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Peter
Jerry is slightly younger than Peter and much less wealthy than him; he is also erratic, possessed of “a great weariness” but also of great strength. Jerry has no living family nor does he have a romantic partner, as he struggles to establish either sexual or interpersonal intimacy with other people. Jerry lives in a run-down boarding-house on the Upper West Side, and does not appear to be employed. He is a very physical person, not only behaving violently but also engineering his own suicide. In his brute physicality, he might initially seem to embody the very primal instincts that Peter tries to repress. However, Jerry is also very intelligent. He is able to infer a great deal about Peter’s life after spending only a few moments with him, and he has a uniquely complex view of the world, stemming in part from his inability to “simplify” things. Jerry, therefore, can be seen as existing both at the zoo—an astute observer of others—and in the zoo, acting out the very contradictory behavior he is so fascinated by.
Jerry Quotes in The Zoo Story
The The Zoo Story quotes below are all either spoken by Jerry or refer to Jerry. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Zoo Story Quotes
JERRY: I’ve been to the zoo (PETER doesn’t notice). I said I’ve been to the zoo. MISTER, I SAID I’VE BEEN TO THE ZOO!
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JERRY: I don’t talk to many people—except to say like: give me a beer, or where’s the john, or what time does the feature go on, or keep your hands to yourself, buddy. You know—things like that.
PETER: I must say I don’t…
JERRY: But every once in a while I like to talk to somebody, really talk; like to get to know somebody, know all about him.
PETER (lightly laughing, still a little uncomfortable): And am I the guinea pig for today?
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JERRY: Do you know what I did before I went to the zoo today? I walked all the way up Fifth Avenue from Washington Square; all the way.
PETER: Oh; you live in the Village! (This seems to enlighten PETER)
JERRY: 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 in order to come back a short distance correctly.
PETER (almost pouting): Oh, I thought you lived in the Village.
JERRY: What were you trying to do? Make sense out of things? Bring order? The old pigeonhole bit?
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JERRY: What I wanted to get at is the value difference between pornographic playing cards when you’re a kid, and pornographic playing cards when you’re older. It’s that when you’re a kid you use the cards as a substitute for a real experience, and when you’re older you use real experience as a substitute for the fantasy.
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PETER: It’s so…unthinkable. I find it hard to believe that people such as that really are.
JERRY (Lightly mocking): It’s for reading about, isn’t it?
PETER (Seriously): Yes.
JERRY: And fact is better left to fiction.
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JERRY: It’s just that if you can’t deal with people, you have to make a start somewhere… with vomiting, with fury because the pretty little ladies aren’t pretty little ladies, with making money with your body which is an act of love and I could prove it, with howling because you’re alive; with God. How about that?
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JERRY: So: the dog and I looked at each other. I longer than the dog. And what I saw then has been the same ever since. Whenever the dog and I see each other we both stop where we are. We regard each other with a mixture of sadness and suspicion, and then we feign indifference. We walk past each other safely; we have an understanding. It’s very sad, but you’ll have to admit that it is an understanding.
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JERRY: I have learned that neither kindness nor cruelty, independent of themselves, creates any effect beyond themselves; and I have learned that the two combined, together at the same time, are the teaching emotion. And what is gained is loss.
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PETER: (As JERRY tickles) Oh, hee, hee, hee. I must go. I . . .hee, hee, hee. After all, stop, stop, hee, hee, hee, after all, the parakeets will be getting dinner ready soon. Hee, hee. And the cats are setting the table. Stop, stop, and, and . . . (PETER is beside himself now) . . . and we’re having . . . hee, hee . . . uh . . . ho, ho, ho.
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JERRY: I went to the zoo to find out more about the way people exist with animals, and the way animals exist with each other, and with people too. It probably wasn’t a fair test, what with everyone separated by bars from everyone else, the animals for the most part from each other, and always the people from the animals. But, if it’s a zoo, that’s the way it is.
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JERRY: You have everything in the world you want; you’ve told me about your home, and your family, and your own little zoo. You have everything, and now you want this bench. Are these the things men fight for? Tell me, Peter, is this bench, this iron and this wood, is this your honor? Is this the thing in the world you’d fight for? Can you think of anything more absurd?
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JERRY: And Peter, I’ll tell you something now; you’re not really a vegetable; it’s all right, you’re an animal. You’re an animal, too.
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Jerry Character Timeline in The Zoo Story
The timeline below shows where the character Jerry appears in The Zoo Story. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Zoo Story
...spending his Sunday afternoon reading on a bench in Central Park. A disheveled stranger named Jerry, with an air of “great weariness” about him, approaches Peter.
