Gr 12-English Home Language-Study Guide Literature 2 by Impaq

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ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE STUDY GUIDE: LITERATURE Grade 12

A member of the FUTURELEARN group

English Home Language Study guide: Literature

1812-E-EHL-SG02

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Grade 12

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H de Villiers

Study Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

CONTENTS PREFACE............................................................................................................................ 4 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 4 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................... 7 LESSON ELEMENTS.......................................................................................................... 8 YEAR PLANNING ............................................................................................................... 9 UNIT 1: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ...................................................... 11 LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 11 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY ............................................................................................ 14 ACTIVITY 1: Questions on Act 1 ................................................................................ 17 LESSON 2: Background to the play and the dramatist .................................................. 17 ACTIVITY 2: Questions on the background to the play .............................................. 21 LESSON 3: “Edward, Edward” ....................................................................................... 22 ACTIVITY 3: Questions on “Edward, Edward” ............................................................ 27 LESSON 4: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 27 ACTIVITY 4: Questions on Act 1 ................................................................................ 30 LESSON 5: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 31 ACTIVITY 5: Long Day’s Journey into Night Questions on Act 1 ................................ 36 UNIT 2: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ...................................................... 39 LESSON 6: “The Going”................................................................................................. 39 ACTIVITY 6: Questions on “The Going” ..................................................................... 44 LESSON 7: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 1 ............................................ 44 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY ............................................................................................ 46 ACTIVITY 7: Questions asked during the course of the lesson .................................. 48 Mark your answers to the questions you have answered throughout this lesson. ...... 48 LESSON 8: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 2 ............................................ 48 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY ............................................................................................ 50 ACTIVITY 8: Questions asked during the course of the lesson .................................. 51 Mark your answers to the questions you have answered throughout this lesson. ...... 51 LESSON 9: “The Good-Morrow” .................................................................................... 51 ACTIVITY 9: Questions on “The Good-Morrow” ......................................................... 56 LESSON and ACTIVITY 10: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 2 .................. 57 UNIT 3: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ...................................................... 68 LESSON 11: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 3 ......................................................... 68 ACTIVITY 11: Questions on Act 3 .............................................................................. 71 LESSON 12: “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” ...................................................... 71 ACTIVITY 12: Questions on “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” ........................... 75 LESSON 13: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 3 ......................................................... 76 ACTIVITY 13: Questions on Act 3 .............................................................................. 80 LESSON 14: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4 ......................................................... 80 ACTIVITY 14: Questions on Act 4 .............................................................................. 82 LESSON 15: “Toads” ..................................................................................................... 84 ACTIVITY 15: Questions on “Toads” .......................................................................... 87 © Impaq

Study Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

LESSON 16: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4 ......................................................... 88 ACTIVITY 16: Questions on Act 4 .............................................................................. 90 LESSON and Activity 17: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4...................................... 90 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY ............................................................................................ 91 UNIT 4: Poetry and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry .......................................... 93 LESSON 18: “I Have My Father’s Voice” ....................................................................... 93 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY ............................................................................................ 96 ACTIVITY 18: Questions on “I Have My Father’s Voice” ............................................ 98 LESSON 19: “Sonnet 146: Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth” .............................. 99 ACTIVITY 19: Questions on “Sonnet 146: Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth” . 103 LESSON 20: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 1 – 8 ............................ 105 ACTIVITY 20: Questions on Harold Fry Chapters 1 – 8 ........................................... 111 LESSON 21: “Naming of Parts” .................................................................................... 113 ACTIVITY 21: Questions on “Naming of Parts” ........................................................ 117 LESSON 22: “The Child Dying” .................................................................................... 118 ACTIVITY 22: Questions on “The Child Dying” ......................................................... 123 LESSON 23: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 9 – 16 .......................... 124 ACTIVITY 23: Questions on Harold Fry Chapters 9 – 16 ......................................... 130 LESSON 24: “The Loss of India” .................................................................................. 132 ACTIVITY 24: Questions on “The Loss of India” ....................................................... 137 LESSON 25: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 17 – 24 ........................ 138 ACTIVITY 25: Questions on Chapters 17 – 24 ......................................................... 145 LESSON 26: “Visiting Room” ....................................................................................... 147 ACTIVITY 26: Questions on “Visiting Room” ............................................................ 150 LESSON 27: “Remembrance” ...................................................................................... 151 ACTIVITY 27: Questions on “Remembrance” ........................................................... 156 LESSON 28: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 25 – 32 ........................ 157 ACTIVITY 28: Questions on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 25 – 32 ................................................................................................................................. 164 UNIT 5: Poetry, Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ....................................................................................................................... 177 LESSON 29: Novel/drama ........................................................................................... 177 ACTIVITY 29: Contextual Questions on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Long Day’s Journey into Night .................................................................................. 177 EXERCISE 1: Contextual Questions on Harold Fry .................................................. 177 [25]............................................................................................................................ 180 EXERCISE 2: Contextual questions on Long Day’s Journey into Night.................... 180 LESSON 30: Essay question on Long Day’s Journey into Night .................................. 181 ACTIVITY 30: Essay Question on Long Day’s Journey into Night ............................ 184 LESSON 31: Essay question on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ...................... 184 ACTIVITY 31: Essay Question on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ................ 185 LESSON 32: REVISION – Poetry UNSEEN and PRESCRIBED: contextual questions and essay ..................................................................................................................... 185 ACTIVITY 32: PRACTICE POETRY ESSAY AND CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS .... 188 ADDENDUM A ................................................................................................................ 190 © Impaq

