--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What are we doing here, that is the…" description: "\"What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/samuel-beckett-365_answers_what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-quest_32026.png" --- # What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are… ![“What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/samuel-beckett-365_answers_what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-quest_32026.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/samuel-beckett-365_answers_what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-quest_32026.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/samuel-beckett-365_answers_what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-quest_32026.png) > “What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come” [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. The speaker reflects on existential uncertainty, acknowledging that while we search for meaning, we are paradoxically aware of our own confusion and await an external resolution. **In simple terms:** Existential uncertainty and hope for resolution Key Takeaway Search for meaning amid confusion Themes existentialism absurdism hope waiting meaninglessness anticipation Mood thoughtful melancholic hopeful Type philosophical literary theatrical When to use this quote - philosophical contemplation - literary analysis - theatrical performance - personal crisis - academic lecture Key Concepts human condition search for purpose paradox of knowledge Practical Applications - thematic analysis in literature - psychological counseling Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to wait for an external answer? - How does awareness of confusion affect our actions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Cruel fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-fate/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Godot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godot/) [Waiting for godot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-for-godot/) ## Related quotes > [All mankind is us, whether we like it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-mankind-is-us-whether-we-like-it-or-not/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-at-this-place-at-this-moment-of-time-all-mankind-is-us-whether-we/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Let us do something, while we have the chance! ... Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/let-us-do-something-while-we-have-the-chance-let-us-make-the-most-of/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [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 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 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/) > [I belong to that generation who, as students, had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology and existentialism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/i-belong-to-that-generation-who-as-students-had-before-their-eyes-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [Memoirs need confusion. It's the thing every human has in common. We are magnificently confused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/memoirs-need-confusion-it-s-the-thing-every-human-has-in-common-we/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [“I am interested in the shape of ideas, even if I do not believe in them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-am-interested-in-the-shape-of-ideas-even-if-i-do-not-believe-in-them/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [“We are not merely more weary because of yesterday, we are other, no longer what we were before the calamity of yesterday.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-merely-more-weary-because-of-yesterday-we-are-other-no/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What are we doing here, that is the question. 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