Monday, June 25, 2007
Assignment 5: O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night
Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night has been called the great American play, meaning that it somehow captures the essence of America or being American. In light of our class conversation today, do you think this is true? Why or why not? Which passages in the play or in the supplementary material support your idea?
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The most prominent idea that comes to mind is that America is the country of immigrants, and old Tyrone is the archetypal second-generation alien: having risen from depths of poverty, having worked hard to earn enough for his family, having gone into theatre and attempted to live the American Dream, Tyrone is still out of place in the small town's society and, as Harold Clurman points out, his "immigrant['s] fear of poverty leads to a concern about money" (546). Tyrone's reminiscence of the "miserable hovel [he] called home" and the terrible working conditions on pages 328-9 do not only describe many immigrants' struggles in America, but also emphasize the fact that in this land of opportunities, hard work and perseverance can dramatically improve living conditions (on economic level).
I don’t know about any positive aspects of America but if one were looking for the underbelly of hidden American dysfunction one would look no further. Everything that could go wrong in a distinctly modern family seems to happen in this play: James is an alcoholic, penny-pinching father to the umpteenth degree, Mary is a community conscious, drug dependent mother, Jamie is a whore and alcohol addict, and Edmund, like a good youngest child, is a pin cushion for his family’s vicarious desire to live on. They’re a group of repressive avoiders, choosing to vaguely allude to problems instead of actually facing their demons and overcoming challenges. When Mary shows the initial signs of morphine abuse the family doesn’t call to arms – instead they teeter around the problem, never putting a name to her affliction till near the end of the play. On page 281 Jamie asks Edmund where their mother is and Edmund simply answers, “Upstairs.” Jamie freaks out and has a whole conversation, hinting at his mother’s burden but never naming it. As a result of this secretive manner of behavior, the family is constantly at each others throats and apologizing repeatedly for no reason other than to vent their misguided angers. If this is the great American play because of it’s undercurrent of American ideals then I’m embarrassed to be an American.
In view of our class discussion, it is my opinion that Eugene O’Neill’s play Long Days Journey into Night did not capture the meaning of America or being American. No one knows better about the American dream than individuals who have migrated to this country. The dream was that individuals attained their true potential once they remained focus on the goal ahead of them. In other words, through hard work and dedication they succeeded to prosperity.
This play was riddled with conflicts and deceits. There seemed to be no unity within the household. Even though James Tyrone (father), as an actor, had the opportunity to make good use of his finances his drunkenness did not help (310).The fact that the family lived from hotel to hotel was evidence of a life not fulfilling the American dream. Jaime’ life of booze and women was a far cry from reaching the American dream (334).
This play does show signs of the American experience during this time according to Harold Clurman; Clurman says that this was a time "when the American experience-no longer a fresh adventure, a healthy exercise in discovery, pluck and epic struggle hung heavy on the citizens of our big cities and towns." Mary and her family were not new settlers on a grand adventure for a new life. They were a family that settled in this town and also during the winter lived life in another big city, New York; this family fell prey to the evils that big cities had to offer. The mother most likely because of personal trauma and alienation became addicted to morphine, all of the men in the family were alcoholics and no one wanted to face the problems that were at hand.
I think another aspect of modern America is shown when Mary also speaks of social status. She wants to live well, she wants to drive a new automobile, have a fine stable home like everyone else in the community with excellent help and she wants her family to have the best doctors. In previous times no one cared about such things. Materialistic values are a part of modern America because before this people led very simple lives.
clurman writes: "this was the later day period of america's coming to consciousness, and no one in the theatre expressed it nearly as well as o'neill." i think this quote is important because o'neill kind of debunked the american dream with the american reality. he shows what lives behind the nice american house with two parents who are together and have two children. o'neill captures the essence and the emotions of a family torn by alchohol, drugs, social climbing, money etc, problems which were prevalent but mostly unspoken about, especially in the play between the characters who hint but are never outright about their problems.
