The Hairy Ape (Unabridged‪)‬

The Hairy Ape (1922) is an expressionist play by Eugene O'Neill. The protagonist, Yank, yearns for a sense of belonging in a world he perceives as being controlled by the rich. Initially, Yank enjoys his job stoking the engines of an ocean liner. Then the wealthy daughter of a steel magnate refers to him as a "filthy beast", and Yank starts experiencing an identity crisis. He leaves the ship, and while walking around Manhattan, comes to the conclusion that he does not belong anywhere; not with the rich on Fifth Avenue nor with the labor unions on the waterfront. This alienation completes the destruction of his psyche. 

On a visit to the zoo, he imagines himself to be a gorilla, opens the real animal’s cage and attempts to greet it. The hairy ape attacks Yank and throws him in the cage, where he dies.