Rhinoceros Essay

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Katherine Raycraft Humanities 101 Mrs. Langille 3/28/18 “Rhinoceros” On March 2nd, the Jerome Mirza Theatre on the Illinois Wesleyan campus put on a production of the play “Rhinoceros” by the French playwright, Eugène Ionesco. The play was written in 1959 and has stayed popular ever since. The pieces genre is an absurdist drama/comedy, and it does not use a narrator as the storyteller. The play explores themes and subject matters relating to the topics of mob mentality, morality, and conformity, causing many viewers to see it as a response to the increase in fascism and Nazism that occurred before World War II. While writing “Rhinoceros”, Ionesco used many symbols and a philosophical yet absurdly comic tone as he shared his anxieties about the growing harsh, tyrannical and undemocratic behaviors of society. While watching “Rhinoceros”, I noticed that it had a …show more content…

These topics help share the play’s content of criticizing the actions of the Nazis and understanding the mindset of people who conceded to fascism and Nazism. Ionesco used the rhinoceroses as a symbol, which is a recognizable figure that stands for something abstract, to show societies ability to turn hostile and violent (Martin, 194). At the beginning of the play, the townspeople were startled when they saw the first rhinoceros rampaging in the streets, but as more people transformed, the metamorphosis began to be seen as a natural and somewhat beautiful process, despite the violence and savagery that went along with it. By using the rhinoceros as a symbol, Ionesco shares how society allows themself to conform to the majority without considering the outcomes. This play really grasped my attention, as it covered topics that I have discussed many times at school, but have never seen in a play or musical. I had very sustained attention throughout the entire production, allowing me to have great participation with it (Martin,

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