--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget…" description: "\"Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.\" — Samuel Beckett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/samuel-beckett-365_forget_estragon-i-m-like-that-either-i-forget-r_2116624.png" --- # Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I… ![“Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/samuel-beckett-365_forget_estragon-i-m-like-that-either-i-forget-r_2116624.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/samuel-beckett-365_forget_estragon-i-m-like-that-either-i-forget-r_2116624.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/samuel-beckett-365_forget_estragon-i-m-like-that-either-i-forget-r_2116624.png) > “Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.” [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory is unreliable; one either forgets quickly or clings forever. **In simple terms:** We either forget fast or never forget. Key Takeaway Accept memory’s paradox and live in the present. Themes memory forgetting existence Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - aging - trauma processing - learning from history Key Concepts philosophical paradox human cognition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance remembering and moving on? - What helps you release painful memories? A Different Perspective Memory’s unreliability can cause distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-forget-952644/) [Estragon Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estragon-like-281988/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-right-402979/) [Like Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-forget-370769/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Never forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-forget/) ## Related quotes > [“I’m like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-m-like-that-either-i-forget-right-away-or-i-never-forget/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this. VLADIMIR: That's what you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-i-can-t-go-on-like-this-vladimir-that-s-what-you-think/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [We like to forget that in fact everything in our life is chance, from our genesis out of the encounter of spermatozoon and egg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-like-to-forget-that-in-fact-everything-in-our-life-is-chance-from/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Nothing releases like forgive. Nothing renews like forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-a-davis/nothing-releases-like-forgive-nothing-renews-like-forget/) [Ray A. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-a-davis/) > [One day I'll be able to forget but right now isnt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/one-day-i-ll-be-able-to-forget-but-right-now-isnt-it/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [I get it. You have the right to have guns. But look, let's forget that right. Let's forget the pleasure you get safely on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-get-it-you-have-the-right-to-have-guns-but-look-let-s-forget-that/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [In an ideal world people would know the words just for the show and then forget them right after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mars/in-an-ideal-world-people-would-know-the-words-just-for-the-show-and/) [Thomas Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mars/) > [“Sometimes I live so much in my mind that I forget what is right before my eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlan-every-last-one/sometimes-i-live-so-much-in-my-mind-that-i-forget-what-is-right/) [Anna Quindlan Every Last One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlan-every-last-one/) > [“Friends forgive and forget, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-vanasse/friends-forgive-and-forget-right/) [Patricia Vanasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-vanasse/) > [The right way to go easy is to forget the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/the-right-way-to-go-easy-is-to-forget-the-right-way/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Maybe the best thing would be to forget being right or wrong about people and just go along for the ride. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/maybe-the-best-thing-would-be-to-forget-being-right-or-wrong-about/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“I can't think about him, but I can't forget him, either. It's not right to forget someone you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sheehan/i-can-t-think-about-him-but-i-can-t-forget-him-either-it-s-not-right/) [Anna Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sheehan/) > [you remember what is lost, and you forget what's right in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/you-remember-what-is-lost-and-you-forget-what-s-right-in-front-of-you/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The heart has a mind of it's own when you're in love, it tends to forget what's right or wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-heart-has-a-mind-of-it-s-own-when-you-re-in-love-it-tends-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Samuel Beckett > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [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/) > [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [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/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Estragon: I'm like that. 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