The Hairy Ape

“I ain 't on oith and I ain 't in Heaven, get me? I 'm in de middel tryin ' to seperate em, takin all de woist punches from bot ' of 'em. Maybe dat 's whay dey call Hell, huh?”
Yank from Eugene O’Neill’s, The Hairy Ape2

“A Comedy of Ancient and Modern Life in Eight Scenes.” This was the subtitle aptly given to Eugene O’Neill’s play The Hairy Ape.1 When reading the play a person might find some parts humorous; the inarticulate dialogue from the workers or maybe the extremely stuck-up, almost stereotypical, attitude of Mildred Douglas and her aunt. But when the play is over a person will tell you they don’t understand how anyone could think this was a comedy. The main character, Yank, struggles against society the whole play to prove himself, only to ultimately fail in the end. But to O’Neill it was a comedy. It was comical to him that anyone thought something could be done to change the conditions of meaningless life, more specifically the pointless rigid social structure our society is inscribed into. O’Neill wrote a play that took a difficult topic and brought a completely honest outlook to it. The Hairy Ape proves that there is nothing of importance to be done about the human condition. With the human condition being such a broad topic, one must narrow in on which aspects of the human condition are unchangeable. In the case of The Hairy Ape it is the issue of seeking a purpose and the existential search of “belonging.” As John Diggins points out in his article “Anarchism: The Politics of the “Long Loneliness” on page 76, Yank is “a being who has no foundations in himself, a boisterous worker who thinks he knows who he is and what he is about, only to discover he is less than he is, and then feels he must be more than what he knows of himself as he sets out to find where he ‘belongs.’”1 To Yank, “belonging” is being important and having power. He feels if he “belongs” he will have the power to change the social structure. Yank’s curiosity to know where he “belongs” takes him on a quest to all different outlets. But it turns out all of these outlets are unwilling/unable to fulfill his need for gratification, for “belonging.”
The Outlets
Family: Yank’s quest for purpose and “belonging” begin when he was just a child. He was born and raised in New York City with his mother and father. His mother died when he was young and his father was abusive. After his mother died Yank decided to run away and has been working as a fireman ever since. Yank already has lost a sense of “belonging” to his family. Family tends to be the main source of where most people feel they “belong.” A person’s family fills them with hope and makes them feel like they have a purpose. Now that Yank’s mother is dead and his father does nothing but hurt him, Yank feels nothing but unwanted. He doesn’t find his purpose in life from his family so he runs away. What family you’re born into, good or bad, is an unchangeable part of the human condition. In Yank’s case it is a misfortune but nothing can be done about it. Yank now doesn’t have a family to go to find that “belonging”, that purpose he so desperately searches for later in the play.
Even with this poor family life, Yank turns a blind eye and throws himself into his work, unable to grasp the thought of what he is doing in this world. He feels like he has power in his work, so he “belongs.” He’s content with his life and doesn’t think about the outside world. But it all changes when Mildred Douglas, a high-powered daughter of a steel tycoon, visits Yank’s area of the ship. It is this moment that Mildred shows Yank a world that he cannot “belong” to. This sets Yank off on a quest to find “belonging.”
Church: When Yank begins his journey he decides to go to New York City and find Mildred to confront her about the way she treated him. When he arrives he finds no one on the street because everyone is “in church, blarst ‘em! Arskin Jesus to give ‘em more money.”2 Once church lets out the streets are full with churchgoers bustling back and forth. Yank begins to look for Mildred but is unable to find her. Frustrated, Yank attempts to talk to anyone about his problem. Yank goes so far as to jumping in front of people and butting shoulders with them to get their attention. Each person just passes by and says almost mechanically “beg your pardon.” These are the men and women of the church. These are the people that society brand as forgiving and loving. They come from church where they are taught to accept others and not pass judgment but they can’t even give Yank the time of day to respond to his pleas. Churches are supposed to be safe havens for the misfortunate, a place where they feel equal and appreciated. But O’Neill shows that they’re not. It’s hard to dispute it too because not many people would pay attention to Yank even today. He would be ignored just for wanting a simple explanation. The only way he gets somebody’s attention is when he punches a Gentleman in the face and it causes him to miss his bus. The churchgoer’s inabilities to even regard Yank cause him to be violent.
