...Long Day’s Journey into Night: The Perpetual Cycles within O’Neill’s Play O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956, 2002) is a depiction of the Tyrone family and the ongoing cycle of events that occur within the span of one single day in their life. At first glance, patriarch James, his wife Mary, and adult sons Jamie and Edmund, appear to be the average family in the year 1912, until one looks further and finds that each appears to be in their own version of purgatory, stuck in a repetition of events and behaviors that are both non-productive, as well as destructive. Ultimately, these result in their being condemned to continually relive the worst events in their life with their most unflattering characteristics, time and time again. Yet, in doing so, they not only self-sabotage, but sabotage each other and prevent any member of the family from realizing any genuine relief or finding any true resolution amidst this perpetual cycle, which is essentially foreshadowed by the title, itself. Therefore, from the ongoing cycle of denial and blame, to anger and guilt, to drug use and abuse, Long Day’s Journey into Night is a cynical story that illustrates the seemingly infinite cycles that depict the perpetual struggles that occur within one family over the course of an average day as the light gives way to darkness. As such, the paragraphs that follow elaborate on some of the most prominent cycles within the story, beginning with a discussion of the Tyrone family’s...
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...way?/ Yes, to the very end" (1-2). I believe that in these two lines, Rossetti expresses the distress she is feeling with life in general and how she cannot believe it just keeps going on and on. She uses the road as a symbol for the journey of life and she cannot believe it is windy, or difficult the whole way up the hill, or through the path of life. She goes on to say "Will the day's journey take the whole long day?/ From morn to night my friend" (3-4). In these lines, she is in this dialect with someone and is complaining that the journey of life takes the "whole long day," or in other words, she is in awe that it will take her entire life. In saying this, she is expressing how stressful and difficult she thinks of the journey of life and cannot believe she will have to go through the entire process to get to a peaceful place. I believe the person means from birth to death by their response. I think of the person talking to her as some short little elf-eared man for some reason. I picture him nicer than the men from "Goblin Market," but I think I still picture him as a goblin man because he the one that is giving her these answers that are difficult to hear, but is also telling her how to get to a better place. "But is there for the night a resting place? A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. May not the darkness hide it from my face? You cannot miss them" (5-8). Rossetti is searching for this place of what is probably heaven, to get her out of the darkness,...
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...come from a traveller, we can tell this from the nature of the questions, also from the fact that they are being asked we already get the idea that the second character who answers her is wiser. This is then emphasized by the sureness of the answer completely absent of doubt or hesitation. The persona finds comfort and reassurance in these straight forward answers, this could be because Rossetti lived at a time were such answers to difficult questions were a rarity. This is all supported in the question and answer: “Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?” “From morn to the night, my friend.” Here we have an answer that is reasonable yet difficult to answer, and yet we are given the simple straight forward answer, ending in the encouraging phrase “My friend”. If one takes the poem so far spiritually then day is now representing life and night represents the end, death. “A roof for when the slow dark hours begin” to show us that we slow down at night so we search for...
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...a serious offense, and any attempt to pass off another person's ideas and writings as your own will result in severe disciplinary measures, possibly expulsion from the university. This also applies to your Informal Responses, which should reflect your own understanding of the material and not simply repeat what I or your classmates have already said. Students are required to conduct themselves in an academically responsible and ethical manner in line with the Student Code of Ethics. These acts are subject to disciplinary measures as prescribed in the AUA Code of Student Ethics (http://www.aua.am/students/STUDENT_CODE_OF_ETHICS.pdf) Course Structure: You are expected to have done the readings for each day and be ready to discuss the day’s reading when...
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...From the moment Leia woke up, she had realized something was wrong. Her hands were cold and stiff from sleeping outside in the sand, which had chilled in the Autumn night. Her bare legs were warm and covered in a heavy fur, but she recognized the deep, rhythmic breathing of her canine companion who was beginning to stir as Leia shifted. Her spine ached as she stretched over the log she had rest against, a knot in the wood had embedded itself into her shoulder. As she regained consciousness, she hyperaware of the numb pulsing in her legs. “Shiva! Ge’ off!” she yelped, shoving the heavy she-wolf off of her. Clicking her teeth in frustration, Leia pulled herself up and sat on the log, gently rubbing her thighs. It was already dawn, the...
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...doesn’t indulge; it soothes and alleviates. Warm water sees that the discomfort subsides but doesn’t change the loss of another hour of sleep. The filled tub facilitates another night, another day. Hidradenitis suppurativa is a dermatological condition marked by lesions on friction worn skin. Causing painful bumps and pus-filled abscesses, these skin malformations wear down; what was a routine task becomes a journey. To shower is to fight tears, pain, and fears. Washing requires a gingerly touch. A wash cloth is my instrument of choice; it like the neurosurgeon’s scalpel must be yielded skillfully. A shower cleans but shouldn’t hurt. Hidradenitis begs to differ. Forget ticking hands. Let the wash cloth heal: take away dried pus and skin remnants. Finish surgery and mark the close of the day’s first battle, but not the last....
