39 pages • 1 hour read
Eugene O'NeillThe Emperor Jones
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1920A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Insidious Nature of Power
Critics often link Brutus Jones’s journey in The Emperor Jones to broader societal implications of the relentless pursuit of power and wealth. Playwrights like Eugene O’Neill grappled with the profound social and cultural changes modernity brought and often experimented with ways to illuminate the modern individual’s response to a rapidly changing world. Jones’s rise to the throne mirrors civilization’s modern quest for supremacy, inviting the audience to ponder the alluring yet insidious nature of power. After having spent years in servitude and subjugation, Jones goes to great lengths to secure his position as emperor of the island. He ruthlessly manipulates and exploits the island’s inhabitants, using fear to maintain control. He also surrounds himself with symbols of authority, such as a stolen uniform and a crown, which remind him of his newfound status. When reflecting on his actions, he at first justifies them as a means to achieve financial success and social prominence: “For de little stealin’ dey gits you in jail soon or late. For de big stealin’ dey makes you Emperor and puts you in de Hall o’ Fame when you croaks” (154). Jones’s comments describe the cost of success in a capitalist world, where exploitation can lead to fame and fortune, even if it is at the expense of one’s moral integrity. He acknowledges that society’s modus operandi is one of moral compromises and that it not only tolerates but rewards exploitation, so long as it’s “big” enough.
O’Neill aims for Jones to represent the common person, yet the play perpetuates harmful stereotypes by linking Jones’s Blackness to notions of inherent moral corruption and degradation. This association is evident in O’Neill’s stage directions, which characterize Black and Indigenous characters with dehumanizing descriptors, at times using explicit derogatory epithets. O’Neill describes Jones’s character as naturally “suspicious,” creating a problematic assumption of his predisposition to deviance. Simultaneously, O’Neill contrasts this descriptor with the character’s uncanny “confidence” and “strength of will” (150), implying that such positive traits are unnatural or exceptional for a Black person. Such characterization assumes an undeniable link between his race and his delinquency and tyranny. These characterizations not only reinforce racial biases but also contribute to the harmful narrative of racial inferiority, obscuring the broader critique of power and ambition that O’Neill seeks to convey. While the play offers a commentary on the dangers of the corrupting influence of power, it does so within a framework that relies on racial stereotypes.
Guilt, Fear, and the Fractured Psyche
Jones’s escape into the forest prompts a psychological journey through his past and the intricacies of the human psyche. He is initially confident that he can evade the consequences of his conquest and the deeper ethical and moral dimensions of his tyranny. He believes he can conquer the land, much like he has dominated the islanders as their self-proclaimed ruler. However, moments of uneasiness interrupt his veneer of confidence: “I wonder if dey’s startin’ after me? Couldn’t see dem now, nohow, if dey was hundred feet away. Sho’, dey’s miles an’ miles behind. What you gittin’ fidgety about?” (168). His pride gives way to paranoia as hallucinations mark his path through the forest. The forest becomes not merely an external landscape but an extension of his mind, housing his memories, trauma, the suffering he inflicted upon others, and his subsequent guilt.
O’Neill employs Expressionist techniques, particularly auditory elements, to represent Jones’s psychological turmoil. For example, his innovative use of a “faint, steady thump of a tom-tom” acts as a reminder of the islanders’ revolt and Jones’s inescapable fate (162). As the play progresses, the drumbeat steadily increases in tempo, its persistent presence building tension. These elements work in harmony to showcase the inner workings of the human mind when faced with the weight of one’s actions and evoke the depths of Jones’s psychological landscape. O’Neill’s attention to the auditory facet of the theatrical experience immerses the audience in the protagonist’s haunting visions. At times, the absence of sound also works as an important narrative device: “The prison guard cracks his whip—noiselessly—and at that signal all the convicts start at work on the road. They swing their picks, they shovel, but not a sound comes from their labour” (177). O’Neill made the characters in Jones’s visions noiseless to set them apart from characters in other scenes, further delimiting Jones’s dreamlike inner state.
O’Neill’s choices aim to illuminate Jones’s state of mind but also perpetuate a problematic narrative equating Jones’s journey to a supposed return to “primitive” human form. Jones’s gradual transformation in appearance as he ventures deeper into the forest is significant. His clothing marks his descent into a more primitive and uncivilized state as it comes to resemble the attire of the island’s Indigenous population. This transformation reinforces harmful racial stereotypes that equate Blackness with a regressive and less civilized form of being. It also suggests that Jones’s fall from grace is a return to his supposed primitive roots. These are all troubling narrative choices that strip people of color of their humanity and further reinforce racist beliefs.
From Subject to Sovereign
Brutus Jones’s transformation from a subject of oppression to a self-proclaimed emperor is a central theme in The Emperor Jones. Fleeing his criminal past, Jones manipulates the superstitious islanders by convincing them of his invincibility. In doing so, he secures their unwavering loyalty and submission, elevating himself to ruler of the island. However, as the narrative unfolds, Jones’s journey mirrors that of a classic tragic hero, alluding to the timeless themes of hubris and hamartia, where pride and a series of fatal misjudgments lead to a cataclysmic fall from grace. Jones embodies the archetypal figure who, intoxicated by ambition, ultimately succumbs to his tragic flaws.
The complex interplay of colonialism, race, and power shapes Jones’s story and his nature. He grapples with an intense desire to break free from subjugation and attain power and privilege. Thus, he perpetuates the strategies employed in colonial conquests and aligns himself with the colonizers, using dehumanizing tactics to keep the islanders in a subordinate position. He takes great pride in his tyranny, often boasting and belittling the Indigenous islanders: “And it didn’t take long from dat time to git dese fool woods’ n*****s right where I wanted dem. (With pride) From stowaway to Emperor in two years! Dat’s goin’ some!” (153). However, despite ascending to the role of emperor, his status as a Black man prevents white colonizers from treating him as an equal. Henry Smithers, the white trader, views Jones much as he views the Indigenous population of the island, using the n-word to refer to both of them. Connecting Jones to the islanders is one of the ways O’Neill frames the protagonist’s fall from grace as a regression to a more “primitive” existence. This common interpretation reinforces the racist link between Blackness and primitivism, contributing to the harmful stereotype that people of color are inherently uncivilized and brutish, as the protagonist’s first name suggests. The gradual deterioration of Jones’s uniform during his journey also highlights his resemblance to the islanders. The implication is that Jones was always fated to return to a subordinate position. Such choices on O’Neill’s part perpetuate notions of racial superiority.
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