Alienation As The Reason For Berenger s Resistance

Differing from Kafka, Ionesco uses the theme of alienation as the reason for Berenger’s resistance, in Rhinoceros. Alcoholism is a major cause of his alienation, in Act Three, Berenger considers alcohol as the reason for his isolation and subsequent inability to transform. When conversing with Dudard, he says ‘[A]lcohol is good for epidemics. It immunizes you †¦ Jean never touched alcohol. He just pretended to. Maybe that’s why he†¦ perhaps that explains his attitude’ (Ionesco 1960: 76). This insinuates that Berenger understands why he does not transform into rhinoceros, identifying his own alienation. ‘Only his drinking serves to inoculate him from this epidemic and from the side effect of this epidemic, the powerful loneliness inherent in†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœIonesco blamed the world around him for giving him nightmares, thus suggesting that his fiction was inspired by reality. He went on to say that the very act of denounc ing the nightmare may free the world of them’ (Lupas 2014: 87). Berenger attempts to actively resist the nightmare of transforming, but fails, leaving him alone in a world of rhinoceros. Thus, Ionesco represents the rhinoceros as history’s ultimate nightmare. The relationship between Berenger and Jean is also important in highlighting the protagonist’s alienation. In the opening of the play, Berenger is described as ‘unshaven and hatless, with unkempt hair and creased clothes; everything about him indicates negligence’ (Ionesco 1960: 4). He is compared to the character of Jean, who arrives ‘very fastidiously dressed: brown suit, red tie, stiff collar, brown hat’ (4). Jean’s appearance sets him as a stereotypical man of the time, contrasting with Berenger, who is an untidy, alcoholic that cannot conform to social expectations. ‘From the outset we find little in Berenger s life that would appear to be worth defending’ (Danner 1979: 209). The absence of hope in Berenger, at the beginning, immediately alienates him from the rest of the characters. Ionesco’s emphasis on work as a duty to society runs throughout the play. ‘Berenger is consistently late for work at a publisher s shop. He resists the conformity of punching a time clock’ (Davies 2002: 646). Berenger’s apathy towards work is what makes himShow MoreRelatedMetamorphosis And Rhinoceros : Conformity Through The Representation Of Animals Essay1845 Words   |  8 Pagesanimals representing humans are crucial to the themes of alienation and resistance in these texts. Kafka uses animals to alienate Gregor from conforming to society. Arguably, the metamorphosis is the only way for Gregor to resist conforming, showing that Kafka represents animals as a physical rejection of conformist lifestyle. Comparably, Ionesco uses animals in the opposite way to Kafka. On one hand, he portrays Berenger’s alienation as a reason for resisting conformity. On the other, Ionesco explores