I’m part of de engines!”
He thinks his strength makes him the center of the world. Paddy talks of old sailing days. Long speaks of politics. But Yank laughs at them. He thinks his muscles are enough. Yet this pride is false. His real identity is not secure. This is the root of his crisis.
Mildred’s Insult Creates Identity Crisis: In Scene Three, Mildred Douglas enters the stokehole. She is a rich girl in white clothes. When she sees Yank, she cries,
“Oh, the filthy beast!”
Then she faints. This insult destroys Yank. He feels less than human. Before, he thought he was a hero. Now, he feels like an ape. His isolation begins here. Paddy sings of freedom. Long speaks of class. But Yank only feels shame. Mildred’s one word starts his crisis of identity and rejection.
Isolation in Fifth Avenue and Prison: In Scene Five, Yank goes to Fifth Avenue. The rich people walk out of the church. Long tells him to fight through politics. But Yank only wants revenge. He shouts at the rich. He pushes them. He even hits a gentleman. The police arrest him. In prison on Blackwell’s Island, Yank feels like an animal. He tells his story to other prisoners. They laugh at him. He tries to bend the bars. He fails. Guards beat him. He feels trapped. This shows his deep isolation and broken identity.
Rejection in the I.W.W. Office Increases Isolation: In Scene Seven, Yank goes to the I.W.W. office. He wants to join the workers. At first, they welcome him. But when he speaks of blowing up the Steel Trust, they suspect him. They push him out. A policeman also rejects him.
“Yank—Say, where do I go from here?
Policeman— Go to hell.”
This moment is full rejection. The rich class rejects Yank. The poor workers reject him. The law rejects him. He is totally isolated. He has no identity in society.
The Zoo and the Final Identity Crisis: The last scene is in the Zoo. Yank looks at the gorilla. He feels they are the same. He opens the cage. The gorilla crushes him. He feels rejected again and says,
“Christ, where do I get off at? Where do I fit in?”
He dies inside the cage. This is the final crisis of identity. He wanted to belong somewhere. But he belongs nowhere. Even the animal he trusted killed him. His isolation is total. His identity is lost forever.
“The Hairy Ape” is a story of identity crisis and isolation. Yank begins with pride in the stokehole. Mildred calls him a beast. In Fifth Avenue, in prison, and in the I.W.W. office, society rejects him. Finally, in the Zoo, even the gorilla kills him. His tragic journey proves that in modern industrial society, workers lose both identity and place.
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