Expressionism in O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape1

I. Introduction

Eugene O′Neill never made a secret of his influences. His indebtedness to the great Swedish
dramatist August Strindberg has often been pointed out, and O′Neill himself devoted half the
Nobel Prize speech in 1936 to him: "For me, he remains . . . the Master, still to this day more
modern than any of us, still our leader." 1 The influence is not very surprising, for in
temperament and in outlook on life, O′Neill and Strindberg had much in common. In fact,
both of these men felt the urge to search restlessly for answers to questions such as: What is
man′s place in the universe? Why does he suffer? What is the essence of life? To do so, they
dared to project their own soul on the stage, they dramatized their inner struggles.2
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to reduce the influences on him only to Strindberg.
By the time O′Neill had spent a few seasons with the Provincetown Players, he had become
acquainted with the contemporary Continental, in particular with German drama. Apart from
this, Strindberg is considered to be one of the forerunners of expressionism. Thus, it is
undeniable that there is more than just a faint connection between Strindberg and the
European expressionists so that both can be seen in the same context.
The central purpose of this study is to examine to what extent O′Neill′s The Hairy Ape
and The Great God Brown are linked to an unrealistic theatre. And, in addition, the influence
of Continental expressionistic drama, with special regard to Strindberg, shall be traced back.
With this purpose in mind, the focus will be on formal elements or techniques that are
characteristic for expressionistic drama. For "in its basic techniques [expressionism] has been
an enduring thread of great strength and vitality in the story of modern drama. . . ."3
In order to reveal certain parallels it is necessary to give a short outline of
expressionism and Strindberg in particular. As The Hairy Ape and The Great God Brown are
recognized as O′Neill′s most unrealistic plays, these two dramas will serve as objects for a
careful study.

II. Expressionism

Around the year 1910 an extensive revolution took place in the occidental world of art
and literature which also can be seen in accordance with radical changes in the natural
sciences. Between 1905 and 1910 Picasso and his supporters developed cubism in art while
Apollinaire and Max Jacob introduced a `cubistic poetry′, that was later called surrealism by
Apollinaire. In the year 1910 Marinetti wrote his manifesto of futurism. T. S. Elliot began his
Prufrock in 1911, and James Joyce his Ulysses in 1914. In 1913 Strawinsky′s Sacre du
printemps threw the audience of Paris into a turmoil. Furthermore, Einstein′s work on the
specific theory of relativity came out in 1905, and only a few years earlier Freud′s
Traumdeutung was published (1900). These men revolutionized the world and changed our
conceptions of the universe and of the ego. It meant the beginning of a new tradition, namely
the tradition of the modern age. Despite the shocking effects for the contemporaries, this was
not the birth of a new epoch but only a peak of developments which were characteristic for
the whole nineteenth century.4

