Theater of the Absurd focuses on man’s inability to comprehend the universe and his place in it. In most instances, the characters are inadequate and ill-equipped to understand the mysterious forces that surround them. The characters’ attempts to understand the world around them are often comical and pathetic.
Which Theatre of the Absurd Play Features a Man Caught in a Nutshell?
In Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, the main character is a man named Peter, who is a middle-aged man from the city. Peter has just moved to a new neighborhood and has begun to frequent a park bench in Central Park where he meets a young man named Jerry, who is also a stranger to the neighborhood. The two men strike up a conversation and Peter offers Jerry a cigarette. When Jerry accepts, Peter is shocked. Jerry then begins to tell Peter that he does not smoke and never has. Jerry then begins to tell Peter that he has been living on the streets at night and sleeping in Central Park during the day. Peter tells Jerry that he himself has a comfortable home in the suburbs and invites Jerry to come with him to his house. Jerry declines Peter’s invitation and he tells Peter that he prefers to live outdoors. The two men go on to discuss the universe and the meaning of life. Jerry explains to Peter how the universe is a gigantic black hole and that man is nothing but a bunch of electrons. Jerry goes on to say that he started living on the streets because he was tired of being around other people. As the two men sit together, Peter’s dog begins to growl and snap at Jerry. Peter goes over to his dog to try and quiet him. Peter then tells Jerry that he needs to leave because he has to go home to his wife and children. As Peter stands up to leave, Jerry suddenly pulls a knife from his pocket and stabs the dog. Peter tries to make Jerry stop, but Jerry continues to stab the dog until it dies. Peter is paralyzed with fear and does not know what to do. He cannot leave because his dog is dead and he cannot stay because Jerry has a knife. The play ends with Jerry still stabbing the dog while Peter sits next to him on the park bench. Jerry and Peter are now both trapped in the eternal darkness of the darkness of the universe.
Which Two Playwrights Are Associated With the Theater of the Absurd?
Theater of the Absurd is typically associated with two playwrights: Eugène Ionesco and Samuel Beckett. Beckett was a prolific playwright. He wrote over 40 plays that were translated into several languages and performed all over the world. He was born in Ireland in 1906 and grew up in a comfortable middle-class family. He went to Trinity College for his undergraduate degree and then to London to work for a publishing company. Beckett eventually returned to Ireland and married his first wife, also named Suzanne. The two had a daughter named Peggy in 1938. Beckett and his wife moved back to Paris in 1940. Beckett served in the French Resistance during World War II and was a member of the French Communist Party. After the war, he and his wife were awarded medals of honor by the French government for their service to the country. Beckett and his wife had a son named Enzo in 1947. They divorced in 1957. Eugène Ionesco was born in Romania in 1909. He was born in a well-to-do family. His father was a lawyer and the family owned several businesses. Ionesco attended the University of Bucharest and studied law. He left Romania in the 1930s and moved to Paris, France. He began to write plays during his time in Paris, but his work was not very well-received. He moved to the United States in the 1940s and was naturalized in 1946. His writing improved quite a bit during his time in the United States, but he was still not received well by critics. He returned to France in 1953 and lived there until his death in 1994.
Which Theater of the Absurd Play Features a Man Who Is Trapped in a Room With the Entire History of the World?
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is a play that features two characters named Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of Godot. The two main characters are quite different. Vladimir is a well-to-do man and is quite well-spoken. He carries around a suitcase that he claims contains the entire history of the world. Estragon, on the other hand, is a homeless man and is quite uncouth. The two men are waiting for Godot to arrive. However, Godot never comes. The next day, the two men return to the spot where they are supposed to meet Godot and they wait again. They continue to wait and wait, but Godot never comes. Eventually, the two men leave and they begin to wander around the countryside. They meet a farmer named Lucky and his son Pozzo. Pozzo is a man with a very large head and a very small body. Pozzo begins to mistreat Lucky, who is blind. He hits the old man and forces him to work for him. Pozzo and Lucky end up becoming separated and the two main characters run into Pozzo again. He is now alone and he is carrying a large bag. The two main characters approach him and ask him to give them the bag. Pozzo refuses to give them the bag and he claims that he does not have the bag. The main characters then take the bag from Pozzo and find that there is no bag in it. The two main characters then try to help Pozzo find his way back to where he was separated from his son. While they are doing this, a man named Lucky appears and they tell him that he is a man named Pozzo. The main characters and Lucky begin to run after a boy that they think is Pozzo’s son. Pozzo is now alone and has lost his son. The main characters and Lucky continue to run after the boy. The boy turns out to be a donkey that is grazing in a field. The main characters and Lucky find themselves in a field and they run out of breath. The main characters are tired and they fall asleep on the field. They are awakened by a man named Pozzo and his son. The man named Pozzo claims that he is the son of the other Pozzo and they walk away together.