So if the churchgoing members of society won’t take notice of Yank and help him, who is there to go to next? Now that Yank has hit the Gentleman he has the attention of the police. But the police only seem to make things worse for Yank.
Police: The police are called over by the Gentleman once Yank has made him miss his bus. Before Yank can even say anything a swarm of policemen rush him and club him to the pavement. The police don’t even ask what is wrong or how they can help. Even while this is happening the churchgoers don’t even stop to take notice. The police then haul him off to jail and lock him in his cell. Yank is now in jail for wanting to “belong” to a class that refused to even acknowledge him. The police give no thought to this because to them, he is just another low class bum. In jail Yank makes a crushing discovery. Yank finds out from another cellmate that Mildred Douglas’s father owns the steel that he has worked with all his life. He owns the only thing that made Yank feel like he had a purpose. In bewilderment that his own work isn’t even his, he goes into a rage causing the police to come and hose him down. Once they have him pinned they put a straight jacket on him and hall him off, presumably to solitary confinement. Yank now has lost another outlet that should be able to help him. He is now relying on one last hope, a hope he heard about in jail: the Industrial Workers of the World.
Alternate Group: The Industrial Workers of the World or the I.W.W are a group that resonates with Yank. A group that finally understands what he wants, who want to reduce American society “back to ape.” Finally everyone will be on the same level and he won’t have to wonder where he belongs because everyone is equal. When Yank first enters the I.W.W he is greeted happily by the Secretary and accepted into the group. He receives a membership card and is told to inform his fellow workers what the group is all about. Yank, who has almost no education, mistakes the group for being a way to get revenge by using violence. When the Secretary hears this, he immediately has him searched for weapons. He accuses him of working for the government and calls him a brainless ape. Before Yank has anytime to explain he is thrown into the streets, confused and lost once again. The Secretary’s biased view of Yank made it impossible for him to explain. If he had explained to him what they actually do, Yank could’ve been a valuable member and helped with the movement. It’s not his fault he isn’t smart and didn’t understand. He needed a guiding hand to correct him. Now he’s alone again with no idea where to go. When a police officer tells him to get out of the street, Yank even asks him “Say, where do I go from here?” To which the policeman indifferently responds, “Go to hell.”2
Where does a person go from here? If all the outlets that lead to change are unwillingly to help then nothing of importance can be done about the human condition. If family, church, police and alternate outlets refuse to aid in making changes nothing can be accomplished. Who else is there to turn to? In Yank’s case he turned to what he has been called all along, an ape. The ape ends up murdering Yank in his cage. As Yank dies he painfully mutters:
“He got me, aw right. I’m trou. Even him didn’t tink I belonged.”2
Yank’s life has now come full circle. He began the play in a cage like setting on the ship and now dies in an actual cage, ashes to ashes. O’Neil shows that no matter what you go through, at the end you will return to your primal form.1 Life may be meaningless but you have to find something to live for. A person must find it within himself or herself to keep going. Hope keeps many people going. It’s that little sliver of light at the end of a dark tunnel that people constantly hope will illuminate the entire tunnel one day. But a person needs to hope that things might change and be able to accept the fact that they may never be able to. Is it a cynical outlook on life? Perhaps, but it’s better to understand the truth and not try to change something that is invariable.

Works Cited
1. Diggins, John P. "Anarchism: The Politics of the "Long Loneliness"" Eugene O 'Neill 's America: Desire under Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007. 51-78. Print.
2. O 'Neill, Eugene. The Hairy Ape. New York: Horace Liveright, 1929. Print.

Cited: 1. Diggins, John P. "Anarchism: The Politics of the "Long Loneliness"" Eugene O 'Neill 's America: Desire under Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007. 51-78. Print. 2. O 'Neill, Eugene. The Hairy Ape. New York: Horace Liveright, 1929. Print.