The Hairy Ape (Masterplots II: Drama)
At a glance:
- Author: Eugene O’Neill
- First Published: 1922
- Type of Work: Expressionistic
- Time of Work: The early 1900’s
- Setting: On board a steamship and in New York City
- Principal Characters: Robert “Yank” Smith, Paddy, Long, Mildred Douglas, Mildred’s Aunt
- Genres: Drama, Expressionist literature
- Subjects: Twentieth century, Alienation, Class consciousness, Human race, Lower classes, Ships, Isolation
- Locales: New York, NY, Oceans
The Play
The Hairy Ape opens in the overheated stokehold of a steamer, ocean-bound from New York. The stokers raise a cacophony of sailor-like chatter. The dim-witted Yank has most of the speeches, and he soon reveals himself as relatively content where he is. He feels as if he belongs; his life suits him. In the first scene, he is revealed to be a person of strong feelings that are not based on reason or on real knowledge of how society works. In the stokehold, he is removed from society, insulated from ideas that might challenge his own. If there is any conflict in his...
[The entire page is 2190 words long]
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