Albee a Zoo Story---hypocrisy in Amercian Society

1134 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of social media in our society

The Zoo Story It was your typical Sunday afternoon in Central Park. A slightly plump man is vegetating on a considerably cracked park bench, filling his head with commercial literature, as he did every Sunday afternoon. Peter is just your average hard-working, middle class citizen. He supported an archetypal family---two kids, his wife, and an anthology of many pets. Peter was content with his life; his complaints were few. However, he had no idea that his whole life would be altered by one encounter with a slightly deranged, yet seemingly harmless man. His pity for poor old crazy Jerry is misplaced. Peter does not have to commiserate Jerry, ironically enough it is quite the opposite. Although Jerry is the antagonist, he also serves as Albee's messenger. Originally, people did not understand this play and just wrote it off as absurd or meaningless, but now we know that Albee was trying to prove a point. He makes a harsh statement about the hypocrisy of American Society through the ostracized character of Jerry. The Zoo Story is often classified as an absurd play; however, this does not mean that it lacks a clear moral message or many thematic elements. Initially critics argued that there are no lucid themes in Albee's portrayal, but this is not the case. Albee does not make his themes pop out at us right away like in most dramas; you have to look beyond the simplistic nature of the plot and dialogue to truly see the allegory present in his work such as Jerry's infamous dog story. Obviously there is more to Jerry's story than just befriending a dog. This hidden portrayal of a higher meaning is one of the factors, which helps make The Zoo Story such a timeless drama. The initial confusion about whether the... ... middle of paper ... ...at there are more important things in life than just conforming to acceptable standards. People have a tendency to want to belong to a group, but humans are also individuals. If you ignore your desire to be unique you will never truly be happy as is seen in Peter and all the "fake" people of Manhattan, however if you isolate yourself from the rest of the world like Jerry refusing to be part of a group, you will also be miserable. Albee was trying to point out that a balance is needed in society. You need to belong to a group, but you also have to do some things for yourself. You cannot always conform, just like you can't always object. This is his ingenious yet simple idea that expresses human nature and happiness. Albee was truly ahead of his time almost predicting the change in society and wake up call that America would receive in the next era to come.

Show More
Related

  • Animal Farm Dialectical Journal

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    In these dark hours, perhaps the worst in the history of the farm, I find that I only see unhappiness amongst each other. The cause of this unhappiness you ask, is the pig who you trusted, Napoleon. If he stays in power than the farm won’t be the only thing we will lose. Just take it from Boxer, He is a trustworthy horse Who never did any of us wrong. And Where is he now?, Oh right Napoleon had him killed just to pay for his whiskey. Now I don’t know about you but I think having ruler who would choose whiskey over an animal isn’t fit to rule.

    Read More

  • Is Animal Farm Morally Wrong

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Animal farm showed me a lot about society. For example, the idea of communism. I don’t agree with communism because no matter what, people will still treat people differently. It’s impossible in this world for all humans to be equal. We can never get along. The United States Military, fights for our freedom every day. Most of society today is cruel. We think of someone being more important than someone else. Animal Farm shows us that this is true. Originally, the idea started out as everyone was equal but then it was changed to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than

    Read More

  • "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Articulates the Crises of Contemporary Western Civilization

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    Secondly Albee deploys techniques of Theater of Absurd. Albee often begins with a seemingly realistic circumstance that is abruptly interrupted by an absurd or surreal element or event. As for example in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? incidents such as the moon that goes down and soon comes up again and the hysterical pregnancy of Honey. Therefore in doing so he shares alo...

    Read More

  • Anarchy In Charles Johnson's Menagerie

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    Besides Johnson’s obvious personification of the animals, his use of metaphors and imagery strengthened the plots theme. When Tilford returned to the shoppe, no animal dared make a sound. Even Berkeley stood in his tracks and waited upon Tilford’s next move, but he never expected Tilford to praise him for the chaos that ensued while he was absent. “Reaching down, he stroked Berkeley’s head. And at last he said, like God whispering to Samuel: Well done” (Johnson 349). The image of Tilford being analogous to God is fitting, given the governing power he represents throughout the story. Johnson’s use of not only this metaphor, but also this image of God reigning down his wrath upon his people only to praise them for an unlikely outcome allows the reader to make real-world connections. Likewise, it creates a comforting image of Tilford rather than a cold and political portrait. The point of view of this story remains third person omniscient; the story is told from an outside voice, but it also feels as if the narrator could be God himself. Each animal’s thoughts are projected perfectly into the story, showing the many differing perspectives revealed when authority is absent. “Menagerie” also uses Tortoise to foreshadow the complete anarchy to come. As Berkeley and his foil, Monkey, worked to free all the animals, each animal darted out of their cages except for Tortoise, who remained solitary within his cage. “Tortoise had escaped the year before, remaining at large for a week, and then he returned mysteriously on his own, his eyes strangely unfocused, as if he’d seen the end of the world” (Johnson 346). Tortoise’s escape reveals the reason behind his desire to remain submissive throughout the whole conundrum; He saw a world without a master and decided he wanted to be without chaos. In Tortoise’s leave of absence, he recognized the people outside the Pet

    Read More

  • The Vile Bodies

    2265 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...the importance placed on individualism. For, although he ”blinkingly accepts whatever outrageous turn of fortune [he] may encounter” (Twayne, 43) he is still the only character that displays a feeling on emptiness and disillusionment about the constant search of amusement that is seen in all the other characters. Adam questions the generation’s way of living “do you ever feel that things simply can’t go on much longer” and states that he would “give anything in the world for something different” (Waugh, 273). Furthermore, he even goes as far as criticizing the never-ending parties and games as “succession and repetition of massed humanity… those vile bodies…” (Waugh, 171). Although Adam seems to have glimpses of understanding the destruction that this generation is causing, nonetheless, he feels stuck in the vicious cycle that is created by this lifestyle.

