How we cite our quotes: Act.Scene.Line
Quote #10
BERENGER: I’m not joining you; I don’t understand you! I’m staying as I am. I’m a human being. A human being. (3.1.1226-1228)
This is it—Berenger’s final claim to his humanness, his individuality, and his identity. He is the only one willing to hold on to who he is. This has put him in an impossible spot, but one that Ionesco seems to suggest is necessary. Without the Berengers of the world, mankind can get swept up into the kind of mass hysteria that leads to war, death, and destruction on a global scale.