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...Naturalism depicts the realism of events, occasions, life and people. It considers the inescapable force of heredity, social conditions and environment in shaping human character. An intensive analysis of the “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” clearly shows that it is an example of naturalism. This argument is supported by the following facts and discussions. The play has the quality of naturalism evidenced by the unfolding nightmare realities of family life right from the beginning to the end of the play. At act one, Mary, James’ wife is treated from the addiction of morphine and seems to abandon the habit and tries to assume a new life. In some occasions she opted to sleep alone to seek self comfort by avoiding the snoring of her husband. She shows great improvement in health and everybody in the family is happy about her change. Surprisingly, this new life without morphine does not hold long, she is forced by her unhealed addiction and breaks loose into it. The family stress of Edmund bad health, James and Jamie alcoholism may have contributed to her further indulgence into morphine. The fact that one of the family member contracts tuberculosis seems to be anticipated as it is revealed Mary’s father died of it. This case objectively support naturalism, it explains that the disease was passed through heredity. Moreover, Mary initiates an earlier discussion of Edmund’s deteriorating health, begins by being solicitous of him, saying he should not go up...
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...head off for my first day of work. I woke at 4:30 a.m., too excited to sleep anymore but anxious to start the journey to my workplace. ‘Make sure to drink at least a cup of tea’ was the forceful sound of my mother’s voice. She was happy for me, and wanted to ensure that I had a good start before beginning the workday. By 7:00 a.m., I was fully dressed in my long sleeve blue pant suit, paired with a florescent blouse and accessorized with my black shoes and brown leather bag. I kissed my mom goodbye and waited outside the house on the verandah for the sound of the blaring horn from the hired bus to take us to the workplace, a full seventeen miles from home. For the most part, the journey from St. Andrew’s to the parish of St. George’s was a smooth and uneventful ride. I travelled through the main winding mountainous road which took me through the rain forest, with its luscious pine trees. With the windows open, the fresh morning breeze smoothly bathed my face, giving it a refreshing feeling. The scent of the morning glory flowers filled the air with a sweet fragrance, almost like I was seated in a garden not a mini bus. The sound of the inspirational music filled the space in the fully packed bus greeted the air, thus making for a prayerful and reflective morning journey. As I sat there, I felt fully energized and uplifted for the day’s work ahead. The journey ended in the crowded bus...
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...Duncan experiences vulnerability while he sleeps. Lady Macbeth who confidently knows that the plan of killing Duncan will not fail assures her husband not to worry because everything will go accordingly. As Macbeth is unsure of the plan, Lady Macbeth taunts Him about his not manly behavior. Lady Macbeth continues confidently by reassuring Macbeth that, “And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep/ (Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey/ Soundly invite him)” (Shakespeare 1.7.71-73). Using Duncan’s state of unconsciousness, Lady Macbeth formulates a plan for Macbeth to execute. Since Duncan is asleep, he will not be aware of his surroundings. Lady Macbeth mentions Duncan’s long journey which will invite him to bed, making him weak and vulnerable throughout the night. A restful conscience makes it easier for people to sleep throughout the night, but it also makes it easier for others to take advantage while being unconscious. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth experiences her own state of guilt. The doctor and the gentlewomen watch Lady Macbeth through the night at her unnatural behavior. Observing Lady Macbeth’s behavior, the gentlewomen and the doctor watch closely the actions which Lady Macbeth performs while...
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...Fine Arts Spring Semester Eugene O’Neill Eugene O’Neill was born on October 16th, 1888 in New York City. He was the son of James O’Neill who was a popular romantic actor. He was born in a Broadway hotel room where a commemorative plaque is posted on the outside wall with the inscription: “Eugene O’Neill, October 16, 1888~November 27, 1953 America’s greatest playwright was born on this night then called Barrett Hotel, Presented by Circle in the Square”. (Wikipedia, April 2010) O’Neill spent the first seven years of his life touring with his father’s theatre company. He then spent the next seven years attending a Catholic school and then a private school. By the time he entered college he was introduced to an alternative lifestyle. He dropped out of Princeton in the first year and then enrolled at Harvard for one class of playwright. This was the end of his formal education. He married in 1909 and was divorced within two years. He then went to sea in 1910. At the onset of tuberculosis he spent six months in a sanitarium. It was at this point in his life that he decided to become a playwright and began writing plays. O’Neill spent the next five years working on one-act plays. In 1918 he married his second wife. In 1920 he wrote “Beyond the Horizon” which the audience loved and took notice. His play won a Pulitzer Prize. O’Neill’s poetic dialogue and insightful views into the lives of the characters held his work apart from the less sober playwrighting of...
