In this presentation you can information about Eugene O'Naill, his play 'Long Day's Journey into Night' from the category The American Literature and it's Tragic Flow which make this Play with full of emotions.

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The Tragic Flaw in the Play 'Long Day's
Journey into Night' by Eugene O’Neill
Presented at - Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of
English, MKBU, Bhavnagar
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Paper 108: The American Literature

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Personal Information
➢ Presenter: Pooja Bhuva A.
➢ Enrollment Number: 4069206420220005
➢ Batch: 2022 - 2024 (M.A. Sem - 2)
➢ E-mail: poojabhuva2002@gmail.com
➢ Date: 13 March, 2023
➢ Subject Code: 22401
➢ Roll No.: 15
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Eugene O’Neill
➢ Eugene Gladstone O’Neill known by his short name Eugene O'Neill was born on
October 16, 1888 in New York, New York, U.S. and died on November 27, 1953
in Boston, Massachusetts. (Gelb)
➢ O'Neill was born in a hotel, the Barrett House, at Broadway and 43rd Street, on
what was then Longacre Square (now Times Square) in New York City. (Gelb,
Arthur)
➢ He was the foremost American dramatist and winner of the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1936. (Gelb)
➢ He was the son of Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill and Mary Ellen Quinlan,
who was also of Irish descent. (Gelb)
➢ His father suffered from alcoholism; his mother from an addiction to morphine,
prescribed to relieve the pains of the difficult birth of Eugene, who was her third
son. (Londré)
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➢ Eugene O'Neill was a famous person who lived in Point Pleasant.
➢ He married a woman named Agnes Boulton, who was from the town.
➢ During the winter of 1918-1919, they lived in a house owned by Agnes'
parents. Eugene was bored, but he did manage to finish writing a play
called "Chris Christopherson," which later became "Anna Christie."
➢ Seven years later, Eugene and Agnes got divorced, and Agnes moved
back to Point Pleasant with their two children, Shane and Oona.
➢ Oona later married Charlie Chaplin. (Cheslow)
➢ O'Neill abandoned Boulton and the children for the actress Carlotta
Monterey.
➢ O'Neill and Carlotta married less than a month after he officially
divorced his previous wife Boulton. (Eugene)
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Eugene O’Neill’s Married Life

