Literary Analysis Essay on O'Neil's The Hairy Ape and Rice's The Adding Machine

Introduction

The American society is one that has been coupled with several perceptions of what constitutes the perfect life. Ideally, the societal expectation based on the American dream is that the people work to earn a living and subsequently improve their way of life (Heather 43). However, O'Neil's and Rice's plays are a presentation of the opposite of the expectations of the American dream. As such, rather than working to earn a living and make better of one's life, the presentation of the characters Yank and Zero present stagnation and insatiability respectively. Hence, with the understanding of the narrative in the plays, it is possible to understand the differences between Yan and Zero despite both being victims of the capitalist system that has plagued the American Dream. In this directive, this paper will further critic O'Neil's The Hairy Ape and Rice's The Adding Machine.

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The Hairy Ape is a depiction of the failed systems in the American society. Primarily, O'Neil portrays the hypocritical nature of the American society in the 1920's. By this period, capitalism had become deeply entrenched in all facets of American society. Indeed, the social conflict of capitalism is the center of the play. Yank, who is working class, and Mildred, a capitalist are not just character representations of the social class struggles but importantly show how the society is ill in approach and structure unlike in the envisioned American Dream. The American Dream ideally presents a state of equality and justice granted to all people regardless of their backgrounds (heather 43). The idea of equality surpasses the concept of wealth and power thus manifesting the American Dream as the ideal society for all people (Corak 111). O'Neill's work observed that American society had fallen in terms of economic and religious senses. Instead, materialistic way of life became the order of the day which caused alienation, depression, anxiety, and frustration. Money ceased to be perceived as a necessity of life upgrades and instead had negative outcomes for the people as opposed to granting them peace. With money not providing tangible solutions, religion also fails the population as they have no faith in their systems and society.

In essence, O'Neil uses the play to show the social divide that has the haves and the have-nots. Yank is a representation of the have-nots who have to work hard to gain what they have and yet it is still not enough to raise them up the social ranks. Instead, their hard work is mounted further on them pushing them lower in the social ranks as the haves continue to abuse them. Nevertheless, Yank takes pride in his class. Yank and others like him see themselves as the beauty of the lower class since they are the source of comfort for the upper capitalist class. However, due to the unequal distribution of the source of wealth, no way society is running smoothly.

Mildred, a wealthy lady wishes to see the hard workers. She seemingly wants to show sympathy, but in reality, the condition is the other way round. Upon sighting Yank, she refers to him as a filthy beast. In reality, the wealthy are not particularly after showing sympathy but to emphasize to the poor about their desolate state. Further, when the poor remain in their poor state, the wealthy such as Mildred can continue to display their unrealistic sympathies and rest confident that their wealth is not threatened. The wealthy have no true intentions of helping the poor as this would threaten their position in society. The problem lies with the have-nots since they do not work collectively to come out of their worst situations. If anyone wants to come out of poverty; they must struggle alone, and this is the precise case of Yank. As such, no changes ever occur in the lives of have-nots. At this juncture, the dramatist aimed to delineate degrading society since no revolution was visible.

The upper-class society in essence is always out to protect their interests and to ensure that their positions of power are not threatened. In this regard, Mildred visiting the hard workers is just but an affirmation that she remains at the top tier while the likes of Yank continue to struggle at the bottom. Her dramatic reaction to Yank's appearance and referring to him as an ugly beast is but a reflection of how the affluent in society continue to suppress and look down upon the poor. Possible equality is thus a myth in this society. Then as now, American society has not been ideal in all aspects and did not give a chance for people to demonstrate against the system. Thus, Yank has represented the disrupted American society but also is used by the dramatist to bring change in an insane society. Yank critiques the wealthy people who use low-class people as machines and upper-class people always creates depressive conditions for them.

According to O'Neill, Yank "represents to them self-expression, the very last word in what they are, that most highly developed individual" (174). As a representative stoker, he is expressive and self-confident. The Hairy Ape shows how Yank has lost confidence in the society as it has become inhabitable. In the last scene, Yank shows that the American Society is yet to be defined. "Christ, where do I get off at? Where do I fit in? And what the hell! --- I ain't on oith, and I ain't in Heaven, get me... I'm in de middle tryen' to reparate 'em, taken' all de worst punches from bot' of em" (The Hairy Ape, Scene VIII).

