Rhinoceros Language and Communication Quotes

This little snippet gives us a glimpse into the relationship between Jean and Berenger. From the get go, they just can’t seem to talk straight to each other. Berenger comes off as uninterested for much of the conversation, and Jean never feels like Berenger is talking honestly or even really listening. Remember, these fellas are supposed to be good friends. If they can’t even communicate like two adults, what’s going to happen for strangers on the street?

Who doesn’t love a good “How dare you!” moment in a play? As Jean and Berenger’s conversation continues, and each one thinks the other is saying something they may not actually be saying at all, the two friends start to get angry. The breakdown in communication leads them to bicker like little children.

Yes, the “Dead cats column.” No, not the obituaries. Yes, ridiculous. Beyond that little twist on the journalism trade, this moment highlights another aspect of communication that Ionesco challenges—the written word. Dudard is a slave to what’s written in the newspaper. If it’s there, it must be true. Just like everything you read about celebrities in the tabloids. Duh.

Whenever Dudard has his moments, it’s important to give Botard his response. Which is, of course, equally absurd. Dudard believes all written communication, Botard believes none. With these two guys, it could become difficult to ever know if anything actually ever happened. Even if it’s in the tabloids.

Minor or major, the bulk of the characters throughout the play seem to have an insatiable thirst to know what is going on with everyone else in the town. Like a middle-school cafeteria. However, without proof, or with refusal of all proof, it’s easy for characters to just devolve into gossip. Especially when they’re talking about who transformed into a rhinoceros. Which is the biggest dish in most middle schools, too.

What happens when you abandon your humanity and decide to change into a rhinoceros? You lose your words, that’s what happens. As Jean gets closer and closer to the transformation, it becomes more difficult for Berenger to communicate with him at all. He just has to guess from the type of snorts he makes.

This is like those moments when you call someone up and you hear them saying “hello” like twenty times, but you accidentally pressed the mute button with your face so they can’t hear you at all. Jean claims he can still understand Berenger, but Berenger can only get the occasional phrase between rhino grunts. Language is falling apart in the scene. These two are no longer speaking the same language. Or even the same species.

Berenger’s not even talking to rhino-Jean anymore here. It’s one of those moments when you think you’re being crystal clear but everyone else is either not listening or choosing to take your words in a different way. Which is how Berenger feels when he talks to Dudard in the final act. They’re getting their debate on, and Berenger believes that Dudard is making a point of not getting his point. Yep, better believe another rhino’s about to sprout.

The fact that Berenger still thinks talking and “writing manifestos” are going to make a difference at this point in the play is comical (and is usually seen that way by an audience). Rhinos are storming the streets. What is a manifesto going to do? This is one of those moments in which Ionesco seems to suggest that sometimes action is the only option. Language and communication fail to be an effective tool at some point.

Whew, boy. This is it. This is the moment of the utter collapse of communication in the play. Seriously, what is French? If only one person can speak it, is it still French, and then does it even matter what it’s called? By the end of the play, Berenger is speaking to himself and no one can understand. He’s yelling at nobody (unless, of course, you count the audience). Also, think of the added language disconnect that happens when this play is being performed in English and Berenger is saying he is speaking French. It’s just an added bonus to the language collapse.