1
Extracts from: Sparr, Matthias. “Expressionistic elements in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape and The Great
God Brown,” Seminar Paper. Universität Münster: 1999. http://www.hausarbeiten.de/faecher/vorschau/94694.html.
 So the term expressionism comprises only one aspect of this modern revolution in art
and literature. It was first applied to painting and was coined by the French painter Julien-
Auguste Hervé in 1901. In the 1900s it was especially used to distinguish early impressionist
painting from the more energetic individualism of Van Gogh and Matisse. Where the
impressionist′s aim was to paint external reality, the expressionist wanted to produce and
make vivid his very own reality, his inner idea or vision, of what he saw. To him it did not
make sense just to create an imitation of the world and, consequently, he rather disapproved
of any realistic style. "The new expressionist," writes J. L. Styan, "was defiantly subjective,
imposing his own intense, and often eccentric view of the world on what he painted."5
The useful general term was soon shared by other art forms. Expressionism was soon
applied to music, architecture, poetry and fiction, but it was especially at home with drama.
The reason for this was that now the stage could turn away from realistic plays to those
productions which showed life in a highly personal, idiosyncratic manner, and where the form
of the play expressed its content. Such pioneers of imaginative stagecraft as Adolphe Appia
and Edward Gordon Craig tried to simplify and purify the scene design in order to stress "the
importance of a unified theatrical effect that would bring out the inner life of the play."6
However, the German theatre emerged from these new artistic currents as the most
turbulent undermining the foundations of the realistic stage. "Employing the magic of the
forms, movements, sounds and colors of a stylized theatre, expressionism attempted to
penetrate through life′s surface reality and portray man′s inner world. In order to present
subjective states on the stage, a radical change in dramatic form became necessary."7
For the direct sources of the new drama it is necessary to have a look at the work of
three nineteenth-century dramatists who were regarded to be the forerunners of
expressionism.
Georg Büchner, a scientist and political revolutionary, wrote Woyzeck in 1836-37. In
this tragedy the surface story is not merely presented, but Büchner attempts to capture the
tension and struggle within Woyzeck′s mind. It is very striking that the action takes place in
more than twenty short and swiftly moving scenes making the atmosphere nervously tense.
Furthermore, the dialogue is highly reduced and most of the characters are depicted as
caricatures.8
Influenced by Büchner, whom he greatly admired, Frank Wedekind wrote Frühlings
Erwachen in 1890-91 (like Woyzeck it was not performed until the beginning of the twentieth
century). Early expressionism is manifested by distorted scenes in order to present a
character′s inner struggle and further elements like two-dimensional characters or heightened
speech. "Although Büchner′s as well as Wedekind′s influence on the later drama is
considerable, the real father of German expressionism is the Swedish playwright August
Strindberg."9 This is obviously because he dared to project his own soul, his inner self, on to
the stage, that is, he was interested in the subjective reality.
The new style spread sporadically through Europe (Apek in Czechoslovakia,
Lenormand in France and O′Casey in Ireland) and found its way to America, being adopted
by Rice, Wilder, Williams and, above all, by Eugene O′Neill. Moreover, expressionistic
characteristics were also to be found in German films, among them Robert Wiene′s The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) and Fritz Lang′s Metropolis(1926).
From an ideological point of view, expressionism in the German theatre "was at first a
drama of protest, reacting against the pre-war authority of the family and the community, the
rigid lines of the social order and eventually the industrialization of society and the
mechanization of life."10 At that time, however, it was a necessary artistic form, for it had also
the function of a countermovement to that kind of art which was satisfied with lining up
impressions side by side without questioning the essence, the responsibility or the idea.
Instead of attempting to write what could be seen, the expressionist wanted to recreate his
environment as he felt it in order to reveal the very essence. 11

III. Characteristics and Techniques in Expressionistic Drama

In its earlier stages expressionistic drama was a dramatization of the subconscious or a

kind of scripted dream. Consequently, character motivation and the rational development of
the plot of a well-made play were almost lost. Apart from becoming formless the play
received its inner unity through the single vision of the author. Nevertheless, the
expressionists′ interest in subjective ideas or visions forced them to create specific
dramaturgical techniques that distorted reality and formed a world of dream images. 12
Like romanticism, for example, expressionism does not have a precise definition.
Regarding today′s use of the term `expressionism′, it is associated clearest with the set of
basic techniques which goes back to earlier German drama and not with a distinct conception.
When trying to value the impact of this European movement on American drama it is
apparent that American playwrights were most of all interested in using the techniques of
expressionist dramaturgy. This was probably due to the American temperament that was not
receptive to the excessive Continental philosophies and themes.13
So, in order to realize the main intention of an expressionist drama, that is to reveal the
innermost soul of man, particular characteristics and techniques became essential parts of it.
First, the atmosphere was often dreamlike and nightmarish achieved through shadowy,
unrealistic lighting and visual distortions in the set. The dream effect was also aided by
placing pauses or silence of unusual length in midst of dialogues or monologues.
Settings were no longer realized in a detailed way as they used to be in the naturalistic
drama. Simplification was emphasized, and images had more a symbolical than a
photographical character.
Furthermore, the structure of the play was split into a lot of episodic scenes which
were arranged in very fast, almost film-like, sequence. Nevertheless, its coherence was
retained by the connecting force of the dream construct.
Characters lost their individuality and were reduced to types or caricatures. In order to
bring out the essential of man, he was stripped of all surface features. Such characters often
represented social groups rather than particular people and were depicted in an unreal,
exaggerated way.
Finally, the dialogue had often an abbreviated style or was made up of short phrases. It
could also appear in the form of long monologues sometimes being highly (or ironically)
poetic/lyrical. Or it was replaced by sound effects or music in order to support certain
moods.14
Additionally, the different style of acting should be mentioned. Avoiding the detail of
human behavior, the player often overacted and tried to adopt the mechanical and broad
movements of a puppet. Also directors and their scenic and lighting designers had now the
opportunity for creative experiment which any production of a realistic drama had not
allowed. "These distortions for the sake of objectifying inner truth freed the drama from the
rigid conventions of realism and encouraged playwrights to turn to a more imaginative
handling of their subject matter."15
By providing these formal innovations, the European expressionists had done a great
deal for the development of the modern American drama with Eugene O′Neill standing in the
front line.
IV. Strindberg′s Expressionism

