Language is a tricky thing when it comes to this play. People fail to connect and communicate throughout it—sometimes, because they’re unwilling to listen to what other folks have to say, and sometimes because they simply refuse to accept that someone could mean what’s coming out of their mouths.
Here’s what one enthusiast has to say about Ionesco’s use of language: “The breakdown of communication and emotional silence is a result of the meaningless noise that is uttered as language.”
Meaningless noise, huh? That about sums it up. Ultimately, language collapses in the play. As Berenger loses everyone around him to the way of the rhinoceros, he can no longer communicate with anyone other than himself. And even then, he’s not 100 percent sure he’s saying what he’s actually saying.
Questions About Language and Communication
- What is wrong with Jean’s voice when Berenger goes to Jean’s apartment? What does this indicate to Berenger, and how much quicker is the audience to figure it out than our drunken friend?
- Why does Berenger to start to question whether or not he is even speaking French?
- What role does journalism play in Rhinoceros?
- Why doesn’t Botard trust journalists?
Chew on This
Okay, so you’re the last person on Earth. Everyone else is a rhinoceros. How do you stay sane? Does language become a vital link to your past?
The Logician uses language in his syllogism to prove that dogs are cats and cats are dogs. Might this be a trick to demonstrate the arbitrary nature of language? Do words like “cat” and “dog” actually mean anything? If instead it were barking cats who chased meowing and hissing dogs, what would that mean about language?