Study Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

ADDENDUM B ................................................................................................................ 191 ADDENDUM C ................................................................................................................ 192 ADDENDUM D: GLOSSARY .......................................................................................... 197 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 202

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Study Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

YEAR PLANNING

UNIT

DATE STARTED

LESSON TERM 1 LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 LESSON 2: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 BACKGROUND LESSON 3: “Edward, Edward” LESSON 4: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 NOTES ON THEMES in Long Day’s Journey LESSON 5: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 LESSON 6: “The Going” LESSON 7: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 8: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 9: “The Good-Morrow” LESSON 10: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 11: Long Day’s Journey Act 3 LESSON 12: “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” LESSON 13: Long Day’s Journey Act 3 LESSON 14: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 LESSON 15: “Toads” LESSON 16: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 LESSON 17: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 TERM 2 LESSON 18: “I Have My Father’s Voice” LESSON 19: “Sonnet 146: Poor Soul, the Centre…” LESSON 20: Harold Fry Chapters 1 – 8 LESSON 21: “Naming of Parts” LESSON 22: “The Child Dying” LESSON 23: Harold Fry Chapters 9 – 16 LESSON 24: “The Loss of India” LESSON 25: Harold Fry Chapters 17 – 24 LESSON 26: “Visiting Room” LESSON 27: “Remembrance” LESSON 28: Harold Fry Chapters 25 – 32 NOTES on CHARACTERS in Harold Fry NOTES on THEMES in Harold Fry

DATE COMPLETED

Study Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

LESSON 29: Contextual Questions – The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Long Day’s Journey … LESSON 30: Essay Questions – Harold Fry LESSON 31: Essay Questions – Long Day’s Journey LESSON 32: UNSEEN and PRESCRIBED POETRY: Contextual and Essay Questions

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UNIT 1: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night LEARNING OBJECTIVES After you have completed this unit, you must: • • • •

Know and understand the poems. Have a working knowledge of the poets who have written the poems and their era as it relates to the material of the poems. Have a good understanding of the text of the first act of Long Day’s Journey into Night. You must have: o acquired the skills of critical analysis, synthesis, research and notetaking as well as the writing of coherent and articulate explanations; o accumulated knowledge of the writer in the context of his/her era, rhetorical techniques in poetry, poetry form and style conventions and themes; o explored attitudes and points of view reflected in the themes of the texts; o made value judgements about the aesthestic merits of the texts and about ethical concerns raised in the texts.

LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 NOTE • Many of the questions in the activities are set so that you reflect on what you have read and explore your response to the text. It’s not always as important to have the ‘right’ answers as it is to explore the text and express your opinion about it. • The background to the play and to Eugene O’Neill is essential and has been given a lesson on its own (Lesson 2). However, it seems important to get the feel of the play first, so please read the List of Characters and then if you haven’t read the whole play in advance, at least read the material covered in this lesson before you start.

