Characters’ Analysis of “ Long Days Journey into Night”

PRESENTED BY

FAKHARH MUHABAT

“Long DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT”By

Eugene O'Neil(1888-1953)

Marry

MARY:

•Edmund’s illness "I want you to promise me that even if it should turn out to be something worse, […] you'll keep on taking care of yourself"

•James is an actor, which isn't considered a respectable profession. Mary says that her "old friends either pitied [her] or cut [her] dead"

•She spent years alone in cheap hotel rooms, waiting for James to get done carousing with his theatre buddies. She laments to Edmund, "If there was only […] some woman friend I could talk to – not about anything serious, simply laugh and gossip and forget for a while" .

•She says to Edmund, "It makes it so much harder, living in this atmosphere of constant suspicion [that she's back on morphine]" Is it suspicion or consideration? Probably a little of both. Whatever the case, it serves to isolate her even more, pushing her back into drug abuse.

•Tyrone likes to blame others – this might be her greatest weakness. She's so good at coming up with excuses, that she very rarely has to face the fact that ultimately it's her decision. No one else is making her use the drug.

•Finally, at the end of the play, Mary comes down with her wedding dress to find Jamie, Edmund, and James seated in the living room

Edmund VictimHis painful birth caused his mom to get hooked on morphine His dad is so penny-pinching that he wants to pack Edmund off to a second rate sanatorium to recover from his illness. On top of all that, his brother admits that part of him wishes Edmund were dead

His father and brother have always downright encouraged him to drink. His father gave him whiskey (as medicine) when he was a baby.

His brother actively sought to turn him into a drinker out of jealousy. It's understandable

Peacekeeper. Edmund tends to say things like – "Cut it out, Papa!" (2.2.43) and even "Mama! For God's sake, stop talking" (2.2.15). these statements come in the span of just 28 lines. In the Tyrone household, a peacekeeper stays busy.

The Escape ArtistI didn't meet a soul. Everything looked and sounded unreal. Nothing was what it is. That's what I wanted – to be alone with myself in another world where truth is untrue and life can hide from itself. (4.1.42)

The Philosopher-Poet Nietzsche , German thinker is one of Edmund's favorites. Nietzsche's concept of the übermensch in Edmund's little speech. Übermensch can be translated as "superman" or "over man." Basically, it means an ideal form of man, who dictates his own will and transcends regular human existence Edmund's talent with words and his philosophical nature are the keys through which he can escape the cycle that's trapped the rest of the Tyrone's.

James Tyrone He's actually pretty adorable. James is constantly jumping down his elder son's throat, accusing him of being disrespectful and lazy. , James's father ditched his family when he was ten, so he hasn't exactly had great role models for fatherhood. He had to grow up too young. Since he never went through the normal child development process, it's easy to imagine why he might still have some childish qualities.

The Alcoholic The word "whiskey" comes from the Gaelic for "water of life." James would seem to agree with his Irish ancestors. He admits that he used to give whiskey to his sons as medicine when they were children. We even . O'Neill tells us in his stage directions "despite all the whiskey in him, he has not escaped”

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James, the Time TravelerJust like the rest of his family, James almost seems to move backward in time over the course of the play. He doesn't become as completely consumed by memory as Mary, but still by the time midnight roles around his old regrets have him firmly in their clutches.

Jamie

JamieHe's cynical, bitter, arrogant, and often mean. He also has some positive sides, though; Jamie is perceptive, speaks his mind, and is often more sensitive than he acts. Was Eugene's death the result of a childish accident or murderous jealousy?

In Jamie's favor, he was just seven years old. What's more, despite the string of confessions this evening brings out in the Tyrone’s, Jamie never comes close to admitting he wanted to hurt baby Eugene. Jamie does admit to wanting to ruin Edmund's life. Even though Jamie is completely drunk by Act IV, he's upfront about his jealous and vengeful nature – Jamie even says, "Got to take revenge. On everyone else"

Jamie yells that Edmund was "Mama's baby, Papa's pet!" (4.1.204) this is when we really see how much Jamie has taken to heart his parents' obvious preference for Edmund. 

Jamie is, in our opinion, a strong candidate for saddest character in the play, because he's the only person nobody seems to love anymore. He's been lost, and there's no one to find him. Jamie's an essential foil for Edmund, because he's Might-Have-Been, the opposite of the Golden Boy:

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