Zoo Story Essay, Research Paper

Jerry s Problems

In Edward Albee s The Zoo Story, Jerry has problem separating between emotions

of love and choler, because of his unhappy childhood. This is shown repeatedly throughout the

narrative in both is words and actions. His inability to form his feelings is what finally causes

his ain decease.

When Jerry tells the narrative of the Canis familiaris, he says he foremost fed the Canis familiaris beefburgers in order to

addition its trust, and let him free transition throughout his flat. When this didn T alteration his

relationship with the animate being, he fed it a poisoned beefburger in an effort to kill. Subsequently in his

narrative he tells Peter that I didn t want the Canis familiaris to decease. I didn t, and non merely because I d

poisoned him ( 18 ) . He reaffirms this once more in the narrative when he says I loved the Canis familiaris now, and

I wanted him to love me ( 19 ) . At first, he showed the Canis familiaris love with un-poisoned beefburgers.

Then his emotions changed to detest, and he attempted to kill the Canis familiaris with a poisoned Burger.

And eventually, he felt love for the Canis familiaris once more. These types of temper swings are characteristic of

person with a serious mental upset. It is non surprising to see Jerry have the same kind of

temper swings toward the terminal of the drama.

Jerry wants to link with Peter, and relates to him much in the same manner as he did

with the Canis familiaris. At first, Jerry is friendly and benign as he talks with Jerry about his household. Then

Jerry tells the narrative of the Canis familiaris, and subsequently his emotions change to anger and detest. He

clouts Peter in the arm and demands the bench to himself, which astounds Peter. He does

non understand why Jerry is moving in his schizophrenic manner, even though it

was told to him

through the Canis familiaris narrative. Then Jerry pulls out a knife, and ends up falling on it and mortally

injuring himself. After this, he calms down and feels love for Peter, and says I came unto

you, and you have comforted me. Beloved Peter ( 27 ) . His pique eventually caught up with Jerry,

and he paid with his life.

The ground for Jerry s emotional jobs go back to his childhood. He tells Peter

early in the narrative that his female parent died when he was ten and a half old ages old, and his male parent

followed a few hebdomads subsequently. He moved in with his aunt, and she died a several old ages subsequently. This

would hold a awful emotional impact on any kid, and explains the fickle behaviour exhibited

by Jerry. This besides affected Jerry s sex life. I ne’er see the pretty small ladies more than one time,

he says ( 12 ) . This is because of his inability to link with people. He besides expresses his

confusion during his address about the Canis familiaris ; And, was seeking to feed the Canis familiaris an act of love?

And, possibly, was the Canis familiaris s effort to seize with teeth me non an act of love? If we can so

misunderstand, good so, why have we invented the word love in the first topographic point? ( 20 ) . This

extract shows Jerry s inability to separate between love and hatred. He inquiries whether his

eating of the Canis familiaris was demoing love. If he doesn t understand the emotions behind his ain

actions when covering with animate beings, it will be hard for him to use them to human interaction.

Jerry has jobs linking to others people, ensuing from an unhappy childhood.

Because of his assorted up emotions, he misunderstands the thoughts of love and hatred. It is this

confusion that finally causes his battle with Peter and his ain decease.