LESSON 1 starts at the beginning of Act 1 up to where Jamie and Edmund have entered from the back parlour (before Mary starts speaking again). We are introduced to the four main characters in this scene, and learn quite a bit about important issues in the family.

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GLOSSARY parlour

wicker a trifle plump corseted fastidious a monk’s tonsure unpretentious dissipated Mephistophelian sallow

a room set aside for entertaining (front parlour – guests on a formal visit; back parlour – guests on an informal visit or family situation where one can play boardgames or read) made of woven cane or willow twigs, as is a basket or chair slightly rounded, “well-covered”, not thin wearing tight undergarments that shape the figure with great care, meticulous the round bald part on a monk’s head where the hair has been shaved off with no false airs and graces (“what you see is what you get”) decadent in the sense of living with an excess of food and drink, and loose (immoral) behaviour wicked; refers to Mephistopheles, a devil appearing in German folklore; most well-known in the play Dr Faustus unhealthy, pale, anaemic

The first scene (which occupies the whole of Act 1) is set in the living room of the Tyrones’ summer home. The time is 08:30 in August 1912 (late summer). There is a whole page of closely written stage directions regarding the set in the living room, followed by another page describing James and Mary Tyrone and their mannerisms that are a clue to their disposition and character. THE STAGE SET A detailed description of the living room is given. In fact there is more fine detail about the set than a theatre audience could hope to see from their point of view, posing a challenge to the director of a stage play. If one is filming the play, of course, you can use close-ups and pan across the bookshelves, for instance. Nevertheless, the props are important to a proper understanding of the characters in the play, so we have the advantage of foresight provided by reading it all first! Note that the books on both bookcases are all highly regarded works of literature (poetry, prose and drama) by English and other language authors (the picture of Shakespeare that would be visible to the audience will at least create this idea). There are also classical works such as Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and works by famous philosophers, some of whom will be mentioned later as they become relevant to the script. What is the significance of the rooms off the living room? The front parlour gives the appearance of being “rarely occupied”. Front parlours would be used for entertaining visitors, so it seems that the Tyrones do not often receive visitors. The front windows overlook the harbour – Edmund will later talk of the fog that rolls in from the sea nearby. The back parlour © Impaq

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is similarly unused (except as a walk-through) – they don’t often entertain casual guests either. It seems as if they spend a lot of time together in their living room (making them sound like a close-knit family). What is the overall impression? Wouldn’t you say that the living room seems to be well lived in? The books are at hand, the reading light remains plugged into the chandelier, and the books show signs of being read often. There is an “ordinary” desk – nothing is placed there for show, but rather for comfort. CHARACTERS We are first introduced to the senior Tyrones, James and Mary. Do you see any significance in the fact that Mary is described first (even though she is not first to speak)? Perhaps it shows that James, as a gentleman, allows his wife to go through the door first. Or it may indicate that Mary is going to be the more central character, or protagonist. We don’t know at this stage, but remain observant and keep your possible explanation in mind in case it becomes significant later. Mary She is 54, middle-aged. Note the references to beauty – beauty that is fading with passing years. She is not fat (“little evidence of middle-aged waist and hips”), but merely healthily “plump” (see Glossary) with a figure that is young for her age. In today’s figure-conscious world, few women want to be “healthily plump”, or any other sort of plump. But her face is neither healthily plump nor young for her age: her hair is “pure white” (rare in a 54-year-old) and her face “thin and pale”. Does it give you the impression of someone who worries too much, is over-stressed, ill, or has suffered? Her actions certainly support one of the above views if you said yes to any of them: she shows signs of “extreme nervousness” and it bothers her that this is obvious to anyone in her company. And then the rather surprising bit, perhaps: she gains our empathy because of her “unaffected charm” and an air of youthful innocence. James Mary’s husband, James Tyrone, seems to be in very good shape physically. He is eleven years older than Mary, but the description of his build sounds like that of a much younger man. He is also very good-looking, extremely healthy, and has a very fine voice. Sounds like one who could have been a celebrity film star today! However, he doesn’t seem to look after himself very well, and has a shabby appearance. And there is a telling comment – that his face has “begun to break down”. What could be the cause? Age? Suffering? A dissolute lifestyle (too much alcohol and good living perhaps)? And then the likeable part that we can relate to: he also seems to be unaffected (despite the fact that he has been an actor for many years); he is “simple [and] unpretentious” (see

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Glossary). He has “flashes of intuitive sensibility” – in other words, he can be a good “gut feeling” type rather than being one who over-analyses everything.

