毛猿TheHairyApe

1、the hairy apemembers：王慧杰 张安澜 苗茜茜 马艳 朱佳楠team topics for discussionwriter & backgroundplot character analysiswriting techniquesthemes eugene oneil (1888-1953)he successfully introduced the european theatrical trends of realism, naturalism, and expressionism to the american stage as devices to expr

2、ess his interest in life and humanity. his success in realistic and expressionistic drama has turned the american drama from the traditions of romantic comedy to a modern mode.background the play was created in 20th century when western people suffered an intellectual crisis. in the crisis, nietzsch

3、e shouted “ god is dead ” that meant human beings lost their absolute value, which made people fall into confusion and desperation. besides, mans desire to emotions was ignored in the rapid development of technology. people put existence of individuality first at that time. sartres existentialism wa

4、s well welcomed. existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of philosophers since the 19th century who, despite large differences in their positions, generally focused on the condition of human existence, and an individuals emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts, or the mean

5、ing or purpose of life. the plot yank, the hero of the play, is a barbaric ship stoker. at first yank feels innocently proud as he stokes the engines of an ocean liner , and is highly confident of his physical power and his leading position in front of his fellows. however, when the frail daughter o

6、f an industrialist in the steel business calls him as a filthy beast, yank suddenly suffers a crisis of identity. he leaves the ship and wanders into manhattan, only to find he does not belong anywhereneither with the class on fifth avenue, nor with the labor organizers on the waterfront. finally he

7、 goes to a zoo, trying to seek a sense of belonging with the gorilla in the zoo and dies in the animals violent embrace. analysis of characters scene 1 (exposition) scene 2 (rising action) scene 3&4 (climax) scene 5 (falling action) scene 6 (falling action) scene 7 (falling action) scene 8 (deno

8、uement)robert smith/bob smith/yank he is kind of authority among the firemen. “he seems broader, fiercer, more truculent, more powerful, more sure of himself than the rest. they respect his superior strengththe grudging respect of fear. then, too, he represents to them a self-expression, the very la

9、st word in what they are, their most highly developed individual” (p301). he is satisfied with the status quo and reluctant to make any change. steelwhere he thought he belonged. “ dis is home, see? ”( he regards the forecastle as home ) “ i m de end! i m the start! i start somep n and de woild move

10、s! ” (self-glorification).mildred douglas she is the daughter of the owner of nazareth steel. she studied sociology in the college. she shares with yank the need to find a sense of usefulness or belongingthe fates of both characters were decided before they were born. she describes herself as the wa

11、ste of her fathers steel company. though mildred has more education and cultural experience than yank, she still cannot escape her cultural identity. paddy an old wizened irishman good at singing “whiskey johnny” nostalgic “oh, to be back in the fine days of my youth, ochone!”(p307) “for the day tha

12、t was, was enough, for we was free men and im thinking tis only slaves do be giving heed to the day thats gone or the day to comeuntil theyre old like me. ”(p307) long has clear understanding of their situation “ this is ell. we lives in ell. ”(p305) has strong class consciousness “ all men is born

13、free and ekal. thats in the bleedin bible,mates. but what dthey care for the biblethem lazy, bloated swine what travels first cabin? thems the ones. they dragged us doen til were ony wage slaves in the bowels of a bloody ship, sweatin,burnin up , eatin coal dust! hits thems ter blamethe damned capit

14、alist clarss! ” (p305)symbolismape the ape symbolizes man in a primitive state before technology, complex language structures, complex thought or money was necessary. yank, like the ape, struggles with thought, doesnt understand the class system, has at best basic language skills and is most concern

15、ed with his survival on earth.steel steel is both a symbol of power and oppression. it is symbolic of the technology that forces yank and the firemen into slave-like jobs. yank is in a virtual cage of steel created by the ship around him.the thinker the thinker is symbolic of yanks need to think. wh