As Strindberg is considered to be the father of expressionism in drama, it is absolutely

necessary to take his own, undoubtedly forerunning, conception of drama into account.
Furthermore, Strindberg′s importance for Eugene O′Neill has often been mentioned, and
O′Neill himself made no secret of this: "It was reading his plays when I first started to write
back in the winter of 1913-14 that, above all else, first gave me the vision of what modern
drama could be, and first inspired me with the urge to write for the theatre myself. If there is
anything of lasting worth in my work, it is due to that original impulse from him. . . ."16
It was his experience of inner torment which Strindberg wrote down in his works. But
the dramas that he created in such a way were never mere copies of his personal life. From the
forces of the soul of a gifted playwright and a promethean will, he raised his work high above
his troubled, tortured and often very unhappy life to a general meaning for man. 17
And for the purpose of objectifying soul states and inner conflicts, Strindberg found
the realistic method and the naturalistic point of view of the contemporary drama to be
inadequate. Considering Strindberg′s work, certain characteristics of his expressionist drama
can be made out. The preface to A Dream Play, a well-known example of Strindberg′s
subjective drama, can be seen as a kind of manifesto of dramatic expressionism:
As in his previous dream play, To Damascus, the author has in A Dream Play
attempted to reproduce the detached and disunited - although apparently logical - form of
dreams. Anything is apt to happen, anything seems possible and probable. Time and space do
not exist. On a flimsy foundation of actual happenings, imagination spins and weaves in new
patterns: an intermingling of remembrances, experiences, whims, fancies, ideas, fantastic
absurdities and improvisations, and original inventions of the mind. The personalities split,
take on duality, multiply, vanish, intensify, diffuse and disperse, and are brought into a focus.
There is, however, one single-minded consciousness that exercises a dominance over the
characters: the dreamer′s.18
For the purpose of examining O′Neill′s The Hairy Ape and The Great God Brown, it is
probably useful to refer to certain `control factors′ in expressionism established by Carl
Dahlström.19 As some of these factors will overlap with characteristics mentioned and others
will become clear when analyzing O′Neill′s dramas it will be sufficient just to list them:
`radiations of the ego′ (objectivation of inner experience), `the unconscious′ (intuition, dream
character), `Seele′ (feeling, ecstasy), music, lyricism, verse, religion (search for God,
realization of God, battle with the `Powers′), `the worth of man′ (social-political framework,
an esoteric socialism, a spiritual brotherhood, re-creation of human values).
Referring to Morris Freedman, "Strindberg′s plays move from the bitterness of
personal anger to the hopelessness of the universal. . . . The personal disaster, after all, matters
not at all until it becomes a revelation of the total human disaster." 20 When having a closer
look at the work of O′Neill now, these control factors as well as Strindberg′s own central
ideas will have a guiding function.