MID-LESSON ACTIVITY It’s time for you to note in your journal what your first impressions are of each of the family members: Do you like/dislike James and Mary? Do you feel positively/negatively about them? Do you have any concerns about either of them? Thoughts to explain their signs of age/nervousness/shabbiness? Predictions about them as a married couple or as individuals? You can update these impressions at the end of the lesson when you have finished reading the text.

Start of the dramatic action Note that the words spoken by James are labelled “Tyrone”. Obviously James is James Tyrone, so this labelling could be to avoid confusing James and Jamie (the son) in the dialogue. In the notes below, we have called James senior by his first name, James, and not by his surname, Tyrone. The first page of the dialogue creates an idyllic impression of domestic bliss. James’s arm around Mary, friendly banter about her being a “fine armful”, and her unperturbed response: “I’ve gotten too fat”. She compliments him about his healthy appetite and strong constitution, she teases, smiles, laughs; he is playful, he hugs her – all is well. We hear the voices of “the boys” from the dining room. And then there is a sudden change of mood in the scene. Note how James’s words seem innocent enough: the boys have perhaps a “secret confab … [about] the Old Man”. The diction makes his words seem typical of a father indulging his sons’ attitude towards him. But the stage direction shows it to be more serious: there is an “undercurrent of resentment”. Did you not think it a bit strange that James, who is dressed shabbily as if he tries to make his clothes last as long as possible, smokes a cigar after breakfast – not a cigarette? Doesn’t it seem like an extravagant habit? And he goes on to say that the first after-breakfast cigar tastes so good. So he smokes more than one in the mornings, as a regular habit. Granted, these cigars are “dead cheap” (for cigars) – he does worry about money – but their cheapness is only relative if you have to watch your spending. The truth is that James IS wealthy enough to support such a habit, but apart from the cigar habit, he behaves in most cases as if he is hard-up.

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We learn a few more things that indicate there could be undercurrents that belie the domestic bliss in the household. (“Belie” means that they contradict the impression first created that the situation is blissful, making it out to be a lie, as it were.) Can you spot them? Here are some suggestions: • Mary responds “acidly” to the mention of McGuire. It seems as if she is a bit sensitive about his real-estate “bargains”; • and James replies “defensively”. So this topic disturbs the relationship, even if it does not cause an argument. • Mary seems to be able to put her distrust of McGuire aside, after a subtle criticism of her husband, that he is not a “cunning” dealer in real estate (he must have made some foolish decisions and lost money on some of his property deals). • James does not like to be criticised and responds “huffily” before finding his good humour again. Before we meet the boys, however, we hear one of them have “a fit of coughing”. The parents’ discussion gives some important information. Edmund seems to be the one coughing. Mary is worried: she listens, and reacts with some anxiety as her nervous hands move restlessly. This is not really surprising considering she is his mother. We notice her nervous reaction and wonder: if he simply has a “summer cold” as she calls it, it seems to be rather an over-reaction, as does her worrying about him eating to “keep up his strength”. Note the frequency of her nervous reactions as James advises her not to worry too much and to look after herself. She clearly does not like the conversation to turn to her mental state: she responds “quickly”, “forces a smile”, shows “sudden tenseness”, her hands play nervously, and she “turns her head away”. James, on the other hand, “gives her a quick, worried look” and is “constrained”. Something is being kept under wraps here: there is “an elephant in the room” 1. James’s deep love for his wife is obvious in his concern for her and in the way he covers her hands, is “deeply moved” and impulsively kisses her. And then, motivated by something else that is said, Mary changes the subject. What is the matter with Mary? What is the “something” that was said? Find it in James’s speech where he is “deeply moved”: “I can’t tell you the deep happiness it gives me, darling, to see you as you’ve been since you came back to us, your dear old self again.” 1

