Long Day's Journey Into Night
Vandana Ashtakala
Mrs. Clay
Grade 11 Honors English, Period 3
September 20, 2011
Lost in Fog Shrouded under the foggy presence of lies and denial, one can live a misleading life. People are forced to operate under a façade until they are forced to reflect upon their fake life. This may result in epiphanies which compel them to learn something about themselves. In Long Day’s Journey into Night, a play by Eugene O’Neill, a day in the life of the Tyrone family is chronicled as they start off acting as a close family but the reality of their situation is unraveled through the day under the use of drugs and alcohol. Each member of Tyrone family attempts to hide the truths surrounding his or her faults, and although they eventually acknowledge it through epiphanies when they escape the guise of an ambiguous life, they do not do anything to reform themselves. The transformation of the characters occurs with the decline of the day, as various truths and epiphanies are revealed by the end of the play. James Tyrone, the patriarch of the Tyrone family, encounters his self realization when he discovers that his stinginess is a result of him not becoming the actor he wanted to be. James Tyrone realizes the ramifications of compromising a successful acting career for monetary comfort, however realizes the complexity involved in changing and prefers to stay the same. Tyrone, as he is more commonly called, chastises his sons, Jamie, James Tyrone Jr. and Edmund for their lack of respect towards him, who are constantly criticizing him for being cheap. He would rather spend his money on land than rather spending it on a proper house for Mary, his wife. One of the first things he admits is his miserliness. Drunk with his younger son, Edmund, he finally accepts that truth that he is “a stinking old miser” (149). He enlightens Edmund with a story of his challenging childhood as he was forced to work from the age of ten. This is the root of all his problems since he cannot
Mrs. Clay
Grade 11 Honors English, Period 3
September 20, 2011
Lost in Fog Shrouded under the foggy presence of lies and denial, one can live a misleading life. People are forced to operate under a façade until they are forced to reflect upon their fake life. This may result in epiphanies which compel them to learn something about themselves. In Long Day’s Journey into Night, a play by Eugene O’Neill, a day in the life of the Tyrone family is chronicled as they start off acting as a close family but the reality of their situation is unraveled through the day under the use of drugs and alcohol. Each member of Tyrone family attempts to hide the truths surrounding his or her faults, and although they eventually acknowledge it through epiphanies when they escape the guise of an ambiguous life, they do not do anything to reform themselves. The transformation of the characters occurs with the decline of the day, as various truths and epiphanies are revealed by the end of the play. James Tyrone, the patriarch of the Tyrone family, encounters his self realization when he discovers that his stinginess is a result of him not becoming the actor he wanted to be. James Tyrone realizes the ramifications of compromising a successful acting career for monetary comfort, however realizes the complexity involved in changing and prefers to stay the same. Tyrone, as he is more commonly called, chastises his sons, Jamie, James Tyrone Jr. and Edmund for their lack of respect towards him, who are constantly criticizing him for being cheap. He would rather spend his money on land than rather spending it on a proper house for Mary, his wife. One of the first things he admits is his miserliness. Drunk with his younger son, Edmund, he finally accepts that truth that he is “a stinking old miser” (149). He enlightens Edmund with a story of his challenging childhood as he was forced to work from the age of ten. This is the root of all his problems since he cannot