I believe that in the aspect of economics that the family has the so called American money but not American life or the dream. The dream is not only to have money and be successful but to have a home and a loving family.Tyrone is tight with his money,the family is living as if their depraved. A home;this play lacks the concept of what a home should be it only displays what it shouldnt be.A HOME is not a place or "property" but a home is where your family is. Their entire family is dysfunctional in every aspect of the word. The mom is a drug addict and the sons and father are alcoholics. They have no family connection and in one way or the other they all blame one another for their short comings and misery.If this is suppose to display the American family its a sad excuse for what family is. If this play symbolizes what American people are I am highly offended!
I personally dont see this play, as The Great American Play. In order for it to be a great American play, it must entail the American dream. According to Mary this is no American dream. they dont live in a house, with a nice dog, hot car, and white pickett fence. Mary wants a nice car not an old looking junk.She longs for the past, when she was once rich. The family is not a close knit family. Everyone is blaming each other. Tyrone blurs this dream for the family by having them living in hotels and trains. Why should they have a house , only when they go on vacation. This is not a Great American Play.
I think it's difficult to determine whether or not Long Day's Journey Into Night captures the essence of American culture because this very essence itself is hard to define.
To me, the essence of American culture has come to mean very different things over time. After the first world war (which is when this play was written), I believe the disparities between the essence of America and the reality of America became all too great; with the former becoming a glamorized mask for the latter.
As we discussed in class, the entire play is an unraveling of the innumerable dysfunctions of the Tyrone family. The essence of America (or America at that time), I think, was to try and cover up these kinds of dysfunctions in an attempt to keep up the facade of the American dream. So, essentially the Tyrones were an embodiment of the essence all the while suffering from the reality that that essence was trying to cover up. Basically, O'Neill killed two birds with one stone.
And, as Clurman points out on p.544, because the play was so painstakingly honest for O'Neill, he wished for it to remain unpublished and off the stage for 25 years after his death. This, I think, further proves how real this play was for O'Neill and his generation.
While the subject matters are dark and unpleasant, I do see what can be described as authentically American about this play. The dysfunction, the alcoholism and drug abuse, the blame and counter-blame are not pretty things to witness. But the very willingness of the play to tackle these themes in a frank manner, to face up to these very real and serious problems, and hopefully with an aim to finally straighten up and fix them, can be seen as representative of a certain American toughness and willingness to setting what’s wrong as right.
I've always found that so many of the so-called great "modern" writers, including poets, are way too depressing. O'Neill continues in this trend. Does "A Long Day's Journey into Night," capture the essence of what it is to be American. I don't really think so. It captures only one side of that essence.
One trend that has been running through our readings so far, is the notion that the American family, or the nuclear family we've come to recognize as normal in America (2.5 kids, big white picket fence) is a complete myth. O'Neill continues this trend. Mary constantly talks about wanting a home, and how their home is not really a home at all. She talks about how Tyrone does not even know what a home really is. And she hides from her devils by sneaking upstairs and shooting morphium.
The family never wants to deal with any of their problems, rather they just want to forget them. Tyrone wants Mary to forget about Edmund's sickness, and her sickness. The entire play seems to poke at the idea that the American dream is convoluted--that it is nearly impossible to make a living and provide for ones family, while making sure that that family does not become too dysfunctional. Throughout the play, the characters are concerned with each others drinking, or each others ailments, but we never really see any character show another unconditional love. Isn't liove supposed to be the glue that holds families together. Not this family.
I agree with Chaim. If this play is representative of America and being American, than I am embarassed to be an American. It would be nice every now and then to read about the immigrant family that comes to America and succeeds and lives happily. I want to learn about the family that loves each other, and doesn't need morphine to bring this love out. These families do exist, but if you read too much O'Neill, or any other modernist for that matter, you wouldn't think so.
the language of the play and the quotes therein by the authors are very much an idea of america's ability at the time to move the individual into a certain arena for free-thinking and freedom of religion.
although few of the authors are americans or english, they embody and enable edmund's thoughts, especially those represented toward atheism.
the idea of moving away from a traditionally instilled and established rubric for behavior; economy, worship, vocation, etc. is a very american idea and also a modern idea.
another aspect is tyrone, being a first generation american, wedding a convent girl, the breakdown and meshing of class to form a new sort of family, a melting pot type family.
