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Zoo story
Task A – General
Below is a passage from near the beginning of the play Zoo Story
by Edward Albee  .
It was first published in 1958. Peter is sitting on a park bench reading
and Jerry, a total stranger, has struck up a conversation with him. The
extract, from near the beginning of the play, comes after a couple of
minutes of uneasy talk.
In later tasks we will function on particular turns in the extract and
the assumptions they involve. But first let’s gather some general
impressions about the extract as a whole.
Read the text below, carefully thinking about the
assumptions that each of the characters appear to hold. Focus particularly
on those cases where there is a clash between our assumptions and those
entertained by (one of) the characters.
Which character seems most peculiar and why? After
you have collected your thoughts, compare your initial impressions with
ours.
| JERRY: |
You have a TV, haven't you? |
(1) |
| PETER: |
Why yes, we have two; one for the children |
(2) |
| JERRY: |
You're married! |
(3) |
| PETER: |
Why, certainly. |
(4) |
| JERRY: |
It isn't a law, for God's sake. |
(5) |
| PETER: |
No ... no, of course not. |
(6) |
| JERRY: |
And you have a wife. |
(7) |
| PETER: |
Yes! |
(8) |
| JERRY: |
And you have children. |
(9) |
| PETER: |
Yes; two. |
(10) |
| JERRY: |
Boys? |
(11) |
| PETER: |
No, girls ... both girls. |
(12) |
| JERRY: |
But you wanted boys. |
(13) |
| PETER: |
Well ... naturally, every man wants a son, but ... |
(14) |
| JERRY: |
But that's the way the cookie crumbles? |
(15) |
| PETER: |
I wasn't going to say that. |
(16) |
Our answer
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