Eugene O'Niell: Long Day's Journey Into Night

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Throughout “Long Day’s Journey into Night” by Eugene O’Neill, the issue of the past is one that is brought up quite often, by the entire Tyrone family. Mary; the mother; resents that she has never been able to feel at home, while also battling her addiction to morphine because her husband was too stingy to pay for a real doctor. As well as the men of the family’s addiction to alcohol. The children hate their father for his cheap ways and for the way they were brought up. And lastly, Tyrone resents taking on a family, because it kept him from making his “big break” as an actor. In the beginning it is obvious to see that the Tyrone family lives differently than most other families. For one their house has many unused and unlived in rooms. On top of that the family is always in a tailspin of emotions. One minute joking and teasing and the next fighting and yelling. But the major issue throughout it all is the past events of the family members. Mary for instance is constantly fidgeting do to her self-consciousness, especially when her sons and husband what her closely. And there seems to be a reason behind it, because at sometimes Mary seems to be miles away in her own world. She also likes to bring up the past and memories of when she looked younger and much more beautiful than she is now. Such as when she says, “ But I did truly have beautiful hair once, didn’t I, James,” to show that she is realizing her slow decay from the Irish beauty she once was(O’Neill 28). As the play progresses though, Mary seems to be troubled that the men of the house constantly keep watch over her. So as she is talking with her youngest son Edmund she seems to break a little. She states, “ How can anyone of us forget? That’s what makes it so hard- for all of us. We can’t forget,” to reveal that past occurrences have lead the family to be weary of how Mary acts(O’Neill 49). Towards the

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