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The Adding Machine(1923) by Elmer Rice is one of the first American expressionist plays which depicts the “rotten system” of the capitalism in the 1920s in both satiric and comic way. This paper aims to show how Rice effectively used expressionistic elements in attacking the dehumanized and mechanical capitalism society which is governed by the “economy” and “efficiency” principle. Unrealistic settings, which enhance the grotesque atmosphere of the play, and grotesque characters, who look more like stereotypes and caricatures with no identity, all contribute in revealing grotesque reality of the times. Especially, their dialogues, which take a form of long meaningless monologues or of short phrases made up of one or two words or expletives, symbolically reveal the impossibility of real communication.


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expressionism, stereotype, Elmer Rice, adding machine, Mr Zero