VLADIMIR: I don't understand.  

ESTRAGON: Use your intelligence, can't you? Vladimir uses his intelligence.  

VLADIMIR: (finally). I remain in the dark.

This exchange between Vladimir and Estragon occurs in Act One as they debate whether or not to hang themselves from the tree. While Vladimir is typically the more intellectually-inclined one in their relationship, Estragon reveals his smarts in this moment. He understands the need for them to hang themselves in a certain order to be successful, and this practicality allows him to support Vladimir. The fact that Estragon can understand logic in moments like these prevents their relationship from being entirely one-sided.

That's the way I am. Either I forget immediately or I never forget.

In Act Two, Estragon offers this line in response to Vladimir’s suggestion that he forgot their discussion of hanging themselves from the day before. Estragon insists that he has not forgotten, although he does admit that his memory is inconsistent. Throughout the play, his inability to remember key facts, such as need to wait for Godot to arrive, serves as one of his most notable qualities. His forgetfulness and the repetition that it causes adds to the sense that he is helpless, trapped in an endless cycle from which he cannot escape.

ESTRAGON: I suppose I might as well get up. (He gets up painfully.) Ow! Didi!  

VLADIMIR: I don't know what to think any more.  

ESTRAGON: My feet! (He sits down again and tries to take off his boots.) Help me!

Toward the end of Act Two, Estragon cries out for help as he struggles to stand during his discussion of Pozzo’s blindness with Vladimir. While Vladimir remains fixated on the mystery of Pozzo’s sudden loss of sight, Estragon’s attention turns toward his own suffering in the present. He frequently calls attention to the pain that his boots bring him, and this attitude reflects his dependent nature and inherent desire to have others acknowledge his personal struggles.

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