Abstract

GOMEZ RODRIGUEZ, Luis Fernando. JERRY’S SUICIDAL PLAN IN THE ZOO STORY: AN OPTION TO FACE THE HUMAN FEELING OF ABSURDITY(. Linguist.lit. [online]. 2017, n.72, pp.117-134. ISSN 0120-5587.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.lyl.n72a06.

This article describes Jerry’s suicidal mind in Edward Albee’s most celebrated play The Zoo Story, a work having features of the theater of the absurd written in 1958. The article argues that Jerry’s social alienation in a meaningless capitalistic society leads him to plan his own suicide cautiously. The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior and Camus’s philosophical notion of suicide were implemented to examine Jerry’s gradual desire to die by suicide. It can be observed that Jerry creates three interdependent states of mind: a sense of thwarted belongingness, a sense of burdensomeness, and the acquired capacity to commit suicide. These states allowed Jerry to accomplish self-destruction successfully in response to his absurd existence.

Keywords : Social alienation; the theater of the absurd; the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior; the sense of thwarted belongingness; the myth of Sisyphus.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English     · English ( pdf )