Zoo Story
When we are confronted with the word jail, we generally envision cold, hard concrete and steel bars; slits for windows that let in as little sunlight as possible and dangerous, fear-provoking criminals. These confinements are thought of places where the filth, scum and law-breaking degenerates of the world are kept. Surely, middle-class and upper class upstanding, law abiding citizens would never be categorized as prisoners. In Edward Albee's, The Zoo Story, there appears the phrase, "...where ever better in this humiliating excuse for a jail..."(p.35). Albee asks us to think of the term jail in a different but similar context. Imagine if you would, a zoo. Animals roaming around in man-made settings that replicate their natural habitat and interacting with other creatures; however, what keeps the animals from attacking the people and/or running away from the zoo never to be seen again-bars! Like the animals of the zoo people live and hide behind bars. In essence, the world as a whole can be viewed metaphorically as a jail. This 'jail' we as humans live in is often of our own creation; a prison, of sorts, that o
The bench becomes symbolic of Peter's 'cage'. In contrast to the notion that Jerry's reality is his 'jail', Peter's denial of reality is his 'jail'. Later in the story he tells peter, "I think the rooms are better as you go down, floor by floor"(p. Sometimes we need protection from people who want to cause us harm. Here, Peter exhibits embarrassment for the first time in the story; he shows that he really is not as pleased with his life as he lets others believe. He has the wife, the two daughters, parakeets, and cats. He then goes on to describe the inhabitants of the floor, which he lives on. Although, have bars up isn't always a bad thing. Without being aware of it, Peter has become very lonely.
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Zoo Story,
Amidst Jerry's,
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reality 'jail',
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Acceptance Essays