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...THE STORY OF THE AGED MOTHER A Japanese Folktale Long, long ago there lived at the foot of the mountain a poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother. Theyowned a bit of land which supplied them with food, and their humble were peaceful and happy.Shinano was governed by a despotic leader who though a warrior, had a great and cowardly shrinking fromanything suggestive of failing health and strength. This caused him to send out a cruel proclamation. The entireprovince was given strict orders to immediately put to death all aged people. Those were barbarous days, andthe custom of abandoning old people to die was not common. The poor farmer loved his aged mother withtender reverence, and the order filled his heart with sorrow. But no one ever thought a second time aboutobeying the mandate of the governor, so with many deep hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for what at thattime was considered the kindest mode of death.Just at sundown, when his day’s work was ended, he took a quantity of unwhitened rice which is principal foodfor poor, cooked and dried it, and tying it in a square cloth, swung and bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water. Then he lifted his helpless old mother to his back and stated on his painful journey up the mountain. The road was long and steep; the narrowed road was crossed and recrossed bymany paths made by the hunters and woodcutters. In some place, they mingled in a confused puzzled, but hegave no heed. One path or another...
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...Its English equivalent is straightforward enough: the amount of water that can be held in a hand. This word has evolved between the petite fingers that children interlocked in order to trap water in the hot climate. It is witnessed in travellers feverishly gulping from a brook after a long day's journey, or in mothers pressing morsels of homemade buckwheat dough against clay oven walls. This word has history, has a past. Its beauty is in the juxtaposition between individuality and standardization. A gurfa can describe the mere drops held in a toddler’s hand but is just as easily illustrates the mouthfuls of water that a large man can hold. Either way, it is enough for a drink. The child and the man are both satisfied with a gurfa, although the child’s gurfa is dwarfed by the man’s. Unfortunately, the peculiar nature of this unit of measurement is lost in the sea of standardization that permeates modern society. Enough is a mark on only Mary Poppins’ ruler, so it has a place in neither the classroom nor the workplace. The gurfa...
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...me–being about simple people–and the whole story was similar to the famine of Ireland, when they threw the people off the land and left them wandering on the roads to starve" (Sobchack). Following the journey of the Oklahomans travelling along Route 66, The Grapes of Wrath addresses many of the serious issues these migrants were forced to deal with, including the demeaning treatment by Californians, as well as the endless search for food and work. The film focuses on the Joad family, beginning with Tom Joad who had just been released from an Oklahoma state prison, on parole after four years, for manslaughter. Tom makes his way back home to his family's farm in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. He meets Jim Casy, a former preacher, along the way. Casy accompanies Tom to the Joad residence, which is found abandoned. Muley Graves, an old neighbor, tells the men that everyone has been "tractored" off the land. The next morning, Tom and Casy set out to Tom's uncle's farm, where Muley has assured they will find the Joad family. The two arrive just in time to help pack the rickety old truck Pa Joad purchased. Having seen handbills advertising fruit-picking jobs in California, the Joad family envisions the journey to California as their only hope of getting their lives back. The journey to California is long and arduous. Grandpa Joad, the feisty old patriarch who bitterly complains about not wanting to leave his homeland, dies shortly after the family's departure. The trip following Route 66, already...
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...Dear Senior: In less than a year, you will be preparing for your freshman year of college. By that time, you should be familiar with a wide range of English, American, and Global literatures. The list of masterworks on the back of this sheet offers a guide for what are considered seminal works in the English-language tradition. We will read and discuss several of the texts during next year’s Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course. (I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO READ THEM ALL – DON’T BE SILLY!) Reading ahead and reading a work twice is always advisable. In any case, a broad background of reading will benefit you on the AP English Literature test, as well as in your college English classes. Summer Reading: Bulfinch, Thomas The Age of Fable: Stories of Gods and Heroes^^ Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor* Hamilton, Edith Mythology^^ Shakespeare, William MacBeth Optional: Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Mythology# These books should all be available at your local library or bookstore (you may also order online). *If you do not already own a copy of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, you should get a copy. We will be referring to it throughout the year as we dissect and discuss literary works. ^^I have provided .PDF copies of these works through Edmodo. Please do NOT print copies of these works. #This book is a great resource to have for college, particularly if...
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...shimmering on the surface of the ocean. He pondered to himself what kind of hypnotic effect this sun had upon him that he could not take his eyes from it. Once more, he looked at the sun as he had done for the twelve days before and again he could not take his eyes from it. Was the sun now in its prime over the lands that he sought? Was it sunset on some island that lay ahead of him? Was it sunrise on some island even beyond that? He did not hear Peralonso approach him until he was flanked his shoulder. They stood side by side for a moment, then Peralonso addressed Columbus, "It seems strange to me to be so far from land and yet to witness a sunset so similar to all of those that I have seen from the shore and even when I was but a day's journey from shore." Columbus responded, "So true, so true my fried." Peralonso hesitated a moment, gathered his courage and addressed the Admiral, "Sir, could it be that we might now be in sight of land had we chosen the Northwest route rather than the Southerly route as you have done? I mean no disrespect, of course, but the thought has crossed my mind.” He cleared his throat nervously, “Perhaps Dulmo and Zeno were on the trail of something when they took the routes farther to the North?" Columbus turned to him with a sharp scowl, pursed his lips, stared directly into Peralonso's eyes, gulped fiercely and said, "Did they succeed! Did they succeed! Did they plan their voyages well as I have done? Did they study the sailing charts...
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