Jerry

Jerry

Past
1. Parents
  1. Doesn't seem particularly enamoured with the memory of his parents - rather flippant BUT this may just be a coping mechanism, he trivialises Peter's sadness as well
  2. "Good old pop/mom" mocking
  3. Seems to blame them for their own deaths
2. Relationships
  1. Homosexuality
    1. J: I think I was very much in love
    2. Seems fixated with the idea of masculinity and proving his/P's manhood
      1. Fight for your manhood
  2. Women
    1. J: I do love the little ladies...for about an hour
    2. J: She embarked on an adulterous turn of the southern states
  3. He has difficulty maintaining meaningful relationships
  4. J: You use real experience as a substitute for the fantasy
3. Living situation
  1. Knows little to nothing about his neighbours
  2. P: She and her dog are the gatekeepers of my dwelling
    1. Hell
Character
1. Insecure
  1. J: Do you mind if we talk? P: no,no J: Yes you do (repeated)
2. Over-compensating
  1. J: I've been to the Zoo
    1. The first to initiate the conversation - trying to force Peter in to conversation, maybe to make himself feel more powerful.
3. Desperate
  1. J: Good old north
    1. Conforming to the societal expectations of polite conversation
4. Jealous/ resentful
  1. Mocks P multiple times for being knowledgeable, angry that he can't compete with him in that area, doesn't want to appear to be less than P
5. Domineering/rude
  1. You're not going to get lung cancer, are you?
    1. inappropriate, invasive, uncalled for and deliberate
    2. intentionally making P uncomfortable
    3. mocking P
6. Remote/ apathetic
  1. This may be a coping mechanism
  2. when is he being sincere?
7. Self-pitying
  1. Feels like he deserves better than what he has
  2. Blames others for his problems
  3. J: " I think the rooms get better as you go down...I guess they are; I don't know."
Importance as a character
1. Themes
  1. Stereotyping
  2. Impotence
  3. Class divide
  4. Resentment/ Fear
2. Albee
  1. A way to force the audience to reflect on their own stereotyping
  2. An allegory for the uprising of the lower classes.
  3. A foil for Peter
  4. Catalyst and director of all events within the play
Key quotes
Audience perception
1. Perhaps a source of guilt? He clearly has a miserable life should we have judged him so quickly?
2. Distaste at his crudeness
3. Confusion at his motives and emotions, he is very private somewhat of a mystery even to the audience
Relationship with Peter
1. Anger at his quick judgement
  1. J: The old pigeon-hole bit
  2. J: I'm not going to rob you
2. Anger/Resignation at his wilful ignorance
  1. P: I don't understand J: (furiously) That's a lie.
  2. J: I suppose you don't know what to make of me
  3. J: It's for reading about, isn't it?
3. Jealousy and Resentment
4. Gratitude
  1. P unwittingly gave him his final victory
  2. J: With great pain wipes the knife handle clean of fingerprints
  3. J: You have comforted me, dear Peter

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	Created by cynthia.anyadi about 8 years ago