An elephant in the room: an idiomatic expression referring to a situation when everyone is painfully aware of a problem (that is as obvious as a real elephant in a room would be), but avoids mentioning it directly or altogether. © Impaq

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On the surface, it could be that Mary has been ill, possibly hospitalised, which is why James is concerned that she looks after herself and does not only worry about Edmund. Make a careful note of this as we will understand it better as Act 1 continues. The fog Mary changes the subject to the fog: the fog has cleared … James snored like a foghorn in the night … he sleeps so soundly he would not be disturbed by ten foghorns. Make a mental note of the fog here – it will come back on other occasions in the play to haunt us! And note too, James’s touchiness when he senses any sort of criticism: the boys’ possibly criticising the “Old Man”; his grumpiness when he assumes the boys are laughing about (at?) him; Mary’s remark about his lack of business sense when it comes to real estate; and her claim that he has no nerves (perhaps he feels that she is implying him to be insensitive). Tension between James and Jamie There is a tremendous amount of information in these first moments of the play. A further example is the revelation that there appears to be simmering tension between James and his older son, Jamie. James snr is quite resentful and mean-spirited about Jamie: “he’s forever making sneering fun of somebody”. Mary seems to play the role of peacemaker. Entrance of Jamie and Edmund Finally, the “boys” emerge from the dining room. (Inverted commas are used since we have just learned that Jamie is 33; hardly a boy any longer.) As with the parents, the stage directions give us a detailed description of each brother. CHARACTER Carefully note the stage directions. The first information is that James snr was correct – he IS the butt of the boys’ joke, for they look at him and “their grins grow broader”. Jamie There are remarkable similarities between Jamie and his father, but the differences are significant too. Jamie jnr is about half his father’s age, but the signs of “breakdown” casually mentioned about the father are much clearer in the younger man. To show so many signs of wear and tear and ageing at the age of 33 as a result of a dissipated lifestyle (see Glossary) is rather alarming, to say the least. Despite what he has done to himself by his dissolute lifestyle (of which we have no details as yet), however, Jamie has obviously inherited his father’s strong constitution. There is something likeable about him too when we see the signs of “Irish charm”, of humour, the romantic. Edmund Edmund is only 23, and resembles both his parents. He is not the strong ox that his father and older brother appear to be. He is wiry and light of build, and seems to be highly-strung like his mother (remember that his father is described as “having no nerves” and Mary points this out too). There are fewer clues as to his inner being than there are for the other three © Impaq

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characters so far; the most noticeable thing about him is his obvious ill-health. His thinness, feverishness, sallow complexion and sunken cheeks tell us that he is not just suffering from a “summer cold” as Mary called it, but a more serious ailment.

ACTIVITY 1: Questions on Act 1 You have learned quite a bit about the parents since jotting down your first impressions. Add to your journal entries about them, referring to what they said or did, or what was said about them in the stage directions to motivate your opinion. After that, give your first impressions of the sons, Jamie and Edmund, as you did for the parents at the beginning. Questions to test your understanding of the scene so far: 1. What appears to be the most important aspect/s of the stage set? Give reasons for your answer. 2. What time of day is it? 3. 3.1 Write down THREE adjectives of your own to describe Mary, giving reasons for your choice. 3.2 State whether your adjectives are positive, negative, or both. 4. Do the same for James, numbering your answers 4.1 and 4.2. 5. Prove that the impression given of James and Mary in the first half-page of dialogue is of an idyllic (blissful) marriage. 6. What changes this idyllic picture? Quote the sentence, and explain why you say so. Refer to the text that follows after: “The boys’ voices are heard again and one of them has a fit of coughing.” 7. What is it that causes Mary to become more agitated? Explain after careful reference to the text. 8. Do you think Mary and James have good reason to worry about Edmund? Give reasons for your answer. [Note that you are predicting here; you may answer the question without knowing anything further than this scene.] 9. Quote a line or sentence that best shows James’s love for his wife. 10. Provide a single adjective (of your own) that best describes Jamie, according to the description of him in the stage directions.

