One of the most potent symbols in the play is Jones’s clothing, particularly the way his uniform changes as the story progresses. Scene 4 begins with Jones literally stripping himself out of his coat, one of the vestments of his imperial and godly power. As he does so, he uses a simile to compare his coat to a straight-jacket:
I’m meltin’ wid heat! Runnin’ an’ runnin’ an’ runnin’! Damn dis heah coat! Like a strait-jacket! [He tears off his coat and flings it away from him, revealing himself stripped to the waist.] Dere! Dat’s better! Now I kin breathe!
By making a direct comparison between his formal garments and an article of clothing long associated with strict control, constriction, and even torture, the consuming and debilitating impact of empire and hierarchy upon Jones’s psyche is brought to the fore. It is significant that Jones feels more free—effectively becoming more human—when he “gits rid o’ dem frippety Emperor trappin’s.” Only without his coat can Jones travel "lighter." With this statement, O’Neill seems to suggest that freedom itself is impossible under the conditions of empire and rigid social hierarchies. As the play progresses and Jones becomes further detached from his symbols of ill-gotten power, he is likewise able to confront harder truths about his past and the shared past of Black people. In this way, he becomes freer than he was before.
