Full title:
The Beckett Colcannon
or, How Not to Make Colcannon

Research project for my Theory and Practice of Creative Writing class. We were to select an author from a list, and write a recipe or how-to in their style. I chose Samuel Beckett.

Below is my accompanying essay, which explains all of my decisions regarding what to do.

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Writing The Beckett Colcannon

Samuel Beckett is commonly described as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He is best known for his plays, although he has also written fiction and poetry. There are several features of Beckett's writing that are prevalent throughout most of his works; however, his style is significantly different between his more famous, full-length plays, such as Waiting for Godot (1953), and his shorter dramatic work, such as What Where (1983). Thus, to condense Beckett's full legacy into a single short play imitation piece proved an incredibly difficult task.
One of the main differences between Beckett's earlier and later plays is the amount and strictness of stage direction. In Godot, the set is described simply as “A country road. A tree. Evening.” (Beckett, Waiting, 6) In his shorter works, however, Beckett either provides a diagram of the stage set-up, like that of What Where, (Beckett, What, 310) or strict descriptions of the stage and actions, such as those in Play. (Beckett, Play, 147, 158-160) Because The Beckett Colcannon is a short work, using strict stage directions seemed more appropriate.
An important aspect of Beckett's story-telling is the passage of time—or lack thereof. As Günther Anders said of Godot, “Although a 'stream of time' doesn't exist any longer, the 'time material' has not been petrified yet … time here has become something like a stagnant mush.” (Anders, 146) The same can be said of many of Beckett's works. He shows this mainly through two features: a sense of nostalgia for the distant past, and the repetition of events.
In Endgame, for example, Hamm says of Nell: “She was bonny once, like a flower of the field.” (Beckett, Endgame, 42) There are several similar instances of nostalgia; however, Clov describes “yesterday” as “that bloody awful day, long ago, before this bloody awful day.” (Beckett, Endgame, 43-44) This inconsistency about the past (“yesterday” is “long ago,” and is “bloody awful,” while “once,” presumably also 'long ago,' is described in a more positive light) shows that time does not pass in the conventional way. This is mimicked in Colcannon, where “yesterday” is considered “too long ago” and “those days” are considered in a nostalgic light.
More important, however, is the repetition of events. In Godot, the second act consists of the same basic events as the first; in Play, the first half is repeated exactly in the second half (or with a few minor variations, depending on the take); even in Backett's novel Molloy there is repetition: in the second section of the novel, Jacques Moran suffers from the same events as Molloy did in the first. Repeating events even just twice is enough to convince the readers or audience that, in the world of this story, that is how things work. In the world of Godot, it is impossible to go through a day without waiting, or without meeting Pozzo, Lucky or the boy who claims to be Godot's messenger. Similarly, it is impossible to retrace Molloy's steps without falling victim to paralysis or being unable to find the person you search for. In the world of The Beckett Colcannon, it is impossible to go through the day without failing to make the Irish dish.
In fact, failure to achieve goals is another important element of Beckett's work. Vladimir and Estragon are eternally waiting for Godot, who never comes; Molloy is incapable of finding his mother, and Moran can never find Molloy; in Act Without Words, everything the character tries to accomplish is rejected and prevented, even his suicide. That is why Cian and Beag can never finish preparing their colcannon. This emphasizes the sense of hopelessness that is present throughout the majority of Beckett's literary product, even though the characters know no different than to keep attempting to achieve their Sisyphean tasks, and thus do not realize their failures.
Hopelessness and desolation are further emphasized by two other elements of Beckett's storytelling, present most significantly in Waiting for Godot and Endgame: the need for human contact, and the sense of the outside world as inhospitable. In Godot, Vladimir and Estragon constantly try to embrace (Beckett, Waiting, 7, 12, 37, 48-49); in Endgame, Hamm insists that Clov kiss him (although he never does). (Beckett, Endgame, 45, 67) Hence, Cian (and later Beag), much like Hamm, demands that Beag kiss him goodbye before leaving.
Further, the world outside that delineated by the stage is considered harsh. In Godot, Estragon expect no less than to be beaten wherever he chooses to sleep (Beckett, Waiting, 38); in Endgame, the outside world is so bleak they are surprised to find that fleas still exist. (Beckett, Endgame, 33) In Colcannon, Beag refuses to “go out” because he “would be lynched.”
The final element of Beckett's plays mimicked in Colcannon is the power relationships between characters. In Godot, Pozzo is Lucky's master; in Endgame, Clov serves Hamm; and more abstractly, in Ohio Impromptu, the listener controls the reader by knocking on the table. Likewise, Cian gives Beag orders (although this relationship is reversed in the second half of the play, as the element of change). According to Michael Worton, these power relationships grow from the characters' need to have their existence confirmed: “The partners provide proof that they really exist by responding and replying to each other.” (Worton, 71-72)
The Beckett Colcannon only touches the surface of Beckett's style; given the breadth of elements found in Beckett's writing and the limited length of the imitation, most of the elements above are only briefly mentioned. Several details of Colcannon also come specifically from Beckett's writing: the extensive use of “Pause” is common throughout much of his work; Cian's blindness emulates that of Hamm and Pozzo (in Act II); Cian and Beag's clothes, especially the bowler hats, are similar to that of the characters in Godot; and even the medium (and then dimmer) light is similar to that in Play. Yet, it is impossible to do Beckett's body of work justice without at least a full-length, two-act play.


Works Cited

Anders, Günther. "Being without Time: On Beckett's Play Waiting for Godot." Samuel Beckett: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Spectrum, 1965. 140-51. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. "Eh Joe." 1967. Collected Shorter Plays. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1984. 199-207. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. Endgame, a Play in One Act, Followed by Act without Words, a Mime for One Player. New York: Grove, 1958. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. Molloy: a Novel. New York: Grove, 1994. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. "Ohio Impromptu." 1981. Collected Shorter Plays. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1984. 283-88. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. "Play." 1964. Collected Shorter Plays. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1984. 145-60. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot: Tragicomedy in 2 Acts. New York: Grove, 1982. Print.
Beckett, Samuel. "What Where." 1984. Collected Shorter Plays. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1984. 307-16. Print.
Burch, Norah. "Traditional Irish Names in Gaelic." Irish Names. Name Nerds, 15 Dec. 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <[link]>.
"How to Cook a Ham." Mahalo.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <[link]>.
Nadeau, Maurice. "Samuel Beckett: Humor and the Void." Samuel Beckett: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Spectrum, 1965. 33-36. Print.
Rossiter, Christabel. "Colcannon Recipe." Food Network. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <[link]>.
Worton, Michael. "Waiting for Godot and Endgame: Theatre as Text." The Cambridge Companion to Beckett. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994. 67-87. Print.