LESSON 2: Background to the play and the dramatist Before we read further, it’s very important at this stage to have some background to the play.

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Eugene O’Neill and Long Day’s Journey into Night Anyone studying this play, or any of the plays of Eugene O’Neill for that matter, needs to know quite a bit about O’Neill’s life because of the influence that his family affairs had on the material he chose to write about. O’Neill’s plays draw heavily on his own life It has long been known that Eugene O’Neill’s plays, like works of many writers, are autobiographical 2 in nature – his more so than many others. In dedicating the play to his wife of 12 years, he makes no bones about it (see later in this Background note). The significance of the introduction is that the “Biographical Sketch of O’Neill” (written by academic Christine Dymkowski) tells his own life story in such a way that one almost feels as if one is reading a synopsis of the play! It is worth reproducing extracts from the Biographical Sketch here: Eugene was to find his family an overwhelming force in his life and to make it the almost constant subject of his plays. He was the O’Neills’ third son: the eldest, Jamie, had been born ten years before; a second son, Edmund, had followed five years later. Death of Eugene’s brother Edmund Because of his father’s involvement on the stage, the family had a rather nomadic life: James was touring a great deal of the time, and his wife Ella (her name was actually Mary Ellen), although she disapproved of his theatrical friends, couldn’t bear to be separated from him and went along, leaving the boys in the care of friends. On one such occasion, 7-yearold Jamie contracted measles and disobeyed the instructions to stay away from his brother; Edmund duly contracted the disease and died. The consequences were to have a devastating effect on the family. Morphine James snr persuaded Ella to have another child, although she had not wanted another, and Eugene was born. The birth was an extremely difficult one, and Ella was given morphine to cope with the pain. Dymkowski puts it as follows: Ella was unwittingly precipitated into the morphine addiction from which she would suffer for the next 26 years. James, Jamie, and Eugene were greatly affected by Ella's distraction and withdrawal from reality, but Jamie and Eugene endured a private hell of guilt: Jamie for inadvertently killing the brother whose loss had had such drastic consequences; and Eugene for having been born at all. Aha moment: Did you suspect something when reading the first pages? The “elephant in the room” is Mary’s morphine addiction. James’s words about the “deep happiness” he feels at seeing his wife “her old self again”. We thought of the possibility of her being in hospital – she was recovering from morphine addiction! 2

Autobiographical – the work is about the author’s own life, or certainly reflects it.

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You can imagine the severe effects on the surviving boys. Jamie was 10 years old when Eugene was born. It was only when Eugene was fifteen that he discovered the truth behind his mother’s strange behaviour. He had suspected that she suffered from a mental illness that he would inherit; but when he learned that she was addicted to morphine, his guilt for having been indirectly the cause of her addiction plunged him into long-term psychological turmoil. In fairness to Eugene, his father and the doctor concerned, the dosage of morphine was often too low to cause addiction; it may have been that Ella was predisposed to addiction – but that didn’t mean that any of them accepted the logical truth, and so blame was laid at various doors. Names of the characters O’Neill doesn’t even disguise the autobiographical nature of the story by changing the names of the characters… except one. Let’s see: Real life person (O’Neill’s family) James O’Neill (father) Mary Ellen (Ella) (mother) Jamie (eldest son) Edmund (middle son, deceased) Eugene (youngest son)

Character in Long Day’s Journey JAMES (father) MARY (mother) JAMIE (eldest son) EUGENE (middle son, deceased) EDMUND (youngest son)

The change in name for the mother is a minor one, but it’s interesting to note that Eugene’s character in the play has the name of his dead brother, Edmund (and vice versa). James (snr) blamed for Ella/Mary’s morphine addiction Parallels with the play continue: Jamie and Eugene believed that the responsibility of their mother’s condition fell on their father, blaming him for hiring a cheap “quack” (underqualified doctor), when in fact, even respectable doctors of those times prescribed morphine. It was only in 1912 that doctors realised how addictive morphine is, and started restricting its use. Some departures from the true story • The real-life James was not as penny-pinching as James in the play There are some departures from real life, where the dramatic version is darker than the reality. Significantly, perhaps, James, the father in the play, is depicted as being overly careful with money; Eugene’s father was rather more generous. •

The real-life Mary (Ella) recovered from her addiction The end of the play is made to be much gloomier. In real life, Eugene’s mother, Ella, was completely cured of her addiction to morphine in 1914.

