Endgame | Character Analysis

Hamm

Self-absorbed and cruel, Hamm attempts to rule the other characters in spite of his obvious disabilities. Because he is immobile and blind, he is dependent on Clov for his very existence, yet he still acts as Clov's harsh master. Hamm was once a wealthy landowner with the ability to help others. He did help in Clov's case, but often heartlessly did not with others. He now insists on Clov's gratitude. Hamm is similarly unfeeling toward his legless parents, whom he keeps in trash bins. He is interested only in how they can serve him by listening to his stories, which he tells in dramatic fashion. Hamm thinks of himself as an actor. He casts himself in many roles until he is left alone to die or the endgame with Clov begins again.

Clov

Clov is most likely the boy Hamm saved in his story. Now grown, he is Hamm's servant, responsible for the care and feeding of his callous benefactor. Unable to sit, Clov is the only mobile character, yet is trapped in a crisis of existence he longs to leave but in which feels obligated to stay. He searches for order in his constricted world and attempts to create meaning, but there is only nothingness in the room and beyond the windows. Clov is also the only character with any connection to any living thing—the flea, the rat, the boy he observes—beyond the characters onstage. He finally prepares to leave Hamm, but it is unclear whether he actually makes his exit for good.