Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Berenger

This story belongs to Berenger. He’s in every scene. He’s the only human left standing at the end of the show. You can’t really deny he’s the main guy.

If we were to break his journey down to the most basic level (and you know we’re going to), we’d find a guy who starts off indifferent to the world around him and ends up completely outraged. This journey isn’t necessarily one that moves forward step-by-step, and he takes some detours and battles along the way, but in the end, he’s a different man.

Remember the first time a rhino shows its horn in town? This is how Berenger reacts:

JEAN: Well, what did you think about it?

BERENGER: Well…nothing…it made a lot of dust… (1.1.300-302)

Yes, dust can get in the way of a Sunday morning drink. “It made a lot of dust,” he says. Sounds like someone who couldn’t care less that a rhinoceros just made its way onto the scene. Why would he bother? As long as his bottomless mimosa didn’t reach its bottom.

This is a very different Berenger than the one who shouts out at the beasts in the end:

BERENGER: I’ll put a fight up against the lot of them, the whole lot of them! (3.1.1292-1293)

Now that’s a shift. Embracing humanity and without a drink in his hand. At least he still gets to dress sloppy—who’s there to judge?