Richard B. Sewall writes "They have had to find out that the endless blame- laying was a dead end, that there would be no release until they could look within themselves and be honest to what they saw. This is the true within-ness of the play, the true suffering." To me this exemplifies the 'Great America' Everyone is bound to suffer at one point or another because of the falsehood that surrounds the American Dream that is The Land of Opportunity. The characters are all so real. They are filled with pride, discust, love, hate, anger and fear. All of these elements make up the depth to which these characters struggled. Tyrone the immigrant father, Mary the Convent child, and the brothers who according to Tyrone grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths all display aspects of the vast culture that is America.
I agree with what rachel said. I think her quote sums up the argument nicely. The question is what exactly is american. American can mean many things. Does this play depict American depends on who is defining the term. Yes, this play shows the reality behind a family. But who is to say that is strictly an american thing.
Taking our class discussion, this play in the literal sense is not american. This play is about an Irish family.
Though I don't know if I would call this "great" or as capturing the "essence" of America or being American, I do agree, to some degree, with what Eugenia said in that it partly depicts an immigrant father who came from meager backgrounds did fairly well in something he enjoyed--"I'd worked like hell. I'd left a good job as a machinist to take supers' parts because I loved the theatre." (330) The play also depicts somewhat the generational gap between poor immigrant parents and American born children in that as Americans things are taken more for granted while the parent is not so quick to spend. I see most, however, how Eugene O'Neil was able to take a past that was, obviously, quite traumatic and put it in a successfuly play in order to get a better understanding of his past. As Clurman wrote, "it is an unabshedly autobiographical statement, something torn in agonized honesty from the memory and conscience of its author" whose "purpose was revelation of himself to himself." (546)
The play captures the essence of America or being American by the idea of real estate. Tyron is an immigrant from the second generation. To immigrants, speaking from personal experience, it is important to own and be a part of America. By purchasing so many properties, Tyron owns something that is American. It is property on the American soil. Everything that Tyron has, he had to work for unlike Mary who was born into a certain class in America. The idea of an American home was more important to Mary since she was raised in one. Being an immigrant, you will most likely feel that your roots will always be your home, hence why Tyron did not like when anyone would talk bad of Ireland. I think the idea of the American home was only important to Mary, where as to Tyron is was more about the wide range of possibilities in America.
to an extent, I feel that the play has portrayed America or the "American dream." Tyrone has worked hard to build a foundation for his family. He went from nothing to something, to help support his family. However, this play doesn't only cover the surface of it all. This play goes in debt of it. Realistically, every family has issues that they have to deal with. Families are never what is portrayed on television, such as Family Matters or Full House. Behind it all, every family has issues that they have to deal with. With that being said, my question is What is American or the "American Dream"? If the American Dream is working hard to provide for your family, then I believe Tyrone has successfully done so. He may be a very cheap penny pincher, but he has worked hard to get to where he is.
How do we define the American Dream? People who migrated from other parts of the world with nothing in their pockets, and hopes of building a better life for themselves and their families.
They come from absolutely nothing and they work hard and save to get something of their own, and eventually through hard work, that "American Dream" ideology is achieved. The Tyrone family own lots of property, and Mary has two vehicles to drive, and they have a maid. I think James Tyrone achieved that, but O'Neil also managed to capture the other side of that dream which is not all apple pie and white-picket fences.
They have disputes which results in arguing and "the blame game." There is a lot of denial in the family and looking back on the past, but with all of these family disfunctions,I think "Long Day's Journey Into Night" still manages to encompass all aspects of the American Dream.
I do feel that the play does capture the essence of the American society. For some the American ideal job is to be an actor. James was an actor and was able to live that fast successful life. Another thing could be the fact that as a family they faced many struggles many family issues that most every American family faces. The fact that James only continued to buy and own property. Owning property shows more about who may be as a person. i think that O'Neill basically established deep issues of the American society as a whole; he was just about enterrtainment but what people may have been going through at that time.
The play can be called the "Great American Play". I think the play represents a very modern day situation, in America as well as any other country. It's very real, and deals with issues that are faced by Americans everyday. O'Neill brought reality to the stage by including drug abuse, death in the family, not so great husband. I actually like this because people (Americans) can relate to it. Harold Clurman said, "This was the late day period of Americas coming to consciousness, and no one in the theater ever expressed it nearly as well as O'Neill.
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