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Jerry tells Peter that he has “been to the zoo.” Not understanding that Jerry is speaking...
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Peter prepares a pipe, prompting Jerry to mention all the different kinds of cancer that smoking can give you, and he...
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Even though he’s aware that Peter would rather read, Jerry presses Peter to have a conversation with him. Once again, Jerry announces that he has...
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Jerry now presses Peter for information about himself. Peter reveals that he is married and has...
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Jerry wants to continue asking Peter questions; while he doesn’t talk to a lot of people,...
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When Jerry asks about Peter’s pets, he learns that Peter—who loves dogs—has two cats because that is...
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Jerry asks Peter what he does for a living, and Peter replies that he works as...
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Peter again asks about the zoo, but Jerry seems confused by the reference. Out of nowhere, he asks Peter: “what’s the dividing line...
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Beginning to slowly pace the stage, Jerry tells Peter that, before going to the zoo, he walked all the way uptown from...
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In a long monologue, Jerry accuses Peter of trying to “pigeonhole” him. He explains that he actually lives on the...
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Jerry lists all of his possessions, from his hot plate to his “pornographic playing cards.” He...
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Peter suggests Jerry might put pictures of his parents or “a girlfriend” in the frames—but Jerry announces that...
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Jerry asks Peter his name, and the two men introduce themselves for the first time in...
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After hearing Jerry’s description of his life, Peter declares that it “it seems perfectly simple to me.” Jerry...
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Jerry again mentions his pornographic playing cards. Peter jokes that he himself is familiar with the...
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Jerry brings the zoo up again, and Peter is enthusiastic to hear about what happened there...
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Jerry explains that the landlady is constantly “spying” on him from the hallway. When she is...
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Repulsed by Jerry’s description of the landlady, Peter muses that it’s “hard to believe” people like that really...
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Jerry describes the dog as old and black, with bloodshot eyes, open wounds, and a permanent...
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Jerry bought a bunch of hamburger meat and offered it to the dog. The dog then...
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When Jerry announces that he attempted to murder the dog, Peter is horrified—but Jerry tells he can...
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When Jerry brought home the poisoned meat, the dog—which he describes as “malevolence with an erection”—scarfed it...
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The landlady had asked Jerry to pray for the dog, and then had accused Jerry of wanting the dog to...
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Jerry informs Peter that the dog eventually recovered and the landlady went back to drinking. To...
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When he did once again meet the dog in the hallway, Jerry and the dog stared into each other’s faces and “made contact.” Now, Jerry felt that...
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Jerry becomes agitated and tells Peter, “if you can’t deal with people, you have to make...
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Jerry tells Peter that he believes that the building’s entrance hall, with the dog—“man’s best friend”—was...
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Jerry tries to articulate his sense of sadness at having gained “free passage” into his apartment...
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A “suddenly cheerful” Jerry asks Peter if Peter thinks he could sell the story of the dog to Reader’s...
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...does not want to hear any more about the landlady or her dog. This upsets Jerry, who has convinced himself that the dog belongs to him, although he quickly admits that...
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Jokingly, Jerry suggests that Peter does not know what to make of him; Peter jokes back that...
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...from the bench as he starts to say that he has to get going, but Jerry begins to tickle him. Peter is very ticklish, and he squirms, pleading with Jerry to...
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Now very calm, Jerry asks Peter if he wants to hear about what happened at the zoo. Peter, coming...
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Peter moves over, and Jerry continues to describe the zoo. But every few sentences, Jerry pokes Peter increasingly hard—until he...
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Peter asks Jerry why he is behaving like this, and Jerry declares “I’m crazy, you bastard.” Jerry explains...
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Jerry insists that he wants the bench, and he scoffs when Peter tries to argue that...
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Jerry tells Peter to “give me my bench,” but Peter yells back that it is “MY...
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Jerry threatens Peter, telling him that he will never again be able to sit on his...
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Jerry asks Peter why he cares about the bench, since he already has “everything in the...
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Jerry accuses Peter of not having any idea about “what other people need.” Peter insists that...
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Still sitting on the bench, Jerry muses that Peter has a “certain dignity” about him. Jerry then rises, agreeing to fight...
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Horrified, Peter does not want to pick up the knife. Jerry grabs Peter by the collar, standing so close to him that their “faces almost touch,”...
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Jerry says “So be it!” and then runs onto the knife that Peter is now holding,...
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As he dies, Jerry calmly thanks Peter and expresses his relief that he did not drive Peter away. Jerry...
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Jerry warns Peter that he should leave before anyone comes and sees Peter with the knife....
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With great effort, Jerry uses his handkerchief to wipe Peter’s fingerprints off the switchblade. Jerry encourages Peter to run,...
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