V. The Hairy Ape

1. Theme and Structure

When it was staged for the first time, O′Neill′s The Hairy Ape caused a lot of
misunderstanding among the critics. And that was not only due to the theme of the play but
also the form and style. Because of O′Neill′s very obvious criticism of the capitalist society
which he never put in a more radical way, people were highly irritated by the form of
expression. Dealing with such a theme, a realistic presentation was expected. 21
The Hairy Ape consists of eight scenes which can all be seen as certain states which
the main antagonist Yank has to undergo. The structure of the play has a circle-like form and,
thus, the starting situation is equal to the one at the end: Yank being in the cramped stokehole
seems to be caged like an animal. However, he is not aware of this situation still believing
firmly in his false self-portrait: "I′m at de bottom, get me! Dere ain′t nothin′ foither. I′m de
end! I′m de start! I start somep′nand de woild moves! It - dat′s me! - de new dat′s moiderin′ de
old! . . . Steel, dat stands for de whole ting! And I′m steel - steel - steel - steel! . . . All de rich
guys dat tink dey′re somep′n, dey ain′t nothin′! Dey don′t belong."22 So, at the beginning he
has a strong sense of belonging to the modern civilization, that is, he perceives himself as a
integrated part of a meaningful totality although not reflecting this. Here, one of the main
leitmotifs appears characterized by repeated and varied phrases like "We belong and dey
don′t" (40) or "Dat belongs" (43).
When he sees Mildred shrink back in horror from him, his pride and initial self-
confidence are shattered. Doubt and hate enter his soul and a thought-process is being caused
which is going to bring him to the insight into his own alienation. On the one hand, this
process is expressed by another (pantomimic) leitmotif: "He is seated forward on a bench in
the exact attitude of Rodin′s "The Thinker"." (54) On the other hand, the action itself is not
merely a sequence of scenes but it also serves as a spatial and chronological visualization of
Yank′s spiritual search.
Scene four to eight show the inner conflict of a man who is trying to emerge from a
brutal state of existence in which he can no longer find satisfaction. These scenes can be seen
as different steps of Yank′s way to realization, getting more and more aware of being locked
out of `real′ life by civilization. After vain efforts trying to find his belonging in the human
society, Yank tries to be brother to a gorilla in the zoo. But being a civilized, thinking human
being with a soul he cannot find satisfaction in mere animal instinct for the initial harmony
with nature is lost forever. Thus, Yank is again at his starting point. Like at the beginning he
is in a steel cage.
It is unmistakable that the circle-like form of the action reveals a fundamental
philosophy that is pessimistic. The concluding remark - which is highly ironic - "And,
perhaps, the Hairy Ape at last belongs" (81) makes clear that any hope of surmounting human
alienation, if at all, is to be searched for in the hereafter. All the signs are that O′Neill′s
criticism is concentrated on the emotional consequences of society instead of on the physical.
Yank becomes aware of his alienation not by the inhuman working conditions but the insult
of his self-esteem because of which he realizes that he does not belong. 23 So, the theme of The
Hairy Ape fits very well into expressionistic drama as it deals with certain inner states of a
man whose search for the essential beliefs becomes a necessary part of life.
Regarding the structure of the play, it becomes obvious that O′Neill uses rapidly
moving short scenes. In this way, the action receives a dynamic flow and the confusion inside
Yank′s mind is intensified.

