power in the stokehole He says he is the engine of the ship Yank proudly says I m part of de engines Other firemen fear him But when Mildred comes everything changes She looks at Yank and cries out Oh the filthy beast Then she faints This insult breaks Yank s false pride He no longer feels like a man He feels like an animal Her single word destroys his confidence She becomes the breaker of his false pride Symbol of Class Division Mildred never meets Yank again But her insult follows him He remembers her in Fifth Avenue in prison and even in the zoo She is more than a girl She is the voice of the whole rich society Through her O Neill shows the deep class division She proves that the rich look at the workers as animals Mildred Douglas is a powerful character She is the symbol of aristocracy She is the breaker of Yank s pride She is the symbol of class division Through her O Neill shows how one careless word of the rich can destroy a worker s soul