Tantalus was punished for stealing ambrosia and nectar. It is not certain that the man "is" being punished for a crime other than that of existing in the first place. The situation is similar to that of the narrator in Beckett's 1955 "The Expelled", whose story begins with him being jettisoned from the place he was living (“The fall was … not serious. Even as I fell I heard the door slam, which brought me a little comfort … that meant they were not pursuing me down the street with a stick, to beat me.”) “into an environment where he cannot exist but cannot escape … Whereas Godot’s existence remains uncertain, here an external force exists” “represented by a sharp, inhuman, disembodied whistle” which will not permit him to leave; “like Jacob, [he wrestles with it to illustrate its substance.” In simplistic terms the man's actual fall could be seen to represent the Fall of man.