2. Settings, Atmosphere and Development of Characters

In his stage directions for the first scene O′Neill already makes clear that the settings
are intended to be fully expressionistic: "The treatment of this scene, or of any other scene in
this play, should by no means be naturalistic" (35).
There is no doubt that the design of the first scene, the firemen′s stokehole, should
resemble a cage: "The room is crowded with men . . . the bewildered, furious, baffled
defiance of a beast in a cage. . . . The effect sought after is a cramped space in the bowels of a
ship, imprisoned by white steel. The lines of bunks, the uprights supporting them, cross each
other like the steel framework of a cage" (35). The ceiling crushing down upon the men′s
heads evokes a sense of enclosure or a kind of claustrophobic threat. Furthermore, it also
"accentuates the men′s usual stooping posture and thus underlines an objective property, a
consequence of their toil"24.
It is evident that O′Neill creates in this scene a nightmarish atmosphere by using dark
and gloomy images. Instead of being descriptive these images involve or imply a simile: the
shouting stokers are described in terms of furious beasts; they resemble the appearance of
Neanderthal Man; the white steel framework of the tiers of narrow bunks gives the impression
of a cage and creates the effect of cramped space. 25 Consequently, the depiction of the
stokehole has a strong effect on one′s feelings so that the fearful impression is even more
increased.
In addition, the unpleasant atmosphere is intensified by employing almost alienated
noises and sounds: "There is a deafening metallic roar, through which Yank′s voice can be
heard bellowing" (44); "Eight bells sound, muffled, vibrating through the steel walls as if
some enormous brazen gong were imbedded in the heart of the ship" (44). Even the voices
sometimes become distorted: "The chorused word has a brazen metallic quality as if their
throats were phonograph horns." In case of Yank, O′Neill produces the effect of identification
by merging his voice with the metallic roar so that the impression arises that Yank is steel. As
it is noticeable that references to the word `steel′ are made frequently it thus serves as a
leitmotif throughout the play.
The second scene leads to a conspicuously different world. The relationship to scene I
is one of obvious contrast: "The impression to be conveyed by this scene is one of the
beautiful, vivid life of the sea all about - sunshine on the deck in a great flood, the fresh sea
wind blowing across it" (45). Nevertheless, also in this scene the leitmotif `cage′ appears.
When Mildred tells her aunt about her discontent with being a waste product in the
degenerative development of the Douglas generations her situation seems to be that of
someone who is caged. She has to accept her fate of having lost personal autonomy: "When a
leopard complains of his spots, it must sound rather grotesque. Purr, little leopard. Purr,
scratch, tear, kill, gorge yourself and be happy - only stay in the jungle where your spots are
camouflage. In a cage they make you conspicuous."
The third scene which O′Neill treats separated to present the effect of Mildred′s
appearance on Yank is characterized by a masterful construction. "The setting of the
stokehole possesses the intensity of an expressionistic painting."26 It provides an even
gloomier atmosphere than in the first scene. One hanging bulb sheds only dim light and the
murky air is full of coal dust. It is hard to make out the interior while masses of shadows are
everywhere. In addition, a line of men is before the furnace doors "handling their shovels as if
they were part of their bodies, with a strange, awkward, swinging rhythm" (50). It is obvious
that the movements of the stokers are absolutely unnatural though serving their work. Their
moves have a mechanical quality so that they can be seen as mere parts of the ship′s engines.
Furthermore, the workers are depicted "in silhouette in the crouching, inhuman attitudes of
chained gorillas" (50). This whole disturbing picture is completed by obscure, and in no way
realistic, noises:

