Last Updated on July 29, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 183

Think about the character of Yank as a representative for the common laborers who worked in the stokehole. How do these workers compare to laborers in contemporary society? What might you expect to be their (the laborers) take on society and the economic conditions? How is this similar to or different from Yank's attitude?

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How does Yank compare with the character of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman? How is he different? How are their fates similar or different?

Investigate the era of the 1920s. If you were Eugene O'Neill today and wanted to write about the same topic, where would you set this play, what would you title it, and who would you have as main characters?

Imagine you were a politician in the 1920s. What would you have proposed as political platforms to try and gain the support of laborers such as the firemen on the ship?

Investigate composers who were producing work in the 1920s. Listen to their music. How does this art form compare with The Hairy Ape in style and content? How is it different?