In the Zoo (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Jean Stafford
- First Published: 1953
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Memory, Dogs, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Orphans or orphanages, Hunting or hunters, Animals, Poisons or poisoning, Animals, dangerous, Zoos
- Locales: Adams, CO
“In the Zoo” is a story told within a frame. It begins and ends in the Denver, Colorado, zoo, where two middle-aged women are sitting on a bench, eating popcorn and watching the animals. Neither of them lives in Denver; Daisy has just come there to put her sister, the narrator, on a train heading east. After her departure, Daisy will return to her own home west of Denver. Neither sister has any intention of visiting Adams, Colorado, the nearby town where they spent their childhood. However, when Daisy observes that the blind polar bear reminds her of Mr. Murphy, the sisters are...
[The entire page is 707 words long]
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