THEARTER the play The Zoo Story by Edward Albee Thesis

THEARTER the play The Zoo Story by Edward Albee - Thesis Example Jerry is an fairly attractive, repressed homosexual male in his late thirties whose demeanor suggests a man who has known better days. It is difficult to determine Jerry's exact socio-economic status because, although he has clearly fallen on hard times, living in a single room in a boarding house along with an assortment of society's rejects, Jerry is very intelligent and it is clear from his few, reported possessions, that he is probably a writer, or at the very least, a struggling writer. Jerry comes from a lower class background than Peter and has never known life on the upper east side of Manhattan. Jerry initiates the action at the beginning of the play in a direct, aggressive manner telling Peter, a total stranger, "I said, I've been to the zoo. MISTER, I'VE BEEN TO THE ZOO!" He is clearly the one with a mission and that mission is to make a connection with another human being. His desire is so strong that it is the driving force of the play. Once Jerry connects with Peter by eliciting his attention with the promise of "what happened at the zoo", he is able to unburden himself with his life story that culminates in "THE STORY OF JERRY AND THE DOG".