"(forcibly). Bags. (He points at Lucky.) Why? Always hold. (He sags, panting.) Never put down. (He opens his hands, straightens up with relief.) Why?"

 

This quote depicts the theme of misguided aid. Vladimir thinks he is helping lucky by repeatedly telling Pozzo that if he's treating lucky so badly he should get rid of him(to set him free) or learn to value him. The scene takes a turn when Pozzo reveals his true intentions of selling Lucky at the fair. This causes distress to Lucky and ultimately makes him cry. This comparison can also be made to Horatio in Hamlet.

 

                                Throughout the whole play Horatio plays the role of the diehard friend that will do anything for Hamlet, but in reality Horatio most likely did more harm to Hamlet than help.  Alerting Hamlet of his father's ghost, led Hamlet to go mad with revenge. By helping Hamlet through all stages of his plan he accelerated Hamlet's own doom. (play scene)

                                In both of these scenarios neither characters had any true malice. In the previous page Vladimir was outraged with Lucky's treatment. Horatio is truly dedicated to Hamlet, in Act 5 scene 2. Horatio says that he would he would rather commit suicide than live without his friend Hamlet.

 

                                The theme of misguided aid works to show that even though people's best interests may be in heart, they can be misguided and end up hurting the person more than they wanted to.