How is Yank a tragic hero in “The Hairy Ape”?
lit24 Teacher Doctorate eNotes Editor Eugene Oneill’s hero Yank of “The Hairy Ape” and the classical Greek tragic heroes are similar in many respects: 1.The greek tragic hero was a larger than life person who epitomized a certain emotional quality. In Sc. 1 Yank “seems broader, fiercer, more truculent, more powerful ….their most highly developed individual.” He is the quintessential ‘fire man.’ He is the demi-god of his group. 2. The greek tragic hero because of his superior position suffered from ‘hubris’ or pride. Yank’s hubris is most evident in his long reply to Paddy in Sc. 1: “I’m steam and oil for de engines…And I’m steel-steel-steel.” 3. The almost perfect Greek tragic hero suffered from a tragic flaw or ‘hamartia’ which would result in his downfall. Yank’s hamartia is, that he is so proud of his strength that he fails to notice that he is actually sub-human: He is blind to the fact that he actually resembles a “Neandertal Man.” Sc.1. 4. The hubris and the hamartia result i
