Sarcouncil Journal of Arts and Literature Aims & Scope

Abstract: This paper examines the crisis of belonging in Eugene O’Neill’s early expressionist plays The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape. Brutus Jones and Yank initially construct powerful identities through their apparent mastery of the worlds they inhabit: Jones becomes an emperor by imitating colonial authority, while Yank imagines himself as the living force behind modern industry. Their confidence, however, depends upon unstable masks. Jones’s imperial costume conceals racial alienation, criminal memory, and fear; Yank’s identification with steel conceals his reduction to labouring muscle within a capitalist machine. Once these identities are challenged, both men undertake journeys that become theatrical descents into the divided self. O’Neill uses recurring drumbeats, distorted spaces, episodic scenes, mechanical rhythms, and animal imagery to replace external realism with psychological reality. The paper argues that the two plays expose different but related forms of modern domination: colonial power alienates Jones from racial history, while industrial power alienates Yank from his labour, society, and humanity. Neither protagonist finds a community capable of recognising him as a complete person. Their deaths demonstrate that material power and physical strength cannot create genuine belonging when the self has been shaped by structures of exploitation.