There is a tumult of noise - the brazen clang of the furnace doors as they are flung open or
slammed shut, the grating, teeth-gritting grind of steel against steel, of crunching coal. . . . But
there is order in it, rhythm, a mechanical regulated recurrence, a tempo. And rising above all . . .
the roar of leaping flames in the furnaces, the monotonous throbbing beat of the engines. (50/51)
 The interaction of fire, engines and steel produces here a dissonant, yet rhythmic,
`music′ of the modern age. Besides, it can also be understood as a warning of the forthcoming
conflict. 27
When Mildred comes from the cool, fresh air of the first cabin (described in the
previous scene) to the hot, murky atmosphere of the stokehole, and dressed in white, stands
before the grimy workers, the contrast between the two worlds is impressive. This turning
point is intensified by Yank acting exactly like a gorilla: " . . . he brandishes his shovel
murderously over his head in one hand, pounding on his chest, gorilla-like, with the other,
shouting" (52/53). Looking at this `furious beast′, Mildred, the white apparition, "shrinks
away from him, putting both hands up before her eyes to shut out the sight of his face, to
protect her own" (53). So, for the first time Yank becomes conscious of the barrier between
his world and the world to which Mildred belongs: "This startles Yank to a reaction. . . . He
feels himself insulted in some unknown fashion in the very heart of his pride" (53). His view
of the world and his perception of himself is attacked. From now on it is his fate to search for
his belonging inside the society.
Here, at the latest, it becomes evident that the splendid illustrations of distortion can be
related to Yank′s mind. Surface reality is distorted in order that we may see these settings as
they appear to Yank′s troubled mind. At the beginning, the inner struggle is still hidden in his
subconscious - in the same way that everything is difficult to make out in the dim and gloomy
stokehole. But it is to emerge when Yank is confronted with Mildred representing a world that
rejects him.
Superficially, only Yank′s pride seems to be shattered. In the fourth scene, however,
he is found in the exact position of Rodin′s "The Thinker", and his mates try to find an
explanation. Even if on occasion insults may provoke angry reactions, they do not cut deep.
But Yank is hurt in a very bad way. A sign of this is that he is not any more in the superior
position when having an argument with Paddy. It′s now Paddy who dominates the dialogue
while Yank is only uttering exclamations which show his rage and dissatisfaction: "Hell!
Law!"; "Hell! Governments!"; "Hell! God!" (56) His apparent overreaction suggests that he is
driven by a larger cause, and he is not not simply a hurt stoker with an apish face but someone
who seeks truth on a fate-marked course.
The fifth scene again is one of expressionistic distortion and contrast. The contrast is,
as in scene III, between Yank′s world and the world Mildred belongs to. Here, the latter is a
crowd of people on Fifth Avenue which O′Neill characterizes as "a procession of gaudy
marionettes" (63). In this scene he seems to employ a naturalistic setting with a pleasant
atmosphere describing a lot of details: "The jeweler′s window is gaudy with glittering
diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, etc., fashioned in ornate tiaras, crowns, necklaces, collars,
etc" (60). Yet on a closer look it becomes obvious that these descriptions are far too
exaggerated to be realistic. The adornments are of "extreme wealth", everything is "gaudy" or
"enormous" and has "incredible prices". The downpour of artificial light in the furrier′s has
the general effect "of a background of magnificence cheapened and made grotesque by
commercialism, a background in tawdry disharmony with the clear light and sunshine on the
street itself" (60). Thus, it is more the distorted surface reality as it appears to Yank than an
objective description.
In contrast to the "general atmosphere of clean, well-tidied, wide street" Yank and
Long are described as having an extremely - almost exaggerated - filthy and dirty outward
appearance: "He has not shaved for days . . . the black smudge of coal dust still sticks like
make-up" (60). However, the confrontation with the `marionettes′ of Fifth Avenue reveals the
naturalness of Yank. In comparison to him, these people seem very unnatural and almost
artificial. The elegant people leaving the church are dressed very - again exaggeratedly -