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'Long Day's Journey into Night'
➢ Long Day’s Journey into Night is a drama divided into four acts by Eugene O’Neill.
➢ This drama was written between 1939–41 and produced and published
posthumously in 1956.
➢ The play is considered as an American masterpiece, and was awarded a Pulitzer
Prize in 1957. (Britannica)
➢ This play is Semi-Autobiographical work but didn’t reflect the writer’s personality
directly.
➢ This play is driven by the main five characters James Tyrone, Mary Tyrone, Jamie
Tyrone, Edmund Tyrone and Cathleen.
➢ These five characters are drawn by their own thoughts, prejudice, insecurity and
addictions which make them lose their mind and temper with each other and get
caught into the past.
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What is Tragic Flaw?
➢ Tragic flaw is a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a
tragedy. (Tragic)
➢ How does Tragic flaw work in this play?
➢ Normally, by the definition we can see that Tragic flaw is the reason for the tragic
ending of the characters in the play but with that there are also some factors called
guiltiness, past mistakes, etc. are also causes of Tragic flaw.
➢ Mary is the central victim of the tragic flaw, of course there isn’t any death in the
play shown directly but the way Mary died in the present and lived in the past can
be considered as death.
➢ To be addicted and consumption of alcohol also a reason behind it caused by
addiction one can find a way to escape from the past.
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Starting - Ending
➢ Starting and ending are also interesting to
notice how it paints the play tragically.
➢ Play starts with lively and healthy talk
between the Tyrone family, everyone talking
with each other without any grudges but we
also notice a glimpse of hate into the mind of
Jamie but there is also a hope.
➢ In the End part of the play unlike starting
there we can see terror, fear, tension, disaster
and somewhere depression too.
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Hamartia in the Play
➢ The concept of hamartia is central to Greek tragedy and refers to a tragic flaw or mistake that ultimately leads
to the downfall of the protagonist. In "Long Day's Journey into Night," each member of the Tyrone family has
their own hamartia that contributes to the family's dysfunction.
➢ James Tyrone, the patriarch of the family, is haunted by his past mistakes and struggles with guilt and regret.
His hamartia is his greed, which led him to make decisions that he now regrets, such as forcing his wife Mary
to undergo a cheap treatment for her addiction rather than paying for a more effective one.
➢ Mary Tyrone, James's wife, is addicted to morphine and is unable to overcome her dependence. Her hamartia is
her desire to escape from the harsh realities of her life, including her husband's infidelity and her own illness.
➢ James Tyrone, the couple's oldest son, is a failed actor who resents his father for forcing him to pursue a career
in the theater. His hamartia is his bitterness and anger, which he directs towards his family and himself.
➢ Edmund Tyrone, the youngest son, is an aspiring writer who is suffering from tuberculosis. His hamartia is his
romantic idealism, which leads him to believe that he can overcome his illness and achieve his dreams despite
the harsh realities of his life.
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The Three Unities by Aristotle
➢ Unity of Time: This unity states that the events of a play should take place within a single day, or at most,
within a span of 24 hours. In "Long Day's Journey into Night," the events of the play take place over the
course of a single day, from morning until late at night. So, in this regard, the play adheres to the unity of
time.
➢ Unity of Place: This unity requires that the events of a play take place in a single location, or at most, in a
small number of closely related locations. In "Long Day's Journey into Night," the action of the play takes
place entirely within the Tyrone family's summer home in Connecticut. So, in this regard, the play adheres
to the unity of place.
➢ Unity of Action: This unity states that a play should have a single, focused plot with a clear beginning,
middle, and end. In "Long Day's Journey into Night," the action of the play is focused on the interactions of
the Tyrone family as they struggle with their individual problems and the dysfunctional dynamics of their
relationships. The play does not have a conventional plot structure with a clear resolution or conclusion. So,
in this regard, the play deviates from the unity of action.
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View of DWIGHT MACDONALD
➢ To describe the play he uses these words, Six years ago, I watched a play on Broadway that I found boring
and tiring. The play was too focused on showing life as it is, without any interesting or strange twists. I
even fell asleep a few times. However, as the play went on, I started to care about the problems and
solutions of the Tyrone family. By the end of the play, I was so invested in their story that I would have
been happy to watch another three hours. (Macdonald)
➢ O’Neill has a tale to tell that is of crucial importance to him personally: The story of his own family,
compressed into a day and night in that seaside cottage in New London in the year 1912.
➢ The theme is one of high tragedy: the unsuccessful struggle to escape the consequences of past actions.
➢ The mother's drug addiction was not caused by her own choices, but rather by her husband's decision to
save money by hiring a low-cost doctor who prescribed morphine to ease the pain of her difficult
childbirth. In this sense, the husband is being punished for his own flaws, much like in a Shakespearean
tragedy.
➢ The youngest member of the Tyrone family, O'Neill, was indirectly blamed for his mother's addiction
because his parents, during their difficult times, would remind him that he was the reason why they had to
endure the hardships of childbirth. (Macdonald)
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Works Cited
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➢ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Long Day’s Journey into Night". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Long-Days-Journey-into-Night-play-by-ONeill.
➢ Cheslow, Jerry. “If You're Thinking of Living in/Point Pleasant, N.J.; a Borough with a Variety of Boating.” The New York Times, The New
York Times, 9 Nov. 2003, www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-point-pleasant-nj-borough-with-variety-
boating.html.
➢ “Eugene O'Neill Wed to Miss Monterey; Playwright Married in Paris to Leading Actress in His Play, ‘The Hairy Ape." Was Divorced on July
2 Separated from His Second Wife More than a Year Ago--Abroad since February.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 July 1929,
www.nytimes.com/1929/07/24/archives/eugene-oneill-wed-to-miss-monterey-playwright-married-in-paris-to.html.
➢ Gelb, Arthur. “O'Neill's Birthplace Is Marked by Plaque at Times Square Site; O'Neill's Birthplace and Letter He Wrote about It.” The New
York Times, The New York Times, 17 Oct. 1957, www.nytimes.com/1957/10/17/archives/oneills-birthplace-is-marked-by-plaque-at-times-
square-site-oneills.html.
➢ Gelb, Barbara and Gelb, Arthur. "Eugene O’Neill". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eugene-
ONeill.
➢ Londré, Felicia Hardison. Review of Eugene O’Neill: A Life in Four Acts, by Robert M. Dowling, and: Eugene O’Neill: The Contemporary
Reviews ed. by Jackson R. Bryer and Robert M. Dowling. Theatre History Studies, vol. 35, 2016, p. 351-353. Project MUSE,
doi:10.1353/ths.2016.0027.
➢ Macdonald, Dwight. “O'Neill, Lumet, Kurosawa, and the Great Goldwyn: Esquire: December, 1962.” Esquire, 1962,
classic.esquire.com/article/1962/12/1/oneill-lumet-kurosawa-and-the-great-goldwyn.
➢ “Tragic Flaw Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tragic%20flaw.

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“There are two tragedies in life. One
is to lose your heart's desire. The
other is to gain it.”
― George Bernard Shaw,
Man and Superman