Symbolism and Naturalism in Edward Albee's The Zoo Story

-a strong suggestion of the gimmick. Because American playwrights have been self-conscious in employing symbols, their symbolism is almost always embarrassingly obvious. It calls attention to itself and exists as a kind of scaffolding which the audience feels the playwright should either have built over or removed. For example, O'Neill's symbolistic drama, which has, of course, shaped all later American drama, directs attention