IES 9007

2014

LANGUAGE IV

GABRIELA MATAR PROFESRA: ANA PALLERO

Essay on The Zoo Story by Edward Albee

The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of fiction written by a number of
European playwrights in the late 1950s, as well as one for the style of theatre which has
evolved from such works. Their work expresses what happens when human existence has no
meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down. Logical construction and
argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence.
Many of these features are represented in the short story The Zoo Story written by Edward
Albee. Thus, it can be stated that the mentioned short story is an example of the theatre of the
absurd.
The theatre of the absurd is plagued with particular features. To begin with, unlike non-absurd
plays, absurd plays usually lack things like plot and character development; there is not much
physical description of the characters, or their personalities. Moreover, in these plays, they
highlight humanity's pointlessness and isolation. If things happen, they happen for no reason.
The message is basically that life has no purpose or meaning. We are in this world for a while,
we try to communicate, often failing, but we are mostly alone, then we die. At last, in this type
of works there is a lot of standing around, doing very little, often in bizarre situations, which do
not make sense and led the reader to confusion. To summarize, in the theatre of the absurd,
plays lack deep development, focus on the meaninglessness of life and the physical expression
is very limited.
In The Zoo Story the characteristic features of the absurd are present. At first, both
characters, Peter and Jerry are introduced narrowly. They are not described physically or
personally, the author does not explain how they feel or think, but they constantly talk without
much sense. Albee does not give the reader a deep description of the scenery or the context in
which the characters encounter neither. Moreover, the theme of isolation marks both
characters. Peter never likes the idea of paying attention to any other thing rather than his
book and bench, and it is also evident that he goes to the park to be alone. Jerry lives in a place
where every room is an isolated island. The only interaction he ever mentioned with his
neighbors is not of a social nature. This lack of communication is a dominating theme in the
play. To continue, as in most absurd plays, the meaning of life is not deep, which is shown at
the end of the story when Jerry causes Peter to kill him, stating that life lacks meaning. Finally,
in The Zoo Story the situation is clearly bizarre and monotonous. Two unknown men talk
about random experiences and they do not perform sophisticated physical expressions, but
instead, Peter and Jerry are only sitting or standing and talking to each other. The story
contains many features that determine its absurdist style.
To conclude it can be stated that The Zoo Story by Edward Albee bears resemblance to many
of the characteristics that are distinctive of the theatre of the absurd. Thus, the features in
The Zoo Story that belong to the absurd are the weak description of the characters and
scenery presented by the writer, the constant idea of isolation and lack of love for life
introduced by Jerry, but which is present in the life of both characters, and finally the
bizarreness of the ending, when Jerry suffers an absurd and unexpected death.