The Zoo Story post3

“It’s just… it’s just that… it’s just that if you can’t deal with people, you have to make a start somewhere. WITH ANIMALS!”
The statement from the play “The Zoo Story” by Edward Albee is very interesting because of the many components which draw the reader’s attention to it. The many techniques Albee acquires to describe what the main character, Jerry, is feeling help the scene gain meaning. Both the rhetorical and literary devices Edward Albee practices amplify the purpose of this line.
The author of the play accommodates various devices in this statement to emphasis to the reader to pay attention to the theory Jerry describes. The reader realizes early on in the play that Jerry is lonely but cannot hold a normal conversation. This event then lets Jerry learn about himself and makes the connection that he prefers relationships with animals rather than with humans. Albee builds this correlation to further demonstrate Jerry’s detachment from society. The repetition of the phrase “it’s just” displays Jerry’s embarrassment towards the situation and his inability to admit it fully to himself. The “start” that Jerry illustrates is a metaphor for the relationship Jerry wishes to form with other human beings which is also displayed when Jerry states earlier in the play that he likes to just sit and get to know someone in the park each day. Edward Albee wishes to emphasis the desperate need for compassion and someone to talk to that all humans have. Another important literary technique is the capitalization of the “with animals.” This syntactical style literally grabs the attention of the reader and shows Jerry’s substitution for human companionship with animal companionship. These techniques help Edward Albee display to the reader the significance of this quote to the play as a whole.
Therefore, Edward Albee uses many literary and rhetorical devices in this statement. The incorporation of these devices gives the reader more incentive to pay attention to the scene and to understand the themes that Albee presents. This line contributes to the play by adding to the plot and existentialist meaning of the play.