    Read More

  • Stripes Will Survive Essay On Zoos

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Particularly in the passage¨The Stripes Will Survive,¨ the author Jacqueline Adams presents the idea that zoos are going to protect animals that are going extinct. In the passage it says, ¨Educational programs help the local people understand the need to protect Siberian tigers.¨ This piece of evidence shows the reader that zoos are trying to protect as many animals as they can. These places are trying to make it more comfortable and inviting for the animal. Also, the passage mention that, ¨Siberian tigers in the wild has doubled.¨ This tells the reader that what the zoos are doing actually makes a difference. These tigers were about to go extinct, but with the help of zoos they are no longer endangered.

    Read More

  • Casey At The Bat Figurative Language

    192 Words  | 1 Pages

    The author uses many examples of humorous things in the story, like irony. An example is everyone thought Casey was an awesome baseball player, as well as himself. In the end it turned out that he wasn't as good as everyone thought and or hoped.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant And Virginia Woolf

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many great authors that study human nature stood out the most during the period of time between the Imperialism and World War II. Among these authors were George Orwell and Virginia Woolf. Their study of the human nature is especially visible in certain short stories that each author respectively did. Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth.” In either of these stories the respective author uses animals to depict their complex ideas about the nature of life, men, and the whole world.

    Read More

  • Piggy Be Himself In Lord Of The Flies

    392 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the young boys on the island had to make a choice to be themselves or to be like someone else. The novel is about boys stuck on an island trying to survive, but not knowing which leader to follow. The main characters are Piggy, Ralph, and Jack. Ralph was the leader who wanted to do the right thing, Jack was the leader who wanted to do the wrong thing, and Piggy was the one everyone made fun of. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, supports the cliché, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” by Piggy staying true to himself and the other boys following Jack.

    Read More

  • Pity the Bear in Judith Minty's story, Killing the Bear

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    The beginning of the story seems very quiet and peaceful. It sets up a scene many people would be familiar with. Even the story about the dog is one most people who have ever owned a house pet would instantly recognize. The woman does seem very vulnerable, however. She is outside in a hammock and the dog seems very little help since "she ended up more his protector than the other way around" (2). The second section sets up frightening images of animals, but they are all in the zoo, so they pose no threat. Yet, this still sustains the reader's original expectation of the bear being a threatening animal. Of all the zoo animals described, the bear seems the most harmless, yet she is still afraid of it. The reader has not been shown any danger yet, but there is still a sense of something about to happen. The only bear we have seen is a "bundle of clothes by [a] dead tree" (5) in a cage at the zoo.

    Read More

  • Never Let Me Go Conformity Analysis

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the first example of conformity that is in the book, is a scene when Kathy, the narrator, is recalling a time when Tommy was constantly being pranked and bullied by other students just to see his reactions. “ I thought sooner or later someone would start saying it had gone too far, but it just kept on, and no one said anything”( Ishiguro 15). This statement by Kathy is ironic and out of place because she is the only person who feels

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Animal Rights In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    The definition of insane in today’s world is embedded with controversy by our society. As an active member of society, Ken Kesey writes his own opinion of insanity in his successful novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by subtly incorporating his his thoughts towards the topic through dialogue between characters, the narrators comments, and much more. Kesey begins his novel by introducing an outspoken man named Randle Patrick McMurphy who enters the mental hospital where the narrator, Chief Bromden , resides and creates a lasting effect on his fellow patients by allowing them to think beyond societies’ strict ideology and how to gradually immerse themselves with their individuality. Much like Kesey’s opinion, today’s world is comprised of

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Argumentation In The Reality Of Zoos By Michelle Carr

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michelle Carr uses the rhetorical mode of argumentation for the purpose of persuasion in her article, “The Reality of Zoos.” Carr focuses on the issue of the imprisonment and maltreatment of zoo animals in her article. She effectively presents her points by using the persuasive methods of pathos and logos. Carr establishes an emotional connection with the reader by recalling an occasion she noticed how unhappy zoo animals were during a childhood memory. Carr also uses logic and reasoning; she appeals to the reader by using facts and figures about the suffering zoo animals experience, for instance, the animals developing “zoochosis” and the animals being forcibly inseminated for money-making purposes. By establishing an emotional connection

    Read More

  • Animals in Disgrace

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel “Disgrace”, why and how does Coetzee uses animals as a metaphor, and how does animal life can be compared with the main theme of the novel?

    Read More

  • The Zoo Story by Edward Albee

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 Albee's 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.

    Read More

More about Albee a Zoo Story---hypocrisy in Amercian Society

Open Document