TASK 6 (is not really addressed in this article)

Research the author: I have already published the basic information about Eugene Ionesco and I believe it's enough. I don't see the point in rewriting encyclopedias or copying boring information from Wikipedia. Nobody will ever remember these facts, anyway. I am more interested in finding out what kind of person Ionesco was and what his personality was like. Therefore, I found and watched an interview with him on YouTube (see the link below).

Discuss any relevant information about the author and what his or her motivations behind writing this piece were or might have been. Support. Well, this topic is addressed in the article 'It's happening now!'. 
 What interests me now is Ionesco's motivation for writing in general. Why did he write those drama plays? Why did he make them so absurd? This video probably gives us the answer. It starts to be quite thoughtful from 1:57, when he describes his first inspirations. Then he continues to explain what life means to him. Having read two of his plays, I can say that his philosophy of life that he presents in here is very apparent in his works.

The Main Themes

ABSURDITY

I've said it already and I'll say it again, so that you will remember: Eugene Ionesco is Master of the Theatre of the Absurd. And of course, Rhinoceros is full of absurdity. In addition to the fact that people change into rhinos, there are even more situations that leave me perplexed. The best examples of these are the conversations of the (supposedly) reasonable people. They try to use logic and intellect but their arguments always lead to a dead end. Finally, the issue is not solved but even more complicated  I will publish some of the quotes in one of the next posts to make you understand what I mean. As Ms. Helebrantová once mentioned in our lesson, the Theatre of the Absurd is sort of existentialism in drama. Let me quote the almighty Wikipedia which says that existentialists have the "sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism). I believe that this is what Ionesco felt when writing this play. 

TRANSFORMATION

Here I don't want to discuss the obvious human-rhino transformation; I just want to say that there are also some changes in people’s minds, their behavior and their characteristics. Let’s start with the main character Berenger – at the beginning of the play he is just a man with no visible interest, not caring about what happens around him. As the play proceeds and all of his friends change into beasts, he starts to freak out. I mean, who wouldn’t? But Berenger is a special case, because at first he was not surprised by anything, not even by the rhino in the streets of a French town. He just didn‘t care. At the end, not only does he care, he also changes into the saviour of the human kind. Moreover, he starts to feel responsible for what’s going on around him.

Another example of transformation is his biggest friend Jean who seems to be very balanced and rational. In the first act, he keeps persuading Berenger to „exercise more will-power and not surrender to life's pressures“ (http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/rhinoceros/themes.html). However, as we all know, it is finally Jean who surrenders to life’s pressures, whereas Berenger acquires a strong will and fights against the majority.

CONFORMITY

If you want to know more about this theme, please read my posts from February 8 and February 15 =).

"There are many sides to reality. Choose the one that's best for you." (Ionesco)

So that's how you change an actor into rhino on the stage!
It's actually not necessary for the play. The numerous rhinoceroses that are involved in the performance never appear on the stage. They are only somewhere in the background, making noticeable noise and attracting all actors who always start to scream: “Oh, I rhinoceros!” They probably do so to draw the audience’s attention to the non-existent beasts. Anyway, the idea presented in this picture is simply clever!


Today I should talk about the plot and the major events that happen in the play, but I have talked about this many times before. And I also know the ending, so I cannot make any speculations or guesses about it. Instead I wanna post a short video which  summarizes the main events and describes Ionesco's life. 

It's happening now!

We don't know the time period Rhinoceros is set in, but that is not essential for the understanding of the play. Generally accepted opinion is that Ionesco wrote this play as an allegory to the rise of fascism in Romania. It is quite possible that he got the inspiration from his home country, and that the masses of rhinoceroses represent the masses of people who joined the Romanian movement Iron Guard during the 1930s. However, I believe that it can be understood in a broader context and applied to our world as well. It happened many times in the history - one ideology (or even a simple idea) became powerful and attracted thousands of people. No matter how irrational the idea was, it had soon many followers. In extreme cases, the followers started to suppress other people (like the communists in Czechoslovakia). And then it is simple - you're either with us or against us. There is no middle way. In these cases, most of the people give up and join the movement, because it is much easier than to fight against the movement with the minority.

And let's make it even simpler - it's not concerning just the massive ideologies. It' happening all around us, in our society. Once there is a general trend, the majority of people starts to follow. Of course, there are more 'outcasts' who don't go with the crowd than in the case of political movements, because these 'outcasts' don't have to be worried and afraid of capital punishment, prison, or some ingenious methods of torture. If you don't follow, you are only considered 'out'. Anyway, even this punishment - the exclusion from the society - is usually strong enough to make you act as the rest of the peers act. Just to give an example -- when I was in grade 2 or 3, there was a huge trend among all girls. They started to use the elastic ribbon to jump over it,with it, under it and through it in various ways. The whole series of jumps were invented and numbered from 1 to 15 according to their difficulty. The girls were jumping during the breaks and in the afternoons and at homes and outside -- and I was jumping, too. I succumbed to this general trend and joined the masses of 8-year old girls. I, too, became rhinoceros.

You see? Rhinoceros is not a strange nonsensical play. The described events are quite realistic. It was always happening and it always will. It's happening now!

If you were bored, watch this. It is the play performed by the The Baltimore Annex Theater and watching it is much more entertaining than reading the book.

All cats die. Socrates is dead. Therefore Socrates is a cat.

The main character of Rhinoceros is BERENGER. Even though he is good-humored and bright, he is also a desperate drunkard who can't get used to life. On the contrary, his friend JEAN is the man who thinks logically, practically and who is always prepared for everyday things. These two guys meet at the cafe for a friendly talk. However, their debate becomes rather monotonous and develops only in one direction --> Jean criticizes Berenger in everything he does and advises him how to live and what to do to be more normal. Berenger trusts his friend and wants to change, but 'that's not so easy' (p.21). He can only see the obstacles in his way. In this discussion they actually  share their most fundamental opinions on life.

Their debate is often interrupted by the LOGICIAN and THE OLD GENTLEMAN who discuss even more banal issues. The Logician is trying to teach his logic to the Gentleman, who learns quickly and eagerly. They are both devoted to their discussion. However, the logic they practice is absolutely absurd and useless -- if you want an example of it, read the title of this article. 

Anyway, all of these people are disturbed by a huge rhinoceros running in the town. It's not an animal that escaped from the zoo, it's one of the citizens who has decided to become a rhinoceros. As I mentioned before, all of the citizen will eventually go through this transformation, except of Berenger. Even his reasonable friend Jean succumbs to this general trend. Most likely, Ionesco wanted to express his fear of conformity to society. He wanted to show that even the most rational people can act like sheep and follow the crowd. I think he wanted to say that no matter how normal you are, you can be considered freak if the rest of the society is abnormal.

Don't you feel it is still relevant in today's world?