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So, what are the effects of such a tragedy (and the blame game) on a family? Rootlessness Like his older brother, Jamie, Eugene rejected his parents’ strong Roman Catholic beliefs, drank too much, and failed to settle down with a steady job and purpose. He dropped out of university, married a woman he did not love, went to sea, continued to live a debauched lifestyle (drinking, partying too hard, and going with loose women – “wine, women and song”, as they say) and by 1912, fell into deep depression and attempted suicide. Jamie O’Neill was a heavy drinker and womaniser (a dissipated lifestyle) Following his father’s death in 1920, Eugene’s mother died of a brain tumour (1922) and his brother, Jamie, drank himself to death (1923). This led O’Neill to “explore the dark side of his family life”. You can clearly see this in his dedication page in the play, which you will find before the list of characters at the start of the play itself. He dedicates Long Day’s Journey into Night to his third wife, Carlotta. Part of the dedication is reproduced below: For Carlotta, on our 12th Wedding Anniversary Dearest: I give you the original script of this play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood. A sadly inappropriate gift, it would seem, for a day celebrating happiness. But you will understand. I mean it as a tribute to your love and tenderness, which gave me the faith in love that enabled me to face my dead at last and write this play – write it with deep pity and understanding and forgiveness of all the four haunted Tyrones. These twelve years, Beloved One, have been a Journey into Light – into love. You know my gratitude. And my love! Gene

A play of “old sorrow, written in tears and blood” According to Dymkowski, writing the play was emotionally exhausting for O’Neill. His third wife, Carlotta Monterey, described him as tortured by the experience, as he would come out of his study at the end of a day “gaunt and sometimes weeping.” Success and failure The rest of O’Neill’s life story is not really relevant to the play, but it helps us to understand him better. He had a strained relationship with his father until shortly before his father died. In the meantime, Eugene became the USA’s most highly regarded playwright, winning four Pulitzer Prizes for Literature, a record unmatched to the present day. (The first Pulitzer was awarded while his father was still alive.) He married for a second time, but was a failure as a father, despite criticising his own father for his alleged “neglect”. Eugene’s elder son committed suicide and his younger son became a heroin addict.

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FOR THE CURIOUS

The play itself – further evidence of its autobiographical nature • • •

O’Neill wrote the play over a number of years, and the successive drafts were developed to be closer and closer to his own life story. The setting of the play, for example, was changed to 1912, the year in which he (Eugene) developed tuberculosis, just as Edmund does in the play. The characters’ ages all correspond with O’Neill’s own family’s ages in that year.

ACTIVITY 2: Questions on the background to the play Most of the questions below require you to give your opinion, so there may be no right or wrong answer. It’s hoped that by answering the questions, and considering the suggested answers – or additional information – in the Memorandum (in the facilitator’s guide) you will get a better understanding of how literature may be written or evaluated. 1.

1.1 Does your impression of the play change after reading its background? Do you wonder why a Pulitzer Prize for Literature could be awarded to a play that seems almost non-fiction (based so heavily on real life)? 1.2 Do you know that Shakespeare – and many other playwrights – didn’t invent the story for most of his plays: he – and they – used material from the history books? So why do we regard him and others who did the same so highly? Draw up a table of the parallels between O’Neill’s life and Long Day’s Journey into Night. Leave space to add the events that you may not have encountered yet. In your journal where you have discussed the characters, do the following: 3.1 Add to James the major difference that you have learnt today between the real James and the play’s character. 3.2 Speculate (write down your thoughts as you consider the matter) as to why O’Neill would depict James as a little worse than he was in real life. 3.3 Add to Mary any perceptions about her that may have changed since reading the background. 3.4 Do you have more sympathy for Jamie, the character, after reading of the family tragedy? If so, record your feelings about his situation.