1. Introduction
There have been many studies of Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. However， many analysis notes only the two tramps’ basic similarities， and fails to note the distinctive differences between them. In fact， everyone， in modernists’ works， seems alienated and separate. As far as I am concerned， it is inevitable that separate people differ from each other and often fail to build effective relationship with each other. Therefore， this paper tries to analyze Vladimir and Estragon’s differences and their strange relationship in waiting to better understand human being itself.
2. Consciousness and Unconsciousness
From a psychoanalysis point of view， Vladimir seems more conscious than his companion， Estragon， who is under unconsciousness in waiting. Vladimir reminds Estragon that the boy said “Godot was sure to come tomorrow”（Beckett） thus they must wait--even though nothing is certain. Vladimir seems more content and secure in his waiting than Estragon. Estragon wants to pick up and leave; he does not want to wait. But due to Vladimir’s determination Estragon resigns and he waits together with Vladimir. Even though Estragon seems to forget constantly that they wait for Godot. For example， Estragon says： “Let’s go.” Vladimir replies： “We can’t.”And Estragon asks： “Why not ？” Vladimir replies： “ We’re waiting for Godot.”
Vladimir waits for Godot with consciousness， while Estragon just waits because his companion makes him to wait. He does experience unconscious waiting. In fact， Estragon wait for nothing. He does not want to wait at all. However， he is as poor as Vladimir， who cannot make any decision. Waiting is the only thing they can do and “it’s safer.”（Beckett） In Act 2， it is only Vladimir who remembers the characters from the day before. Vladimir seems to be very aware of the fact that everything seems to be going in a circle—the same things repeating themselves from day to day. And Vladimir sings loudly in Act 2 that：
VLADIMIR： A dog came in–
Having begun too high he stops， clears his throat， resumes：
A dog came in the kitchen and stole a crust of bread. Then cook up with a ladle And …（Beckett）
Therefore， Estragon develops a big habit that is suicide. When it comes to the eternal question on circular structure， what to do while waiting，， Estragon often suggests as below：
ESTRAGON： Why don’t we hang ourselves （Beckett）
He suggests that perhaps they could hang themselves. That would certainly put an end to their waiting. Unconsciously， without any emotional fluctuation， suicide is proposed by Estragon. Here， we can see the two tramps take different actions when they are facing waiting. However， such a suicide cannot be successful forever， since it is just a game， like inviting his partner to play hide and seek. It is so absurd that no one will take it seriously， even himself.