16、ile he physically embodies the cultural symbol of a thinker he cannot think himself. the real ape is the only other character that takes the thinker position. the ape sharing this habitual body position reflects on yanks own animalistic state.writing techniques-expressionismeugene oneil is the maste

17、r of expressionism. he is the first american playwright to use the expressionistic techniques in play.by using these techniques, oneil successfully externalizes modern mans internal world, deepens his dramatic themes and also heightens the dramatic atmosphere. in the hairy ape, oneil applied kinds o

18、f expressionistic techniques such as mask, monologue, and unrealistic setting to convey the complicated thoughts of characters. writing techniques-expressionism the usage of maskexpressionists focus on objectify inner reality and creat an inner drama, a drama of soul. masks provide an efficient way

19、to display the inner-self on the stage, which can at the same time disguise the characters in speaking out the truth.in the hairy ape , masks are used for the first time.writing techniques-expressionism the use of maskin the fifth avenue scene, a group of upper class people is depicted. the crowd fr

20、om church enter from the right , sauntering slowly and affectedly,their heads hold stiffly up, looking neither to right nor left, talking in toneless, simpering voices. the women are roughed, calcimined, dyed, overdressed to the nth degree. the men are in prince alberts, high hats, spats, canes,etc.

21、 the masks adumbrate the mechanical attitudes of the unapproachable, gaudy marionettes. it emphasizes the lifeless and horrifying quality of ladies and gentlemen.the writing techniques-expressionism the use of “interior monologues”through interior monologues, the intermost thoughts of the characters

22、 are conveyed. in the hairy ape, the most frequently mentioned monologue is yank s last long utterance before the gorillas at the zoosure! dat s de way it hits me， too on y yuh re lucky，see? yuh don t belong wit em and yuh know it but me， i belong wit embut i don t， see? dey don t wit me， dat s what

23、get me? tinkinis hard( he passes one hand across his forehead with a painful gesture you belong! sure! yuh re de ony one in de woild dat does， yuh luchy stiff! writing techniques-expressionism the use of “interior monologues”living in the modern world controlled by money and machine, yank found nowh

24、ere to belong. the long utterance was in fact the outcry of yank s strong feelingbeing extremely helpless， hopeless and bewildered. with the painful long monologue, oneil successfully displayed yanks turbulent mind and aroused the audiences sympathy towards yank.writing techniques-expressionismthe u

25、se of unrealistic settingunlike realist or naturalist playwrights who emphasized the authenticity of the settings, oneil deliberately adopted the unrealistic settings to convey more information about the characters and the theme. it not only helped to externalize the inner world of the characters, b

26、ut also produced strong visual and aural effects on the audience.writing techniques-expressionism the use of unrealistic settingin the opening scene, the firemens forecastle was just depicted as a cage. obviously the cage-like forecastle would shock the audience at first sight and the audience could

27、 easily sense the trapped condition of modern man.the expressionistic technique is also used in the aspect of sound. when yank tried to think in the opening scene, all the men with the same cynical mockery repeated think. as yank had been living in such noisy environment, he was used to the chaos. b

28、ut after mildred made the insult, he was greatly hurted and lost the sense of belonging, thus the chorus turned to be piercing and unbearable in the forth scene. it reflects the chage of yanks inner world from confidence to uneasiness.the hairy ape displays oneills social concern for the oppressed i

29、ndustrial working class. despite demonstrating in the hairy ape his clear belief that the capitalist system persecutes the working man, oneill is critical ofa socialist movement that cant fulfill individual needs or solve unique problems.theme analysisthe industrial environment is presented as toxic

30、 and dehumanizing; the world of the rich, superficial and dehumanized. yank has also been interpreted as representative of the human condition, alienated from nature by his isolated consciousness, unable to find belonging in any social group or environment. yankslifechangesgreatlywithhisconfrontationwithmildred,askinnywoman,thedevilinhisshortlife.herappearancesmashesallhisdreamsof“belonging”andbreakshisspiritualcageofauthority,individualism,andoptimism.withouttheconfiningofthespiritualcage,yank