Henry the Ape
Concept Statement

Henry the Ape is a play that expresses the theme of belonging. Yank is recognized as the lead coal stoker and is secure with his position in society. One day on the ship Mildred, the daughter of the ship’s owner, comes down to the stokehole and makes Yank reconsider his role. In doing so Yank begins to question himself and where he belongs. He comes to a self-realization that there is a world beyond the stokehole. Yank then decides to leave the ship, where his actions land him jail. The prisoners urge him to join the union, but he is denied. Finally, he heads to the zoo where he connects with a caged ape. He tries to free the ape and in return gets crushed to death. The play relates to many issues that are still being touched on today such as machines taking over the jobs of workers. This has been going on since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and has only progressed. Today the job of Yank would not even exist, because of how far technology has come. The Cornell box we created is meant to portray the theme of belonging. Every house in the box is pretty and white with a red roof, except the one in front. The house up front is bigger than the houses behind it and painted black. This particular house is meant to portray Yank. All the other houses are alike and on hills, where as the black house (Yank) does not belong. The cloud overhead is just above this house and is meant to serve a shadow, where only the area above