Rhinocerous

A detailed Summary of Rhinocerous

"Oh, a rhinoceros!" shouts Jean, the smug and somewhat shallow friend to the main character, Berenger, in the 20th century French play, Rhinoceros. Jean's response to the noisy intrusion of the two rhinoceroses running past the cafe is followed by a number of similar senseless responses from Jean's co-workers and acquaintances. Eugene Ionesco, the Romanian-born French dramatist, uses the absurd notion of rhinoceroses taking over a small provincial town in France to explore life's constant struggle between maintaining one's individuality and succumbing to the "mass-mind" of conformity. The three-act play is essentially a metaphor for people abandoning their own beliefs to join the mass herd majority. In fact, Ionesco describes it as an "anti-Nazi" play. It also reflects a view that holds the universe to be ultimately irrational, meaningless, and absurd; a notion commonly upheld in the "Theater of the Absurd," a mid-20th century theater movement. Tragedy and comedy collide in this illustration of the absurdity of the human condition.

The play centers on Berenger, a young man confused by life's many conflicts. His struggles with life reflect those of Ionesco himself. Berenger is the one character who sees the reality of lif

Of course, by saying that Ionesco's plays are more comic, the seriousness of the main themes found in his work are not meant to be downplayed. In fact, the ideas about the human condition that he depicts are very effectively presented and are enhanced with the use of absurdities. The characters engage in pointless and repetitive actions that emphasize the meaninglessness of their existence and the illogical way in which they live.

e and is determined not to succumb to the "disease" of conformity. However clear the problems of humanity are to him, his ultimate confusion is obvious when he says, "Sometimes I wonder if I exist myself". These existentialist concerns reflect Ionesco's philosophical questions of his own existence. In fact, this play causes its audience to contemplate such issues within themselves.

The plot of this play opens the eyes of its audience by the usage of many non-traditional dramatic techniques. The most obvious is Ionesco's use of the rhinoceros as a poetic metaphor of the "essential savagery" of human beings and also of the triviality of the universe. The rhinoceros contrasts completely with the images of beauty and nobility which characterized plays of earlier eras. The utter chaos and preposterou

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ionesco Berenger, Absurd Ionesco's, Romanian-born French, Theater Absurd, Serbs Bosnia, Rhinoceros Jean's, , Godot Endgame, Beckett Irish, truly absurd, absurd notion, poor little, 20th century, human condition, succumb disease,

Approximate Word count = 837
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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