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Get every literary device explanation for The Hairy Ape
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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Man as Machine:
After Paddy outlines his argument in Scene 1, Yank retaliates, providing an alternate stance to Patty's unrealistic nostalgia. Through metaphor, Yank explores the working-class man's relationship with industrialism:
YANK: I’m de ting in coal dat makes it boin; I’m steam and oil for de engines; I’m de ting in noise dat makes yuh hear it; I’m smoke and express trains and steamers and factory whistles; I’m de ting in gold dat makes money! And I’m what makes iron into steel! Steel, dat stands for de whole ting! And I’m steel—steel—steel! I’m de muscles in steel, de punch behind it!
In this passage, Yank uses a series of related metaphors not only to imply that he is at home within the machine, but that he views himself as part of it—inseparable from the steel and oil that make these machines function. He does this through the repeated use of "I'm," making his case to Paddy through a series of metaphors that are almost religious in nature. Yank's devotion to his work and to industry, while slightly more grounded in reality than Paddy's vision of the past, is strongly idealistic. This level of idealism leaves Yank vulnerable to exploitation and humiliation. He thinks better of himself and his fellow workers than the bourgeoisie above them; as a result, Yank receives a rude awakening when Mildred reacts to him with disgust.
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