The Adding Machine

On the other hand, The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice brings the audience a similar predicament. The primary character, Mr. Zero has become affixed to the routines of the capitalist society. Mr. Zero's daily routine for twenty five years of service to the company he works with has been clocking in at work, calculating numbers and clocking out at the end of the day. This is well aligned with the purpose of attaining the American Dream whereby, the people work to earn a decent living and in turn improve their way of life (Blum 91). Considering the period of this play, the 1920s, the focus on specialization in the area of study was rampant. The people and the youth in particular had to ensure that they featured in relevant industries following the booming American economy. The artists, poets, and writers considered themselves as the lost generation, and the idea of evolution being learned in school created an uproar. Upon the installation of the central line to increase production, each labor increasingly got divided, and workers specialized in their area.

Mr. Zero had become too accustomed to his monotonous lifestyle that the author illustrates his bedroom as " The walls are paper with sheets of foolscap covered with columns of figures" (Rice 3). He could not stop figuring numbers. Mr. Zero had become a slave to his job and his livelihood and lifestyle was all supported and dependent on his job. Hence, when his wife finally convinced him that he should get rewarded for his service, it was no surprise that he agreed. The capitalist nature is to make more and to continue doing more until you reach the peak. However, it is impossible to reach the peak in the capitalist society as there is always a new height to scale. The disappointment of being replaced with a machine after many years of service further reflects that the capitalists will always seek means of producing more at a faster rate and conveniently (Rice 12). The disposal and dismissal of previous systems is but a common procedure and not necessarily perceived in any human manner. This dismissal and quick replacement and disregard of the efforts put into work for 25 years thus were the motive behind the murder of Mr. Zero's boss (Rice 13). From a capitalist perspective, machines were never a problem because they meant reducing the number of workers on the payroll and the assumption that they were more effective and efficient than men.

The author intended his audience to anticipate how capitalist business dehumanized the low-class American workers. The work itself was droning and repetitive. Because of the nature of the assembly line, workers psychologies were getting negatively affected. Rice demonstrates this kind of capitalism mindset using Mr. Zero's boss. While Mr. Zero prepared to go home, his boss calls him for a talk.

Boss: Mister-er-er-

Zero: Zero.

Boss: Yes, Mr. Zero. I wanted to have a little talk with you.

Zero: [with a nervous grin]. Yes, sir, I been kinda expectin' it.

(Rice 12-13)

Due to the system, the Boss had no idea of who Mr. Zero was, but he was just another man who had labored for him. Event more dehumanizing is the fact that while Mr. Zero had thought of a salary increment, the Boss asks to talk to him to notify him that he is getting fired from work. The boss goes on to state "I'm sorry-no other alternative-greatly regret-old employee-efficiency-the economy-business-business-BUSINESS-"(Rice 14). This is a clear indication that Mr. Zero's Boss does not care at all concerning the welfare of his workers; all that the boss minds are the efficiency of his money and business.

The author in the last scene of the play makes one more point. He points out that although Mr. Zero escaped the mortal world and all the pain, it caused him; Mr. Zero finds himself in the Elysian Fields where he selects similar work of an adding machine. One may argue that this is due to experience, but the thing is that Mr. Zero repeats the same process over again. Is it not that Mr. Zero has turned into a machine? Yes, he has.

Are the portraits in The Hairy Ape and The Adding Machine relevant today to the US?

Both play the reality of any modern society, and it is sad despite the warning in the as early as the 1920's; nothing the US and the world has taken note on to try and reconcile. The two plays display how man is no longer in harmony with society. To be specific, the success of America lies in capitalism where the social-economic disappointment continually fails to sustain man and his identity. Americans have failed in the promotion of an interactive society that should be based on dignity and human. Practically, the concept of the American Dream has significantly failed and replaced with modern day capitalism. Men have been alienated from their self despite the evidence of sane structures like religion, God or capitalism man continues to struggle with his fate. Despite civilizations in science and technology; man continues not to be in the alliance and hence alienate himself further from society.

Conclusion

The plays are both depictions of the manner in which the capitalist economy has been used to put down the members of the society. Ideally, in their capacity, the people of the lower social class have primarily been subjected to a lifestyle that denies them progress and social growth. The lives of the people are defined by their work while the wealthy continue to accumulate and protect their selfish interests in the society. However, while the poor are aware of the disparities in the society, they do little to help themselves unlike the wealthy who work to ensure that the poor do not oust them. Thus from both work; the greatest failures of the American Society is the capitalist economic system. It is still the greatest predicament of the modern man that begun in the early 20th century and continues to thrive and expand globally. It is also true that humanity despite the inventions of the machine themselves have turned into machine-like creatures Rice notes in post-mortal life of Mr. Zero.

Work Cited

Blum, Edward J. "Lincoln's American Dream: Clashing Political Perspectives." Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association (2007): 90-93.

Corak M. "Inequality from Generation to Generation: The United States in Comparison". In Rycroft RS. The Economics of In...