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Paddy’s nostalgia is clearly dramatized in details in The Hairy Ape. He lives in the present but is deeply rooted in the past. He is a stoker on a transatlantic liner who is all fed up with this life of suffocation and humiliations. He finds himself totally alienated from the main stream of life as well as nature. The ship, which Yank calls his home, is hell for Paddy. It is a life away from home, devoid of the basic needs of life.
Paddy is always reminded of his Irish home which he had to leave due to extreme poverty. He never suffered from any sense of alienation in it. The image of his Irish home has always haunted his mind. He continues to be identified with it even after his absence from home. Paddy has presented a memorable picture of the days of youth in this play. It was the time of beautiful ships with tall masts, driven by strong and courageous sailors. They worked in pollution-free environments and enjoyed good health and natural postures. They belonged to the ship because they were properly looked after by their sympathetic employers. They had job satisfaction and enjoyed full freedom and self-respect. They were all romantic in nature and sang songs while sailing on ships. They loved nature and felt perfectly at home in it. They dreamt beautiful dreams and enjoyed warm sunshine and inhaled pure air. They loved work and never suffered from any sense of boredom or alienation. There was a perfect co-ordination between man, ship and nature.