Eugene O’Neil’s The Hairy Ape is a work that focuses on themes of identity, the effects of industrialization, and the dilemmas of the lower social class. Set in a very gloomy and gloomy environment, the play aims to project the plight of the lower working class, who seem to be in search of identity and in need of recognition by society. The work leaves its mark because it is forceful and a reflection of society. This makes it a revelation to the audience and leaves them thinking about topics that remain covered and unspoken.
One of the main motives of the work is that of ‘belonging’ or identity. We see the Yankee protagonist as “broader, fiercer, more truculent, more powerful, more self-assured than the rest.” He is the man who is sure of himself, of his passions and above all of his infinite power. Yank lives in a world that is small, tough, dark, and far removed from the “upper” world of rich and classy people. In his own world, Yank is king, he has most of the physical power and some of the intellectual power, as he often sits down to ‘tink’.
The play turns dramatic when Yank meets Mildred; an upper class lady who is sophisticated and almost ‘ghost’ like. To her stupefied state, Mildred says, “Take me away! Oh, the filthy beast!” This little meeting is an epiphany for Yank. He takes the comment as a direct insult. He shakes it off, and suddenly she begins to question his identity, his being, and his rightful place in society. The meeting ignites a kind of hatred in Yank; he says in one place: “Furry ape, huh? Right! That’s the way he looked at me, huh?” Analyzing this saying from Yank, it can be seen that he was disgusted by the way he was looking at him, since, if he did not expect praise, he still wanted recognition and for nothing some hurtful insults bombarded his way. Anger, frustration and realization put him under a lot of psychological pressure, he wants to avenge insults and be fair. Yank is a rough man, without mannerisms, sophistication or even civilization, so the path of revenge and the search for identity lead him to New York. Among the skyscrapers built of steel, the steel that he made, he feels alienated; he can’t relate to the outside world, he doesn’t feel anything even with himself. This is the irony of the game that the men who produce are the ones devoid of their usefulness.
The work represents the two extremes of our society, or the world of industrialization. On the one hand we are growing, developing and advancing in all kinds of fields, but on the other hand there are people like Yank. These people are deprived of the basic necessities of life, thrown into dark caverns left to work and work. This is not human-like. Maslow’s theory states that after the need for survival and shelter comes the need to belong, necessary for the well-being of each and every human being. Yank misses this part of his life, and this is not just his story but the story of all those men, women and children who belong to a lower social class and give their lives to work or hard work. It’s ironic that, on the one hand, we’re all getting advanced, but on the other hand, we’re rapidly falling back to the state where humans were like ‘monkeys’, homo-sapiens, who were like animals. This is an alarming situation that must be analyzed and corrected. The hairy ape questions society for this injustice through the character of Yank. The derogatory status given to human existence needs to be balanced and raised to the standards of equality that are mentioned in the books that constitute the laws of each country.