ESTRAGON
(gently) You wanted to speak to me? (Silence. Estragon takes a step forward.) You had something to say to me? (Silence. Another step forward.) Didi . . .
VLADIMIR
(without turning) I've nothing to say to you.
ESTRAGON
(step forward) You're angry? (Silence. Step forward.) Forgive me. (Silence. Step forward. Estragon lays his hand on Vladimir's shoulder.) Come, Didi. (Silence.) Give me your hand. (Vladimir half turns.) Embrace me! (Vladimir stiffens.) Don't be stubborn! (Vladimir softens. They embrace. Estragon recoils.) You stink of garlic! (1.164-7)
This time Estragon takes the step forward in their friendship. But we find yet another barrier in the way, this time smell. Throughout the play Estragon will repeatedly cite smell as the reason he cannot get close to another, almost as if he is disgusted by others’ visceral humanity.
ESTRAGON
Let's hang ourselves immediately!
[…]
ESTRAGON
After you.
[…]
VLADIMIR
You're lighter than I am.
ESTRAGON
Just so!
VLADIMIR
I don't understand.
ESTRAGON
Use your intelligence, can't you?
Vladimir uses his intelligence.
VLADIMIR
(finally) I remain in the dark.
[…]
VLADIMIR
You're my only hope.
ESTRAGON
(with effort) Gogo light—bough not break—Gogo dead. Didi heavy—bough break—Didi alone. Whereas—
VLADIMIR
I hadn't thought of that. (1.174-189)
This is an interesting exchange. At nearly every other instance in the play, Vladimir is the more intellectual of the two men. Yet here, he needs Estragon to walk him through the scenario. Also, check out the line "I remain in the dark." On the one hand, Vladimir is confessing his ignorance; he remains in the dark cerebrally because he can’t figure out what Estragon is talking about. But his response "I remain in the dark" is also the answer to the problem Estragon has proposed: what happens if Estragon goes first? Then the bough holds up and Estragon dies hanging. Then, when Vladimir tries, he is heavier and breaks the bough—leaving him alone and, in a sense, in the dark. This isolation for Vladimir would be a worse fate than death.
ESTRAGON
Why doesn't he put down his bags?
POZZO
I too would be happy to meet him. The more people I meet the happier I become. From the meanest creature one departs wiser, richer, more conscious of one's blessings. Even you . . . (he looks at them ostentatiously in turn to make it clear they are both meant) . . . even you, who knows, will have added to my store.
ESTRAGON
Why doesn't he put down his bags? (1.405-7)
Pozzo’s lines are highly ironic here. He is busy declaring how much he benefits from personal interaction while he directly ignores 1) Estragon’s attempts at communication and 2) the suffering of his slave, Lucky, who is still holding the heavy bags. The way his comment is couched in Estragon’s repeated lines is a great example of how structure complements and builds meaning in Waiting for Godot.