The Zoo Story by Edward Albee Essay - 765 Words

In a crowded city such as Manhattan, it was no wonder that a man like Jerry felt lonely. He was without a friend, a mother and father, and the typical wife, two children, and a dog,; that many others had. Jerry was thrown in a world that he felt did not want him, and his human flaw of wanting to escape loneliness led to his tragic death. In Edward Albees play, The Zoo Story, all Jerry wanted was to be heard and understood, and in the end, after sharing his life story with a complete stranger, he got his final wish - death. The Zoo Story not only tells of the alienation of man in modern society, but also reflects the philosophy of twentieth century existentialism. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Jerry made a conscious choice of wanting to†¦show more content†¦Peter found that to live in this hostile world, it was better to conform with society and, as Jerry accused him, make sense out of things and bring order.; Both the mens acceptance, however, led to the isolation of the individual, where Jerry felt alone not by choice, while Peter, even though he lived according to the rules of society, still managed to isolate himself because he lived in a household of females. He achieved his sense of satisfaction with the world by coming to the same part of the park to read. Ive come here for years; I have hours of great pleasure, great satisfaction. And thats important to a man.; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Although both Jerry and Peter came from the same city, both encountered different experiences. Each had a different way of interpreting lifes mishaps, and the way that they chose to handle certain situations led to the ultimate conclusion of their well-being. Jerry found that his death was appropriate in order to escape the unforgiving world, while Peter found it difficult to perceive that one would think of such a deadly solution to ones feelings of isolation. Peter was shocked when he saw Jerry on the bench slowly dying amp;#8211; replying nothing more than oh my god; amp;#8211; while Jerry, on the other hand, replied with thank you.; Even though life was unexplainable, Jerry did not try to reason his lifeShow MoreRelatedThe Zoo Story by Edward Albee598 Words   |  2 Pages Edward Albee and his play of The Zoo Story is set on a bench located in New York City famous Central Park. This bench is the setting throughout the entire play as various topics are discussed. You first meet character Peter a clean cut man, who is sitting alone at this bench reading a paper while smoking on his pipe. Albee only gives a brief characterization on who the character is, but does not give you any background information of his life. This is because you find out more information throughoutRead MoreThe Zoo Story by Edward Albee Essay1007 Words   |  5 PagesThe Zoo Story by Edward Albee In Edward Albees play, The Zoo Story, Jerry tells Peter bizarre stories about people he has encountered that influence his shallow and lonely existence, to demonstrate Albees view that society is unnecessarily consumed by indifference, unkindness, weakness, and emptiness. In an attempt to cause Peter to realize that his own life is filled with emptiness and shallowness, Jerry tells Peter about the lives of some of the people in his boarding house. He talks aboutRead MoreThe Zoo Story by Edward Albee Essay2314 Words   |  10 PagesIn The Zoo Story, Edward Albee shows an encounter between two very different men, Peter and Jerry, sitting at a bench in Central Park. The play depicts people living like animals in cages, isolated from each other, and refusing to communicate. The play presents characters who suffer from lack of real human relationships, the sense of loneliness from being alienated and isolated from other members of their own society. This suffering leads mainly to agoni zing life experiences and finally to the deathRead MoreEdward Franklin Albee IIi : The American Dream, And The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?1313 Words   |  6 PagesENG3U0 Research Essay Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright mostly known for his works such as Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Zoo Story, The American Dream, and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? 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It was takenRead More Allegory in Edward Albees The American Dream Essay3652 Words   |  15 PagesAllegory in Edward Albees The American Dream Our understanding of Edward Albees achievement in The American Dream (1960) has come a long way since 1961 when Martin Esslin hailed it as a brilliant first example of an American contribution to the Theatre of the Absurd1 and 1966 when Nicholas Canaday, Jr. labeled it Americas best example of what has come to be known as the theatre of the absurd.2 The shrewdest assessment of absurdism in Albee is by Brian Way, who shows convincinglyRead MoreAnalysis Of Who s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf1609 Words   |  7 Pages Analysis Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Edward Albee is a well known American was born in Virginia, he moved to New York to start his passion of writing plays and he wrote his first play which is The Zoo story, Albee then started to spend most of his time in the American University Theater. Albee became famous and received numerous amount of awards. He won awards for his plays that include Seascape, Three Tall womenRead MoreThe Game Of Life : Who s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?1849 Words   |  8 PagesThe Game of Life in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Edward Franklin Albee, is an American playwright known for his works such as The Zoo Story, The Sandbox and Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He had an unpleasant childhood as he had a challenging relationship with his adoptive parents; especially his mother who was distant and unloving. Among Albee’s one-act plays, The Zoo Story, The Sandbox and The American Dream were the most successful, but his first full-length play, Who’s Afraid of VirginiaRead MoreThe Theater Of The Absurd1937 Words   |  8 Pagesthat he also clarifies the idea of death, which is linked to the absurdity of life. Albee is mainly concerned with the absurdity and criticizes the chaos of the modern American community. His characters cannot comprehend the meaning of their existence in this world or why they survive. Albee thinks that the existence of the individual is meaningless, because, he cannot find the answer to the many questions. Albee presented his character’s uncertainty in their life, man always looking for meaningRead MoreThe World War II : An Important Factor Influencing Human Behavior1936 Words   |  8 Pageswealthy is possible, but it cannot be continual: a man should aim to gain the valuable quality of morality to establish a real life far from the fantasy and deception of others. In relation to the plays in this study, we find that in The Zoo Story, both Peter and Jerry represent certain values in American society. Regarding Peter, his financial success and his perfect family inspired him, and he seeks to achieve a capitalist approach to the American Dream. On the other hand, Jerry has no wife