Pessimism v optimism in Beckett I have an issue with the statment Beckett s work is deeply pessimistic about the human condition as found in the first paragraph I changed deeply to deceptively and it was immediately changed back I don t know how to contact the subsequent editor directly so I ll post this here by way of discussion Perhaps replacing deeply with deceptively is not the best fix but as it stands the quoted statement puts forth as fact an opinion that is widley open to interpretation Beckett s writings aren t just about the journey If they were deeply pessimistic would be nearly undebatable They re just as much about the destination or at least the goal And while he frames life s journey as a slog through shit his ultimate implication is that the slog is worthwhile As everything from the Greek and Latin classics to the greatest of Hollywood s pro war propaganda movies have proven again and again the more monstrously you portray the obstacle the larger looms the hero who overcomes them The same is true in Beckett the obstacles are unrelenting and nearly insurmountable but the journey continues heroically The Beckett hero may be standing in the dark but he s faced towards the light distant an unattainable as it may be The essential Beckett quote isn t I can t go on full stop it s I can t go on I ll go on Now I may not have convinced you personally that Beckett s work is more optimistic than pessimistic But perhaps I ve made a case that a flatly factual statement like Beckett s work is stark and deeply pessimistic about the human condition is a bit overstated for an article that strives to remain free of bias Beckett himself would be the first to disagree with you He once said that if he were a pessimist he wouldn t write Although I know that the artist is not always the most reliable source for understanding his work that ought to count for something