Endgame examines humanity and the cycle of life and regeneration through the use of religious symbolism and character contradictions.
Hamm for example can be compared with the Biblical character of Ham (son of Noah)
Ham (Biblical) was the son of Noah and Father to Cush, Mizraim, Phut an Canaan. It is interpreted that they then went on to populate Africa and parts of Asia and eventually the world. In the Ark Myth, Ham, along with Noah and his other Sons, were chosen by God as worthy of carrying on the human existence and were taken upon the ark before the great flood. In biblical terms, he is seen as the father of mankind and he is credited with having devoted his life to the expansion of humanity.
In contrast, Hamm in endgame represents the deteriorisation of humanity and is a symbol of the decay of human existence.
He clearly states that he is preoccupied with this idea of decay when he appears to measure time by lengths of decay "We loose our hair, our teeth, our bloom, our ideals" Here he is focusing on what has been lost and not, as in the bible, on what could be or become. Hamm of course is himself, deteriorating. He has clear and crippling disability and as such is contemptuous of his own being and existence. Hamm is living a cursed existence, which also hints at a parallel to our biblical character.
Hamm, after seeing his father naked, (there are several versions to the story, one being that Ham raped his father, another being that castrated him) is cursed by his father. In most versions Noah curses Ham son, Canaan. This is interesting if you think of Nagg, Nell as the parents of humanity (Hamm) because it suggests that the curse inflicted on Ham could be the cause of his ancestors before him (nagg and nell.)
Keeping in with the them of the Noah's Ark myth (there are lots of other biblical comparisons, but this is the one I am most interested in) I also wanted to draw comparisons on the themes of regeneration throughout Endgame and the biblical story of Noah. The Noah's ark story is clearly a story of regeneration and was brought about by the need to purge the earth of sin and regrow the earth, renewing life and humanity. Leaving Ham (and his sons) to populate the world. Ham was the creator of humanity as we know it. Hamm in Endgame is a dark, apocalyptic character that you could say is a representation of decay and finality. In other words he is the representation of the Apocalypse or the end of humanity, ( or where we are headed?)
Hamm then, is a direct contradiction of the character of Ham. He serves as a reference point rather than a direct image of our biblical Ham. It is the differences in these characters that infuse them as one, not the similarities.
Endgame itself, as a whole text, can be seen a story of regeneration, could the characters literally be at the end of days? or egde of the Apocalypse? are they the only survivors in some kind of purge of the earth, as in the bible myth? Is Endgame a representation of what could be if regeneration does not take place? Or on the other hand is action at the end (Hamm and the handkerchief) a symbol of Resurrection? Hamm's last action is to recover his face, we presume to have the handkerchief lifted by Clov at a later time. Its like the last move of his 'Endgame' is to cover his face, ready to be resurrected by Clov the next day, in a sort of mock religious ritual.
