Long Day's Journey Into Night Analysis

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In the play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neil, the reader is presented with a lot of family conflicts. The main character is James Tyrone who was once a famous actor who toured in the United States with his wife Mary. James is now sixty-five but looks like he is ten years younger. When he was younger, his father abandoned him, which forced him to grow up very fast and be responsible for himself. Mary has this horrible morphine addiction that has lasted for more than fifteen years. She constantly struggles to break from this bad habit but always comes running back to it, using this drug as an escape. James and Mary have these two sons named James Tyrone, Jr. and Edmund Tyrone. James Tyrone is the older son; he is 33 years old and …show more content…

James Tyrone has a huge alcohol addiction, which also reflects on his two sons addiction to alcohol. In the novel, Eugene O’Neil states “He’d only spend it on drink and you know what a vile, poisonous tongue he has when he’s drunk…” (615). Basically, James drinking issue has gotten over control is affecting his wife. Mary strongly believes that he is ruining their marriage and the lives of their sons. James Jr. always spends his money on alcohol and uses it an escape from his parents because they are addicts. James Jr. blames his parents for his failure in life because of their bad parenting. Edmund in the other hand does not only have an alcohol addiction but also has a drug addiction because of his mother. He uses art to escape from his problems unlike any of his other family members. Edmund is basically the victim of this play but is the one who gets hurt the most due his parent’s addictions especially his dads. James Jr. and Edmund blame their father for their mother’s drug …show more content…

When Mary was pregnant with Edmund she was consuming drugs, which made him become hooked to morphine as a little child. Edmund’s life has been very complicated because of his parents. Throughout this play, Edmund gets tuberculosis, which he blames his father drinking problem and his mother drug addiction. Mary always seems to blame Edmund for her drug addiction because he caused her horrible pain through child labor. Every single time Mary is on drugs, she seems to always rant how much she regrets marrying James. In the article, “Tragedy and ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’: Long Day’s Journey Into Night” by Alan Downer states, “Four of these characters are the members of a family who must in this day face the facts, which hall have evaded, that the mother is an incurable drug addict and the younger son tubercular” (119). Before Mary’s addiction and marriage, she wanted to become a nun that’s why she uses drug an escape from her past. The family constantly argues because of the failure of James Jr. and Edmund but in reality it’s all their parents

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