American theater in the early 1900s highlighted the changes taking place in society. Throughout this era, playwrights renewed theater by questioning traditions. The establishment of Broadway caused a boom in theater that led to the emergence of new plays and new playwrights. Among these emerging playwrights was Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill's The Hairy Ape encompassed modern characteristics such as alienation and industrialization, as well as features of naturalism. Although The Hairy Ape is one of the most representative plays of this era, there are many other plays worth noting as having been influential in the early 1900s. Realism is featured in Eugene O's play Neill, Beyond the Horizon, as there is a strong emphasis on the daily activities one must complete on a farm. There is also an emphasis on the conflict between man and man. This struggle can also be noted in Rice's The Adding Machine. This piece is considered an expressionist piece due to the lack of identity of the characters. Mr. Zero's name implies that he is meaningless and insignificant. Being compared to a machine dehumanizes Mr. Zero, just as O'Neill's play The Hairy Ape dehumanizes Yank into an ape-like being. However, this era also offers domestic melodramas, such as Kelly's Craig's Wife and Howard's The Silver Cord. These plays focus on the lives of women in a male-dominated society and the modern characteristic of being a product of one's environment. In these two plays, the female characters try to find their place in society, but this proves difficult and almost impossible. Howard gives the reader hope in the character of Christina Phelps because she questions feminine traditions and is a career woman, as well as a mother. David Phelps must follow his heart and... middle of paper... alienated actors in society. Their quest to belong and achieve their goals is complicated by the challenges posed by their environment and is neglected due to societal expectations. These expectations cause Yank to feel even more alienated from society when he is placed in the only place that seems to accept him: the monkey cage. Yank's depression at the zoo leads him to feel as if he and the monkey are one: mocked and misunderstood. His new sense of belonging is short-lived as O'Neill indicates that a feeling of belonging is never permanent. Yank and Mildred's experiences are representative of this time period, as all human beings seek to belong, but due to societal expectations and environmental issues, this quest is often ongoing. Works Cited O'Neill, Eugene. The hairy monkey. Nine pieces. New York: The Modern Library, 1954. 37-88. Print.