THE SYMBOLIC MOTIF OF ‘CHILDISH GAMES’ IN ALBEE’S PLAYS THE ZOO STORY AND WHO IS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
Keywords:
Edward Albee, Harmful Games, The Zoo StoryAbstract
This article focuses on Edward Albee's plays The Zoo Story and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The article also discusses the ‘first act’ of The Zoo Story written after about a half of a century and presents these works written in different periods as a whole with the symbolic background of the ‘harmful games’ of the characters. The author ironically represents the members of academic society. The characters in the plays are reduced to an animal level, to the ‘the state of nature’ by ‘childish games,’ but they no longer want to be in the state and prefer to face the truth. The story that starts in the ‘prequel’ to The Zoo Story, ends in Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the ultimate game that is directed against the Creator, still continues and ends with chaos, ends with the most intense form of Hobbesian ‘state of nature.’
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References
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