population-over-imprisoned/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Withdraw allegiance from the old categories of the Negative (law, limit, castration, lack, lacuna), which the Western thought has so long held sacred as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/withdraw-allegiance-from-the-old-categories-of-the-negative-law-limit/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) [Explore all 272 Michel Foucault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) ## More Beckett quotes > [ I would say recently I've gotten back to perusing \[Samuel\] Beckett's novels. Listening to the way Donald Trump speaks without saying anything has made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-would-say-recently-i-ve-gotten-back-to-perusing-samuel-beckett-s/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais." Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot I'm like that. Either I forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/je-suis-comme-a-ou-j-oublie-tout-de-suite-ou-je-n-oublie-jamais/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Ben Marcus has created an innovative and unflinching portrait of the turmoil of the human condition, providing the reader a most rare gift: something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myla-goldberg/ben-marcus-has-created-an-innovative-and-unflinching-portrait-of-the/) [Myla Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myla-goldberg/) > [In Kamby Bolongo Mean River damage and delusion walk hand in hand, and everything we think we know is gradually called into question. Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/in-kamby-bolongo-mean-river-damage-and-delusion-walk-hand-in-hand-and/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“I can’t do this anymore if it’s not with you. Fuck me straight to hell." ~Eve to Beckett”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/i-can-t-do-this-anymore-if-it-s-not-with-you-fuck-me-straight-to-hell/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Beckett now got half the beating he used to get. Rick didn’t know that with every punch he was pounding his own coffin closed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/beckett-now-got-half-the-beating-he-used-to-get-rick-didn-t-know-that/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Where’s the bride-to-be?” Beckett held his arms open for Kyle and gave her a gentle hug. “Good on you, Fairy Princess, making an honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/where-s-the-bride-to-be-beckett-held-his-arms-open-for-kyle-and-gave/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Beckett kissed each woman’s cheek and said, “Ladies, I was saying thank you for taking such beautiful care of my brother. You’re angels. Selfless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/beckett-kissed-each-woman-s-cheek-and-said-ladies-i-was-saying-thank/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“But he did see them dance. He laughed out loud remembering when he’d danced with Kyle. She hardly seemed the same person. And Cole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/but-he-did-see-them-dance-he-laughed-out-loud-remembering-when-he-d/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Kyle’s shrill voice interrupted their moment. “Figured you two would turn this into a scout meeting. Will you get your asses up here? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/kyle-s-shrill-voice-interrupted-their-moment-figured-you-two-would/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“I think it's in Malone Dies that Beckett's creature is in a kind of prison or hospital. As I recall, he is visited twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stern/i-think-it-s-in-malone-dies-that-beckett-s-creature-is-in-a-kind-of/) [Gerald Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stern/) > [Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/read-the-great-stuff-but-read-the-stuff-that-isn-t-so-great-too-great/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [My exposure to Beckett and to late O'Neill was probably important right at the time I gave up poetry and the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/my-exposure-to-beckett-and-to-late-o-neill-was-probably-important/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Beckett's 'Stories and Texts for Nothing' is probably my favorite book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-wright/beckett-s-stories-and-texts-for-nothing-is-probably-my-favorite-book/) [Franz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-wright/) Browse all 193 Beckett quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I belong to that generation who, as students, had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology and existentialism. 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