The Zoo Story Study Guide

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. (read more)