Dec 16, 2009

The Hairy Ape | The Hairy Ape

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]

The Hairy Ape | The Hairy Ape

At a glance:

The Play

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