3. “Born in a hotel room-and God
damn it- died in a hotel room”
4. One of the renowned play, was
written during (1939-41)
5. Family
Psychologists might say none of the Tyrone's has a good
support network. The father acts childishly most of the time
and the eldest son, at least, don’t look up to him. This son,
Jamie, is the character who requires the least caretaking,
but that's really because both he and his parents think he's
a lost cause. The younger son Edmund, meanwhile, is the
sickly baby of the family. He's clearly the parents' favorite
and can't seem to put his adult life in order. The failure to
take familial responsibility is a real problem in Long Day's
Journey, as none of the characters has anyone they feel
they can turn to in times of need.
6. Society and Class
The dad has done well financially, and he
finds Socialism distasteful. As James points
out, he learned the value of a dollar the hard
way as a child, and his greatest fear is role
people taking advantage of his wealth and
cheating him. As a result, he has a hard time
spending money, even on worthwhile causes,
like quality healthcare for the family.
7. Religion
Although Tyrone professes to keep his faith,
his two sons have long since abandoned the
Catholic religion. Tyrone's religion spills over
into his taste in art. He considers Edmund's
favorite writers to be morbid and degenerate.
Mary's loss of faith also recurs as an issue.
Although she still believes, she thinks she has
fallen so far from God that she no longer has
the right to pray.
8. The Past, as refuge and burden
At different parts, the Past plays different roles. On one hand the past is a
burden. Mary speaks with a terrible fatalism, claiming that nothing they
are can be helped: past sins and mistakes have fixed their present and
future irrevocably. The past also takes the form of old hurts that have
gone unforgiving. The past also becomes a refuge, but not in a positive
way. Mary uses an idealized recreation of her girlhood as escapist
fantasy. As she sinks further and further into the fog of morphine, she
relives her childhood at the Catholic girls' school. The past is used to
escape dealing with the present.
9. Isolation
Isolation….
Although the four Tyrone's live under the same roof thi
summer, there is a deep sense of isolation. Family meals
a central activity of family bonding, are absent from th
play. Lunch happens between acts, and dinner falls apar
as everyone in the family goes his separate way
10. Isolation
Mary's isolation is particularly acute. She is
isolated by her gender, as the only woman of
the family, and by her morphine addiction,
which pushes her farther and farther from
reality.
11. Drug and alcohol abuse
JAMES
There's nothing like the first after-breakfast cigar, if it's a good
one, and this new lot have the right mellow flavor.
Cigars are certainly the least frightening drugs that come up in
the play, but still, see how early in the text we're introduced
to a drug habit. Not only does James have a cigar at 8:30 in
the morning, but it's also his first after-breakfast cigar. That is,
he has more than one cigar every morning. Not the end of the
world, for sure, but we are being introduced very early on to
this family's strong dependence on substances
12. Drugs
Mary's morphine addiction is balanced by
the men's alcoholism. Although the
morphine is perhaps a more destructive
drug, alcohol does its fair share of
damage to the Tyrone men. It is Tyrone's
great vice, and it has contributed to
Mary's unhappiness. Drunkenness has
been Jamie's response to life, and it is
part of why he has failed so miserably.
And Edmund's alcohol use has probably
contributed to ruining his health
13. Sufferings
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a play about people who are
suffering. The characters have basically nothing to do, as the
adult sons aren't working, the father is in his off-season, and
the mother doesn't work at all. They tend to sit around, argue,
and suffer the pain of old wounds and dark prospects for the
future. One son has consumption to worry about, and the
mother is addicted to morphine, but these problems radiate
to the father and other son as well, as they suffer from the
consequences too. Everyone's bogged down in depressive
thinking about the way things used to be (either good or bad)
and their (probably awful) future.
14. Guilt and Blame
The characters in Long Day's Journey are absolutely
obsessed with thinking over the past and either
feeling guilty about what they've done, or blaming
someone else for all the problems they face. Once
one of the children dies at a young age and the
mother becomes addicted to morphine, everyone
keeps worrying about whether they should have had
another kid, who was responsible for the baby's
death, why the mother became addicted to
morphine, and generally how they or others have
failed as good mothers, fathers, sons, and brothers
15. Lies and Deceit
As the play starts, everyone except for the eldest
son is terrified of bringing up taboo subjects like
drugs, alcohol, careers, and the past.
When Jamie does bring them up (as he does so
often), he's shot down by the rest of the family
(twice with a blow to the face). Only by the end of the
play, when the rules don't seem to matter anymore,
do the characters actually speak their minds.
16. Sufferings
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a play about people who are
suffering. The characters have basically nothing to do, as the
adult sons aren't working, the father is in his off-season, and
the mother doesn't work at all. They tend to sit around, argue,
and suffer the pain of old wounds and dark prospects for the
future. One son has consumption to worry about, and the
mother is addicted to morphine, but these problems radiate
to the father and other son as well, as they suffer from the
consequences too. Everyone's bogged down in depressive
thinking about the way things used to be (either good or bad)
and their (probably awful) future.
17. Breakdown of communication
Breakdown of communication is a very apparent theme.
We are forced to listen to the same arguments again and
again because nothing ever gets resolved. The Tyrone's
fight, but often hide the most important feelings. There is
a deep tendency towards denial in the family. Edmund
tries to deny that his mother has returned to morphine.
Mary denies Edmund's consumption. Often, avoidance is
the strategy for dealing with problems.
