Society believes that there are three forms of alienation – from ourselves, from other men, and from our world. Alienation of Jerry in Albee’s “Zoo Story” was his inadequacy of being a human being in relation to the world. He sees the world as an object of perception and is distance from the world, rather than living with it.
Jerry meets Peter. Jerry and Peter are as dissimilar as possible. Peter is a respectable citizen, a husband and father of two girls, two cat and two parakeets. He is a successful man in his early forties and in good shape. He’s a regular guy who conforms to social norms. Jerry on the other hand is in his late thirties, not in good shape and lives alone in a boarding house on the opposite side of town. Peter …show more content…
Peter realizes very early on that Jerry is awkward but when Jerry starts talking about the landlady’s dog it truly drives home the fact that Jerry has some serious social relationship issues. Jerry is desperate for a relationship he becomes almost obsessed with the dog. We learn that Jerry’s views on relationships are just a little warped when he thinks the dog likes him because it attacks him. Jerry decides to feed the dog with hamburgers or kill it with kindness and when that did not work he just tried to kill it. “First, I’ll kill the dog with kindness, and if that doesn’t work…I’ll just kill him” (1915). The dog represents how Jerry has relationships with other people we get this allegory when Jerry tells us he and the dog harbor “sadness, suspicion and indifference” for each other (1917). Jerry once again observes a parallel between humans’ relationships with animals and their relationships with each other. “It’s just that if you can’t deal with people, you have to make a start somewhere. WITH ANIMALS” (1917)! Jerry substitutes animals for human company. We know this because Jerry expects the dog to understand his motivations for trying to kill it. “I hoped that the dog would understand” (1917). This odd relationship with a dog reveals the extent of his loneliness and desperation for human
Jerry meets Peter. Jerry and Peter are as dissimilar as possible. Peter is a respectable citizen, a husband and father of two girls, two cat and two parakeets. He is a successful man in his early forties and in good shape. He’s a regular guy who conforms to social norms. Jerry on the other hand is in his late thirties, not in good shape and lives alone in a boarding house on the opposite side of town. Peter …show more content…
Peter realizes very early on that Jerry is awkward but when Jerry starts talking about the landlady’s dog it truly drives home the fact that Jerry has some serious social relationship issues. Jerry is desperate for a relationship he becomes almost obsessed with the dog. We learn that Jerry’s views on relationships are just a little warped when he thinks the dog likes him because it attacks him. Jerry decides to feed the dog with hamburgers or kill it with kindness and when that did not work he just tried to kill it. “First, I’ll kill the dog with kindness, and if that doesn’t work…I’ll just kill him” (1915). The dog represents how Jerry has relationships with other people we get this allegory when Jerry tells us he and the dog harbor “sadness, suspicion and indifference” for each other (1917). Jerry once again observes a parallel between humans’ relationships with animals and their relationships with each other. “It’s just that if you can’t deal with people, you have to make a start somewhere. WITH ANIMALS” (1917)! Jerry substitutes animals for human company. We know this because Jerry expects the dog to understand his motivations for trying to kill it. “I hoped that the dog would understand” (1917). This odd relationship with a dog reveals the extent of his loneliness and desperation for human