The Concept of the Inescapable Power from Family - Research Paper Example

The Inescapable Power from Family in A Long Days Journey into the Night There is a connection in every family that follows their past and experiences. A hereditary factor also contributes to the connection. In other words, there is a natural manner by which we are influenced by our families. This is the point that Eugene O’Neill tries to put across in his play. The characters in the play share some sense of history and portray the dynamics of a family interconnected by complex psychology. Throughout life, there is an inescapable power family has on its members that is defined by a number psychological explanations and theories. Family entails the first people we meet immediately after birth. In addition, families are made of people who are genetically close and are this fact gives them common interests, tastes and preferences. People’s emotions and characters are always defined by those they are close to and are directly affected by this closeness; this is why Eugene O’Neill’s play A Long Day’s Journey into the Night portrays an idea of naturalism that flows through people within a family unit throughout their lives (Brantley: New York Times June 21, 2012). Realism is mainly depicted by naturalism. Naturalism dictates the chains of events, occasions, lives and the people at large. What shape the human character are the environment, social conditions, and the hereditary factors; that binds families. A critical analysis of the play vividly shows that it is an idea of naturalism on how family influences the lives of its members in a manner that is inevitable. Naturalism and materialism in the context of different scopes of life and its pre-determinants are basis of the Marxist theory. Families are the units that greatly support one another throughout life. People face many challenges in life and needs come in different forms. The play exhibits the essence of naturalism, Marxism and the need of family; which are evidenced by the constant disturbing realities shown in the play right from the start all the way to the end. At the beginning, James’s wife, Mary, is being treated from morphine addiction and at some point tends to abandon the habit, and being restored into the normal life. However, this is only short-lived. It is clear that the stress in the family is contributing to the scenarios (Brantley: New York Times, May 7, 2003). Edmund’s bad health is distressing the family and James and Jamie’s alcoholism are apparently contributing to Mary’s morphine addiction even if she tries to avoid it. This is a clear example of how the negative elements in a family negatively affect other members in the very family. It adopts a state of a vicious circle, which can be endless if not well observed. The need and influence within the family members is not always in the positive because when a negative aspect of life is tormenting one or more of the family members, others are negatively affected. Family members consider themselves as one and this makes life circumstances very contagious among them. One rule of naturality that is expressed in the play is the fact that one member of the family suffers from tuberculosis and Mary’s farther had died from the same disease. This tends to bring the idea of naturalism as it portrays natural hereditary passage of disease from one member of the family to another. Mary shows her motherly concerns when she advises Edmund not to go to the town in his “dirty old trolley” on a hot day. This is over concern of Edmund’s health; that he has the dreaded consumption, fear of being left alone with the drugs and fear that she is constantly being observed (Brantley: New York Times, May 7, 2003). Families fear for each other. What affects one of them affects the rest in a relative manner. This is to say, when a matter affects one member of the family in a larger magnitude, it affects the rest of the family in a larger magnitude too. Besides, when issues affect a large number of the people in the family, they become intensely affected as compared to when few members of the family are affected. As we see in the family in A Long day’s Journey into the Dark, chains of events affecting a member of the family affects the vast family. The characters are in dire need of help as they face distressing moments by the sufferings of their loved ones. Because they cannot find the immediate help they need, they naturally indulge in other activities that helps forget the painful moments. This is another element of how naturalism within a family is depicted in the play. The agony is reflected through every family member and is treated differently by different members. For example, Jamie and James engage in alcoholism to escape from the reality of the situation: Mary’s addiction and Edmunds illness (Park p47). Consequently, Mary’s efforts to quit heroin and lead a normal life is weakened and her state of addiction resumes. The addictions and state of health in the family are, therefore, passed directly or indirectly to every member of the family. Families are the root that establishes the foundation and the strength of its standing. It is interdependent just like the different branches of the tree depend on one another. When one branch of a tree is cut, the others can never access the nutrients that the leaves of the cut branch once provided. The truck, kike the parents, supports the whole lot that if it is cut, the rest of the tree falls and if it is weakened, the entire rest of the tree is weakened. This is clearly expressed in the play as it is witnessed of James’ the father figure of the family and the corresponding responses the family take. When he becomes weakened, the whole family becomes weakened. This interdependency induces a certain power in the family that influences every member in a way that is inevitable. This togetherness in was creates the differences especially when the past designed by the family together is full of guilt, regrets are forgetfulness. Mary, the mother figure in the family understands this; at some instance, she utters to Edmund ““How can anyone of us forget? That is what makes it so hard- for all of us. We can’t forget”; she feels that her past actions have been marked by the family members and they cannot forget to give the room to move ahead (O’Neill p49). This is the interrelationship within a family set up that ties and influences their actions, thoughts and behavior. The play depicts the sad and tough reality that faces a family. One instant leads to another and ends up affecting all the members of the family. The mise-en-scene of the play is well arranged and plotted to compliment this aspect of the play. There are tempting life changes well distributed throughout the movie and these are well plotted and directed in a way that depicts naturalism. There is a flowing sequence of problems leading to constant hopelessness. James loses his acting job and consequently becomes irresponsible causing Jamie, their eldest son to lose his job too. James fears the life of poverty that has befallen the family and he resorts to irresponsible drinking to curb the fear (Brantley: New York Times, May 7, 2003). The impact of his unfolding irresponsibility hit the family members so hard that they follow suite in the route of using drugs and alcohol as a measure of finding satisfaction and comfort through