Lesson Overview:

Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape presents a disheartening assessment of the impact of living in the industrialized society of the early 20th century. This lesson explores the ways O'Neill portrays a world in which spiritual, communal, and behavioral values of the past have been displaced by the lure of technology and materialism and by patterns of cultural barbarism. It also explores the way O'Neill's play resonates with influential theories and thinkers of his day. This lesson may be used in conjunction with the Illusion and Reality in American Drama unit concerning Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill.

Length of Lesson:

Three to five 45-minute periods

Notes:

This lesson is particularly suitable for AP and IB students.

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• gain increasing awareness of how societal issues can be the centerpiece for themes and forms of drama.
• probe the ways philosophical and psychological theories shape themes and forms of drama.
• explore the nature of the modern “tragic hero.”
• explicate and appreciate the power of visual and auditory expressionistic elements to help shape set design, narrative, characterization, and theme in the building of dramatic scripts.
• craft essays of critical analysis.
• recognize elements that build artistic tension in dramatic scripts.

Instructional Plan:

Studying the Background of the Play

Students shoudl read the Biographical Information of Eugene O'Neill handout, charting the influences and highlights of his life. Arrange students into small collaborative groups and have them research one of the following topics:

• American immigration during the last half of the 19th century, with particular attention to the ethnic origins of those coming.
• The concept of Social Darwinism as it existed in the late 19th and early 20th century in America.
• The “Robber Barons” of the late 19th and first decades of 20th century America. 
• Transatlantic luxury ocean liners of the late 19th century and first decade of the 20th century, with particular attention to how they were powered and who traveled on them
• The growth and purpose of labor unions, including attention to the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) 
• The connotative implications associated with 5th Avenue in New York City

If you are teaching an 11th or 12th grade class, and/or an AP/IB class, you may wish to introduce the lesson with a more complicated, but valuable Introductory Activity, which uses The Education of Henry Adams (1918) to introduce ideas and themes about industrialized society in the early 20th century.

You may wish to distribute the Vocabulary handout to the students before they conduct their research.

Reading the Play

Have students read as much of the play as possible aloud in class. If time does not allow for a complete read-through of the play, read at least the first several scenes, as well as the final scene, aloud in class. Assign the additional material as homework. Following are some suggestions to help guide the in-class reading.

• Explain to the class that reading the role of Yank, the protagonist, requires handling tricky dialect. Ask for a volunteer or select someone whom you think can handle dialect. Keep in mind that an effective reading of Yank’s role is the centerpiece for helping turn the study of O’Neill’s play into a memorable classroom experience.
• Consider having the “Voices” section be read by impromptu one-line responses coming from different parts of the room. Allow for one or two rehearsals of the first “Voices” speech, so that students can develop a rhythm.
• As you progress through the play, ask students to pay attention not only to the movement of the narrative, but also to the expressionistic devices used in the play.

After reading the play, have students explore one or more of the Study Topics for The Hairy Ape. You may also choose to use these topics as a basis for quizzes, brief in-class writing assignments, oral discussion and/or testing, or formal essay assignments.

Analyzing Themes and Structure

Ask two or three students to go to the board. Ask each participant to draw some kind of line diagram that represents the basic structural movement of the play. Ask each participant to clarify the rationale behind his/her graphic representation. (Note: there is no right or wrong answer, and each student's diagram and explanation will likely vary.) You may wish to model this activity for students. Some possible diagram options might include:

• a line diagram that starts with scene I as the high point and goes in a diagonal line downwards, with scene VIII as the lowest point, representing Yank’s increasing rejection—even by the gorilla. This structure focuses on Yank's progression from a state of "belonging" to "not belonging," to complete destruction of his original self-image.
• a diagram that starts with scene I as the lowest point and moves diagonally in a straight line upward, the end of scene VIII representing the high point. This pattern could be perceived as reflecting the building of intensity in the play.
• a diagram that starts with scene I as the low point, builds diagonally upward to the end of scene V, then goes diagonally (or straight) down, with scene VIII being the low point. This pattern could be perceived as reflecting Yank’s confidence of “belonging” as holding well until the Fifth Avenue scene, then rapidly deteriorating.

Discuss the patterns that emerge from the diagrams. Ask students to think about what they illuminate about the structural or thematic impact of the play. You also may wish to have the students compare the line diagrams of The Hairy Ape with the traditional Shakespearean pattern: rising action in the first three acts; climax at the end of Act III; beginning of denouement in Act IV; and denouement in Act V. What differences emerge?

If appropriate, you could also use the diagram activity as a springboard into a discussion of the Darwinian theory of evolution and Carl Jung’s theory of racial memory. Ask students whether they see any parallels between these theories and the themes and forms of O'Neill's drama.

Culminating Assignments
Have students answer one or more of the Essay Questions.

Assessment:

Assess the students based upon the following criteria: 

• level of serious and cooperative participation in research and collaborative assignments
• level of discernment in contributions from research and to collaborative work
• substantive contributions to class discussion and special project
• range and depth in analysis
• evidence of creative thinking
• organization, meaningful substance, rhetorical skill, and poise in formal oral presentation
• thoughtful response in pre-writing, pre-discussion “brainstorming” activities
• seriousness of purpose in following through on creative and expository writing assignments
• solid preparation for performance activities
• alignment of written performance with good practices of the writing process
• willingness to volunteer for special activities
• general level of engagement in all activities and assignments

Extensions:

Encourage students interested in set design and/or studio art to make a sketch of the stage set of the opening scene as the set is described by O’Neill.

Encourage students interested in studio art to make drawings of some of the characters or scenes in the play, giving close attention to capturing in the drawings O’Neill’s expressionistic descriptions of the characters.

Ask for a volunteer(s) to give a formal oral presentation on O’Neill’s use of Rodin’s "Thinker" as an expressionistic device in the play. Suggest that the presentation include such aspects as: a brief background on Rodin; a general explanation of what the sculpture represents; an analysis of O’Neill’s specific use of Rodin’s "Thinker" in scenes IV, VI, VII, and VIII of the play; the dramatic reinforcement of theme through the juxtaposition of Rodin’s "Thinker" with the image of a "hairy ape" and gorilla. (Note: This topic could be used also as a formal essay assignment.)

Eugene O’Neill labels The Hairy Ape "A Comedy of Ancient and Modern Life," even though the protagonist suffers a tragic end. Have students research and present to the class some background on early definitions of comedy within drama. Follow with a student-led discussion of how, based on these early definitions, The Hairy Ape "qualifies" as a comedy. Ask them also to examine the implication of the “Ancient and Modern” reference (perhaps bringing in Jungian theory as a possibility).

Authors:

• Jayne Karsten, English, Grades 9-12
  The Key School
  Annapolis, MD US