Long Day's Journey into Night

Aspects of a writers’ experiences, good and bad, have a tendency to be reflected within their works. The life of many artists have been trial-some and full of pain or suffering, therefore, their masterpieces exemplify pain within the characters. Also, many times writers have unresolved conflicts within their lives, which they are able to put an end to once writing it down in one of their works. Throughout Eugene O’Neills, Long Day’s Journey into Night, he intertwines many aspects of his life making this work almost an autobiography.
Eugene O’Neill’s father was a nineteenth century actor. He rose from poverty and became one of America’s most popular. Once out of poverty, apparent to all was his obsession with financial security. For many years he played a part in The Count of Monte Cristo, despite being criticized by everyone for this waste of talent (Gale). This real life father of O’Neill connects almost exactly with James Tyrone within Long Day’s Journey into Night. James Tyrone was abandoned at the age of ten by his Irish immigrant father. Because of this he was forced to work and bring himself out of poverty. Once out of poverty he learns an appreciation for money that borderlines with stinginess. James was a famous actor touring the US with his wife playing the same role in the same play over and over. James’ sons comment on how good of an actor he could have been, but he refused to play any role besides the one he was comfortable with. Throughout the work, Eugene O’Neill expresses James inability to commit, his frugality with his feelings, and the fact that he lives life just going through the motions. These ideas connect almost flawlessly with the feelings Eugene had about his own father, James.
O’Neill’s mother, Mary Ellen Quinlan, grew up from a wealthy household and was educated in Catholic convent schools. Right after meeting O’Neill’s father, they married and immediately became isolated and shunned by women in conventional society. Also, while recovering from giving birth to Eugene, she became addicted to morphine. O’Neill was unaware of her addiction until a time when at their “summer” home, only real home, she ran out of pills and tried to drown herself (Gale). Mary Tyrone reflects the playwright’s mother through all aspects. Mary, being educated placed in a Catholic convent after her mother’s death wanted to become a nun; however instead, she married James Tyrone. Her father brought her to James, and immediately she fell in love. After marrying, she traveled all around with him while he performed. Instead of becoming addicted to morphine after the birth of a child, she became an addict after the death of her child Eugene. This symbolic death reflects the emotional death of O’Neill once finding out his mother had become an addict. Since O’Neill’s mother started using after his birth, he felt somewhat responsible for her downfall and reflected that guilt within the death of Eugene in Long Day’s Journey into Night.
After Mary Ellen Quinlan’s attempted suicide, Eugene lost all faith in both his mother, and God. From that point on, Eugene fell in love with the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher who disagreed with Christianity. In an article written by Gale Cengage Learning, “Nietzsche offered a new faith based on confidence in one’s inner resources.” Finally, after trying to commit suicide and surviving to learn he had tuberculosis, O’Neill was checked into a sanitarium where he decided to become a playwright (Gale). Eugene O’Neill reflects himself and his inner trials within Edmund Tyrone in his work Long Day’s Journey into Night. Edmund demonstrates the name of Eugene O’Neill’s brother who died depictec in, “As it is, I will always be a stranger who never feels at home…who must always be a little in love with death.” The writer makes himself Edmund because O’Neill lived through all the pain and suffering of his family; however, he makes the son that dies within his work Eugene, because he feels an emotional death within a certain time of his life and also feels somewhat responsible for the symbolic death of his family. Edmund Tyrone also lacks faith in Christianity. Many times throughout the work, the characters talk about Edmunds love for reading books written by Friedrich Nietzsche. Finally, Edmund, at the end of the play, learns he suffers from consumption and he must be sent to a sanitarium.
Throughout many people’s lives, they find themselves stuck with unresolved conflicts and unsettled issues. To put these trials at rest, many find out puts such as writing. Writers and authors all over the world place unresolved pain into their works hoping to rid themselves of that suffering and haunting. Also, by placing these lingering memories into their literature, authors become more passionate about what they are writing, creating not only a work of art, but a masterpiece. Many writers, like Eugene O’Neill, depict their feelings of insignificance within their lives through the significance of writing.

Works Cited:
"Eugene O'Neill." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 54. Gale, 2004.