The Zoo Story

The Zoo Story Summary | Pages 11-25 Summary

The play opens in the present day in Central Park in New York City, as two men begin to converse. Jerry, a man in his late thirties, walks into the park, finds Peter, a man in his early forties and begins to ask him questions about the zoo. The two men have never previously met, but obviously come from different worlds. Jerry, more unkempt, disheveled and rugged, seems out of place speaking with Peter, a reserved and classic-looking gentleman on a park bench. Jerry wonders if he has been walking north and continues to interrupt Peter from reading his paper.

Jerry informs Peter that he will learn all about what Jerry saw at the zoo in the papers. Then, Jerry proceeds to ask Peter if he has children. Peter concedes, saying he has two, but will have no more. Jerry informs his new friend that he does not like to speak to people much, but every once in a while, he likes to talk to people and make new friends. At this moment, Peter still seems uncomfortable, but obliges Jerry in his musings. Jerry wonders if this man with two daughters has pets. Peter's daughters each have a parakeet encaged in their room. Peter is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this stranger asking him such personal questions, such as what he does for a living and how much money he makes.

Peter is an executive at a small textbook publishing house. He laughs nervously, informing Jerry that while he makes approximately $18,000 per year, he carries no more than forty dollars at a time. Jerry repeatedly ignores Peter's comments and continuously asks Peter random and somewhat personal questions, such as where he lives, where he was coming from, background about the zoo and finally what writers he likes. Peter returns to the question of the zoo, as Jerry seemed so emphatic about it when they first met a few moments earlier. On hearing this question, Jerry is bewildered, confused by Peter's questions. Peter assumes that Jerry lives in the Village, as he is walking north from the zoo. However, Jerry quickly corrects him: "No, I don't. I took the subway down to the Village so I could walk all the way up Fifth Avenue to the zoo. It's one of those things a person has to do; sometimes a person has to go a very long distance out of his way to come back a short distance correctly" (Albee 25).