extravagantly, "yet with something of the relentless horror of Frankenstein’s in their detached,
mechanical unawareness" (63). Here we have a good example for O′Neill objectifying in
concrete, visual terms Yank′s inner thoughts. Although he screams angrily at the people they
remain calm and even totally indifferent, "they seem neither to see nor hear him" (65). This
making him furious, he tries to jostle the men, but "rather it is he who recoils after each
collision" (65). This procession of marionettes becomes evidently also a cage against the bars
of which he beats in vain. Finally, a fat gentleman accuses him of missing his bus and calls
for the police, so that "Many police whistles shrill out on the instant and a whole platoon of
policemen rush in on Yank from all sides. . . . The crowd at the window have not moved or
noticed this disturbance" (66). The scene ends with a loud gong of the dinning patrol wagon
as if sealing another step of Yank′s way to his fatal end. The conflict in this scene is more
than a class struggle. It is the inner conflict of a man and the strange incidents result from the
radiations of Yank′s ego.
The setting of scene VI is the prison on Blackwell Islands. The low ceiling and the
narrow corridor with one electric bulb reminds one of the gloominess in the stokehole. "Early
metaphors relating to prison are transformed into a set of non-metaphorical images (having
symbolic connotations)."28Yank finds himself in a real cell behind bars and, thus, is inclined
to suppose that he is an ape in the zoo ("I′m a hairy ape, get me?" (67)) He is also again in the
attitude of "The Thinker" which shows that his process of reflection is continuously in
progress. As a result, he realizes that steel does not `belong′ any more for now he is
imprisoned by steel: "Steel! It don′t belong, dat′s what! Cages, cells, locks, bolts, bars - dat′s
what it means!" (71)
The next scene is less obviously distorted/expressionistic. Caused by incongruous
misunderstandings it has the character of a hopeless, grotesque tragicomedy. Nevertheless, the
fact that the building is massed in black shadow gives a hint of an unhappy ending. Also the
commonplace and unmysterious furnishing of the office can be seen as a sign of the
disillusionment which Yank is to expect. After he is thrown out of the office by his last `allies′
as he hopes, he is then "bewildered by the confusion in his brain, pathetically impotent. He
sits there, brooding, in as near to the attitude of Rodin′s "Thinker" as he can get in his
position" (76). At this point, Yank′s construct of ideas is finally destroyed. He realizes that he
is an outcast in the modern society: "Steel was me, and I owned de woild. Now I ain′t steel,
and de woild owns me. Aw, hell! I can′t see - it′s all dark, get me? It′s all wrong!" (77)
The last scene shows the monkey house in the zoo, everything shrouded in clouds
except the gorilla cage on which grey light falls. The fact that the animals have human
features (a conversational tone can be heard out of the cages and the gorilla is sitting in the
attitude of "The Thinker") stands in contrast to the workers and the people on Fifth Avenue
who were always characterized as mechanical or unnatural. The leitmotif of Yank′s
comparison to a hairy ape comes to its perfection. When standing face to face in front of the
gorilla, silent and motionless, both staring at each other, the similarity between Yank and the
animal is most striking. "A pause of dead stillness" (78) underlines the fact that after being
named filthy beast by Mildred and called brainless ape by an I.W.W. secretary his
resemblance to an ape is finally proved. Moreover, the desperation of his last move is clearly
revealed.
Yank′s death in a steel cage makes the symbolism of the play complete. The
confrontation with Mildred caused in him the feeling of being hemmed in by bars of steel. At
the beginning this feeling was more subconscious but in the development of the play, as it
slowly emerges to his mind, it finally becomes `true′. Having realized that he does not belong
to modern society, Yank attempts to be brother to the gorilla, which stands for nature. When
he talks to the ape, he thinks that it gives reaction: "The gorilla, as if he understood, stands
upright…" (78); "The gorilla roars an emphatic affirmative" (80). But, in fact, these `answers′
clearly reveal Yank′s desolate state of mind, serving as examples for radiation of the ego.
 3. Character and Speech

