Struggling between ancient and modern life: Yank’s quest of self-identity in the hairy ape

Abstract

The Hairy Ape is a canonical masterpiece of the twentieth-century playwright and Nobel Laureate in Literature Eugene O’Neill. Under the social backdrop of dehumanized American capitalism, this play has become one of the most potent plays of realism, expressionism and symbolism in American literature. Since its first rendition, this play has been a subject of numerous literary discussions. This play, revolving around the protagonist Yank’s quest for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich, presents a forceful literary analysis of the psychology and identity of an alienated being, and of the impact of industrialization upon human nature. This paper, applying Rousseau’s theories of language and education, and Michel Foucault’s theories of identity, attempts to deconstructs the concept of being “modern” in the Enlightenment Period, discusses Yank’s quest of self-identity in a so-called modern society, who seemingly transforms from a noble savage into a monster and becomes a prey to social values, and demonstrates that personal tragedy results from his failure to come to terms with his identity.