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The Hairy Ape - Eugene O'Neill

             In the third year of my B.A. programme, we had a book in our syllabus named "The Hairy Ape" by Eugene O'Neill. It is a play in eight scenes. O'Neill called it A comedy of ancient and modern life in eight scenes. We can say that it is satire on industrial society where lower class people have no value.

             The protagonist of the play is Yank. His real name was Robert Smith but he also don't know his own name. He was a stoker in a ship. He was looking like an ape and he also was not able to think. He was happy in doing his work and proud about his job. He thinks that because of him this ship is running.

            But his self pride hurt so much when very arrogant daughter of steel trust, Mildred Douglas came in Stoke hole to see how they works on a ship and found Yank very horrible and called him 'The filthy beast'. Furious Yank decided to take revenge and he and Long comes to new York to seek Douglas. There he fought  with a old man and police sent him on island in jail. There he came to know about I.W.W. Industrious wreckers of the world. He run away from the jail and came to office of I.W.W. but there also he insulted and thrown on the road.

            The last scene opens in the monkey house at the zoo. Yank was now believing gorillas his friends and want to destroy steel industry. So he opens the door and gorilla crushed Yank and Yank dies. Here play ends.

            This play is a satire on industrial society. We can see Marxism in this play. How reach people governs poor people, they have no value for poor people. Like Yank they are apes for them who doesn't belong in the society. Yank's search for identity ends with death, means poor people have no identity in society.

           The dialogues of the play are very satirical. O'Neill uses drunkard language which makes Yank alive. Here Mildred Douglas represents upper class society and Yank represents lower class society. So when we read dialogues of Yank and other fellows we can feel own self in them. Because we also are in search of our place in this world and we can't do anything. In the last scene, there is only soliloquy of Yank. But this is the soul of the play. I would like to write last few lines of the play which is very significant,

           "Christ, where do I get off at? Where do I fit in? [Checking himself as suddenly.] Aw, what de hell! No squakin', see! No quittin', get me! Croak wit your boots on! [He grabs hold of the bars of the cage and hauls himself painfully to his feet-looks around him bewilderedly-forces a mocking laugh.] In de cage, huh? [In the strident tones of a circus barker.] Ladies and gents, step forward and take a slant at de one and only -[His voice weakening]-one and original-Hairy Ape from de wilds of-[He slips In a heap on the floor and dies. The monkeys set up a chattering, whimpering wail. And, perhaps, the Hairy Ape at least belongs.]

            How bitter, satirical, meaningful lines. Isn't it? The whole play is full of this type of dialogues. By this summary you can not enjoy true feelings, you must read the book. This is a book which every English literature lover would like to keep in their personal library.

Comments

  1. literature-study-guideAugust 6, 2020 at 4:52 PM

    O’Neill is a great dramatist, and has treated a good variety of themes in "The Hairy ape". It combines the themes of illusion and reality, alienation and quest for identity, disintegration of civilization, degeneration of the human psyche, and regression of the humans by industrialization, which stand out prominently in the play

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