The Caged Soul: A Study of Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story

Abstract


Edward Albee is one of the world-wide known dramatists. His plays question broad issues that have to do with the dilemmas of the modern man in general. One of these issues is the caged existence of the modern man. He portrays characters who are victims to their gruesome loneness. They live on the margin of their society, and they are estranged almost from their fellow people.
Thus, this paper tries to examine Albee’s treatment of the theme of the caged being of man in one of his outstanding plays, The Zoo Story, focusing on the alienated life of Jerry who lives and dies in his zoo, with no recognition or sympathy from the people of his society. It also examines how Jerry seeks redemption through media, which he hopes to give him a name for his nameless existence.