the unfolding events of despair in the family (Esser p32). Irony is manifested in the play through the fact that all these attempts to find comfort and solace only brings even more and bigger states of despair, conflict and hopelessness. Because of the family’s indulgence in irresponsible habits and the glooming poverty, the father, the mother and the eldest son constantly engages in a fight. Instead of finding the means of solving the primary cause of the problem, they get busy engaging their own selves in blame games. Like in a normal structure of a family, there are proponents and opponents throughout the play. Mary and James are constant opponents. James provides a very strong element of an antagonist in the play while Mary fills the Protagonist space in the play. Even though families can go through series of problems, there is always an element of love that never leaves the family. Someone from the outside the family can be vied from a similar contradicting perspective by opposing family members. This is a hereditary and natural way of life that can be witnessed in everyday life. Throughout the play, even though the characters undergo psychological and emotional suffering followed by grief and misunderstandings, they never seize to show this element of love that exists within the family. Mary finally decides to quit using heroin for her family’s sake. The two brothers are looked upon by their parents with love regardless of the differences that prevail between them. Jamie finds himself in constant wars with his parents but this never wipes of the love his parents have for him (Park 54). The play is staged in a big house. The family owns a big house that some other room is not even used. This is contradictory to their poor status, or perhaps depicts that the family was once rich and stable before trouble gloomed. Trouble within a family affects all of the family members and reflects from them differently but negatively. This family always has a tailspin of emotions; once teasing and joking and within a short time yelling and fighting. The troubles within the family remain unsolved and occasionally resurface with much vigor. Father and son are unsolving their conflicts over alcohol, mother and father not solving their substance abuse and mother and son failing to solve their blame positions over the death of their own, Jamie’s brother. The past events dictate the wars and conflicts within the family (Brantley: New York Times, June 21, 2012). Mary withdraws from the family instead and is always preoccupied with the memories of the past. She always brings the issues of the past such as the memories of how she used to look beautiful when she was young. This shows that the state of the family has affected her to the point of losing self-esteem; the reason she constantly gets too self-conscious. “I did truly have beautiful hair, didn’t I James?” are some of the questions she asks that depicts that she is slowly realizing the decay she undergoes from her Irish beauty (O’Neill p28). As the play progresses, her s3elf consciousness is further shown by her feelings that she is constantly watched by the men of the family. Jamie is older than Edmund; and all the family members show great concern for the deteriorating health of Edmund. In fact, they frequently check his status and take him to a doctor like in the instant they took him to be examined by Dr. Hardy. All the family members at some instances provide themselves with consolation and caring (Park p67). These are projections of naturalism in the play depicting the inescapable power family has on its members throughout their lives. There are series of challenges, difficulties, fights and unwavering love in every family according to the play A Long Day’s Journey into the Night. Despite the love and care the parents show to their children, they show the state of imperfection in the nature of humans by failing to give them their proper and rightful upbringing though good role modeling. James and Mary exhibit very bad lifestyles and habits before their children that Jamie finally emulates. They show weaknesses in problem solving techniques. First, James becomes an irresponsible drunkard and Mary follows suite by becoming a heroin addict. Even though she tries to leave it for the sake of her family, she keeps on tripping back (Esser p85). James provides a great exemplary to bad role modeling when he goes out drinking with his youngest and ailing son Edmund; and even comes back from drinking top break into a fight with his son Jamie (Esser p36). Consequently, the children adopt the lives and examples of their parents’ bad examples as portrayed by Jamie. Besides, James and Mary engage in constant fights in front of their children especially when under the influence of drugs. The parents seem to be unmindful of their children in contrary to the care and love they show. This is a typical family exemplary. It is clear that out of Mary’s negligence, their deceased son was infected with measles and died. In families, it is typical to find people of different characters and behaviors regardless of the hereditary factors that they share. For example, Jamie and Edmund exhibit very different and opposing characters throughout the play. Edmund is more obedient and caring as compared to Jamie. Jamie loses his job as an actor because of his irresponsible behavior and even tries to break his father’s cabinet when he could not find the keys; just to get the drinks. He is also a womanizer. Edmund, on the other hand, is more subtle, caring, intelligent, careful and composed and he is concerned about the sufferings of the family especially his mother’s. These are the reasons Jamie keeps on quarrelling with his parents and Edmund is rather respected and loved by all the members of the family (Park p 63). Sadness, happiness, hopelessness, conflict, anger, jokes and other forms of emotions entails the core characteristics of a modern family. People relate differently to one another, but families experience a whole bunch of mixed emotions that are hard to conceive. They can be happy together in an instance and fighting each other in the next instance. They are bound together and tolerance defines the order of the day. In the modern day, it reaches a level when this tolerance dies out and separations ensue especially between parents. This causes even greater grief and sorrow within the set-up. It is advisable for families to find ways of ending their disputes before it worsens, but again, it is only natural that families go through such circumstances. Conflicts and mixed feelings have lead to rising divorce cases in the world especially in the Northern America. Modernity is some way has come with a way of destroying the traditional family order and set-up that ensured peace among the household. Works Cited Esser, Nadine. The Function of Drugs in Eugene Oneills "long Days Journey into Night" and Tennessee Williams "a Streetcar Named Desire". München: GRIN Verlag, 2008. Internet resource. ONeill, Eugene. Long Days Journey into Night. New Haven: Yale Nota Bene, 2002. Print. Brantley, Ben. THEATRE REVIEW: A Mother Haunting Presence In O’Neill’s Unraveling Family. New York Times, May 7, 2003. Brantley, Ben. ARTSBEAT: Tweaking the Tyrone Family Picture. New York Times, June 21, 2012. Park, Na W. Eugene Oneills Image in Long Days Journey into Night. , 1990. Print. Read More