Typification is very clearly marked in this play. This applies obviously also to the
main character Yank. He is a primitive man trying to find something to which he belongs. As
the author explains, he is "a symbol of man who has lost his old harmony with nature, the
harmony which he used to have as an animal and has not yet acquired in a spiritual way."29 As
a type character, Yank becomes significant, not for what he does in a particular environment,
but for what he symbolizes in a universal struggle.
A good illustration of `radiations of the ego′ are in the form of monologues and
soliloquies expressing different ideological attitudes as well as elucidating Yank′s inner
struggle. "The stoker tries to rationalize his predicament in the pattern of what may be called a
modified dramatic interior monologue (78-81). It is not a simple aside since its primary
function is not to inform the audience but to express a seething state of a turbulent mind."30
References to the word "steel" are repeated in a kind of musical-theme dialogue.
O′Neill arranges the dialogue for an emotional effect by picking up phrases and repeating
them as in a musical composition. So, in the first scene Yank is so proud of his strength that
he boasts, "And I′m steel - steel - steel . . ." (44). For the description of the numerous minor
characters O′Neill uses chiefly the means of contrast and exaggeration. So, in scene III, the
presentation of Mildred as "a girl of twenty, slender, delicate, with a pale pretty face marred
by a self-conscious expression of disdainful superiority" (45) and her aunt as "a pompous and
proud - and fat - old lady" (45) illustrates their caricaturist type character, thus symbolizing
the degeneration and artificiality of the wealthy bourgeoisie. The important contrast lies not
between the "two incongruous, artificial figures", but between them and the environment:
"The impression to be conveyed by this scene is one of the beautiful, vivid life of the sea all
about . . ." (45) Consequently, their alienation from nature and artificial character is strikingly
revealed.
The same applies to the high-ranking `marionettes′ of Fifth Avenue - in an even more
exaggerated fashion. Here, their extremely artificial appearance ("overdressed to the nth
degree" (63)) is emphasized by gestures and dialogues. 31Acting as if they were unaware of
Yank and his outbursts of rage, their talk is typically snobbish and affected: "We must
organize a hundred per cent American bazaar." (64) When they all answer in chorus in a
mechanical way, their similarity to lifeless machines is most apparent. The contrast to the
pleasant atmosphere ("a flood of mellow, tempered sunshine; gentle, genteel breezes." (60))
emphasizes the inhuman and artificial aspect of the rich again.
The same machine-like speech can be noticed in the workers; their chorused voices
have a metallic sound. The fact that they are stereotypes rather than individuals - "All the
civilized white races are represented…" (35) - and therefore appear grotesque and unreal is
expressed by the picture of the Neanderthal Man. Long and Paddy stand out of this group for
they are special stereotypes and the only ones to have different opinions to Yank′s. Long is a
typical follower of Marxism holding the class society responsible for the misery of the
proletariat. The `poet′ Paddy is characterized by his yearning for the past when man and
nature were still in harmony. At times the language of Paddy is touched by poetic exaltation.
A good example for lyric poetry is found in the first scene in which Paddy conjures up the
good old days of the sailing vessels: "Oh, to be scudding south again wid the power of the
Trade Wind driving her on steady through the nights and the days! Full sail on her! Nights
and days! Nights when the foam of the wake would be flaming wid fire, when the sky′d be
blazing and winking wid stars…" (41). O′Neill employs lyricism so to strive for emotional
effect.
Works Cited
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Drama in Theory and Practice: Expressionism and Epic Theatre. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981.
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Notes
1
Eugene O’Neill, “Nobel Prize Address,“ American Playwrights on Drama, ed. Horst Frenz (New York: Hill/ Wang, 1965)
42.
2
Egil Törnqvist, “Miss Julie and O’Neill,“ Modern Drama 19, (1976) 352-354.
3
J. L. Styan, Expressionism and Epic Theatre, Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, Vol. 3, (Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
1981) 1.
4
Walter H. Sockel, Der literarische Expressionismus: Der Expressionismus in der deutschen Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts,
trans. Jutta and Theodor Knust (München: Langen/ Müter, 1960) 7-9.
5
Styan 2.
6
Mardi Valgemae, Accelerated Grimace: Expressionism in the American Drama of the 1920s (Carbondale and Edwardsville:
Southern Ill. UP, 1972) 1-2.
7
Valgemae 2.
8
Valgemae 5.
9
Valgemae 6.
10
Styan 3.
11
Styan 1-2.
12
Valgemae 12.
13
Valgemae 3.
14
Styan 4-5.
15
Valgemae 12.
16
O’Neill, “Nobel Prize Address“ 42.
17
Margaret Dietrich, Das Moderne Drama: Strömungen-Gestalten-Motive, 2., überarb. u. erw. Aufl. (Stuttgart, 1963) 134-
135.
18
August Strindberg, Eight Expressionist Plays, trans. Arvid Paulson (New York, 1965) 343.
19
Carl Dahlström, Strindberg’s Dramatic Expressionism (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1930) 80.
20
Morris Freedman, “Strindberg’s Positive Nihilism,“ Essays in the Modern Drama, ed. Morris Freedman (Boston, 1964) 63.
21
Willi Erzgräber and Paul Goetsch, eds., Neue Studien zur Anglistik und Amerikanistik: Konventionen u. Tendenzen der
Gesellschaftskritik im expressionistischen amerikanischen Drama der 20er Jahre (Frankfurt a. M.: Peter Lang Verlag,
1977) 117.
22
Eugene O’Neill, Nine Plays (New York: Modern Library, 1993) 44. Subsequent references to the plays will appear in the
text.
23
Erzgräber 119.
24
Peter Egri, ““Belonging“ Lost: Alienation and Dramatic Form in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape,“ Critical Essays on
Eugene O’Neill, ed. J. J. Martine (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984) 78-79.
25
Egri 80.
26
Egri 84.
27
Egil Törnqvist, A Drama of Souls: Studies in O’Neill’s Super-naturalistic Technique (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksells,
1968) 159.
28
Egri 92.
29
Eugene O’Neill, “O’Neill talks about his plays,“ O’Neill and his Plays: Four Decades of Criticism, ed. Oscar Cargill, N.
Bryllion Fagin and William o. Fisher (New York: N. Y. UP, 1961) 110.