Existentialism In Edward Albee's The Zoo Story

Lily Atkins 4/18/2018 Lit 2000 Professor Farmen Analysis Of: What Is The Zoo For What In “What Is The Zoo For What,” Patricia Lockwood paints a portrait of nature. Nature is violent and free; it embodies a sense of chaos and unruliness that society has tried to control through the invention of captivity. Inventions of captivity can be described as zoos, but is also anything that holds another thing; like a fountain holding water, a song containing sound. Many forms of captivity are described while words are redefined to point out the very abstract invention of captivity, which is language.

Jerry, despite his relative decency, is victimized by the power structure of the school as well as his peers (Bagnall). “Choosing to disturb the universe means that Jerry himself is thrown into chaos” (Junko). His refusal to conform makes him the prime target of both the Vigils and the school officials, despite admiration from his peers. Cormier makes it clear that moral individuals can not survive unaided in a corrupt, oppressive system (Harris et al.). Jerry, while standing up for what he believes is right, is constantly torn down and abused by Archie’s goons. No one, not even his best friend Goober, came to his rescue to combat his oppressors. Arguably, “the reason Jerry was not saved was because he stood alone” (Harris et al.). Jerry stood alone in refusing to take the chocolates, his abuse by the Vigils, and his eventual physical and mental destruction by Janza. In fact, his destruction makes him into a martyr. His surrender in the end makes him an even more realistic hero and shows that it takes more people to fight powerful figures (Peck). Cormier challenges the perception of the modern “Superman” figure and replaces him with an “Average Joe”: a jack of all trades but master at none. Despite his defeat, Jerry’s legacy will live beyond him, whether publicly celebrated or privately discussed by Trinity students (Siegler). Jerry’s battle could have been won if his peers acted against the power structures as

Zoos present a certain blend of nature and culture. They have always provided a way to bring natural wildlife and urban Americans together as a means of entertainment. Yet, throughout the years the role of zoos have changed. Though once used for amusement, zoos are now being used for education on preservation and the welfare of endangered species. One may wonder where and how the idea of zoos started and just how they, and the environment around them, have changed throughout history.

Jerry’s new identity does not last long. He cannot challenge the authority of the Vigils without facing any consequences. Jerry is to be made an outcast rather than a hero.

The Zoo is ever child’s dream of seeing strange animals that they have never seen before, but this zoo is like no other. “It was kept with things he could hunt, and it really wasn’t like any animal sanctuary” (Goldman 60). The zoo of Death as the zoo is called is full of

People think that animals want to be in zoos, but they really do not. In some zoos the owners or zookeepers see how the environment is making the animals feel bad or good and they try to change it by giving the animals a similar habitat to where they came from. All three stories “The Stripes Will Survive”, “The Zoos Go Wild”, and “Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment” deal with protecting animals but they all do so in different ways.

Outsiders Essay In the novel “The Outisders” by SE Hinton there are three themes, Family, Bravery and Death. The first theme is Family because the Greasers all treat each other like family and do anything to help. The second theme is Bravery because when the children got trapped in the church with a fire Johnny and Ponyboy help get the kids out of the building and Johnny gets badly burnt. The last and final theme is Death because Dally dies when robbing a supermarket with police after him.

This essay will attempt to connect Ray Bradbury’s use of irony to the themes that the author depicted.

Jerry Starts as a new kid at this Cathlic boys school called Trinity high. He has just recently lost his mother to illness and lives with his dad in a apartment. Jerry is a quiet kid throughout the story. When Jerry really starts to change is when Archie decides to make him a mark for the Vigils (secret society) assignment. Archie through minipulation is changeing Jerry little by little. A true turning point is when Archie gets Emile Janza, the school bully, to beat jerry up with the help of some middle schoolers. This ultimatly

Commentary: The author’s note is the story of how Pi’s story came to life. The author meets a friend of a guy who recalls and elaborates on his journey to Canada. The description is helpful in the understanding of how and why the book was made and it’s beneficial to know where the plot line came from.

So now you know that the reason he was killed jerry. First because he didn't know what he was doing like him laughing or killing him by cutting every limb off. The other reason is because he wouldn't just kill the guy because he didn't like him it was because of the “vulture eye” and there wasn't a “vulture eye” was just a eye but he didn't think so. So he had to kill him for that reason also the last reason was because he would stare at the eye all night at 12 midnight every day for a week then he killed

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.

The existentialist is one who is concerned only with that intense moment of awareness with only his senses at his disposal, never looking to the future – the most living awareness. McCandles, the protagonist, in Into the Wild has come to the realization that existence is already being dead and accepting the fact that life is absurd and marvelous. He embraced the sublime absurdity of existence by renouncing the language games society plays. What is so enticing about the existentialist is that he is not concerned with the pressure of appearances and small talk which society employs to lie about what they think and feel. Existentialism is accepting the inevitability of death and living life for the moment without entertaining hope or falsities that distract one from living and accepting truth. The existentialist sees the simplicity in life and the absurdity of complicating it with pretences and lies, the existentialist is a naked man, he is one who becomes one with the rest of creation in accepting his fate on this earth and not hoping for anything more – he simply exists.

In Edward Albee's play, The Zoo Story, Jerry tells Peter bizarre stories about people he has encountered that influence his shallow and lonely existence, to demonstrate Albee's 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 about the colored queen, the Puerto Rican family, the landlady, and the woman who cries all the time, in hopes of causing Peter to compare the meaninglessness of his life to their lives. In doing this, Jerry hopes Peter will realize that his life

For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they know from the society, they are attempting to find a meaning and purpose to their lives.