Biographical Elements of Long Day's Journey into Night

Some of the greatest works ever written have been inspired, not only by observations made by the artists who created them, but by the lives of the authors themselves. Sometimes triumphs, other times failures; yet the reality of the work allows for the reader to easily relate. This method of putting one's self into the work can be found in Eugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night.
Eugene was born as the second child into his family to parents James and Ella O'Neill, after his older brother James Junior. His father James worked as an actor and became a heavy alcohol consumer. Due to his father's job causing him to move around a lot, Eugene was brought up in temporary environments such as in hotels and on trains. His only "permanent" residence stood in New London, Connecticut overlooking the Thames River. His mother looked after him while his father worked, however, she had become addicted to morphine while giving birth to Eugene, similar to mother Mary Tyrone in his play. For his difficulties and insecurities growing up, he mostly blamed his father. He blamed himself for his mother's addiction. (Britannica)
Observing the self-destructive actions of his father, Eugene began to question the faith to which his father belonged, Catholicism. This resembles the struggle with God in his works. Just as Edmund and James in the play were educated, so was O'Neill at boarding schools Mt. St. Vincent in the Bronx and Betts Academy in Stamford, Connecticut and for a year at Princeton. After he was asked to leave Princeton, Eugene himself played into a life submerged with alcohol just like his father. He then set off to sea for work, living an adventurous life. Around the age of twenty-four, O'Neill began to contain himself and desired to live a stable life. This was when he came down with tuberculosis, however, and was confined to the Gaylord Farm Sanitarium in Wallingford, Connecticut. While living at the sanitarium, O'Neill began to write his plays.(Britannica)
Understanding the background of writer Eugene O'Neill contributes to the understanding of Long Day's Journey into Night as a whole. One could argue where Eugene actually places himself in the work. Both sons of James Tyrone, the father in the play, are alcoholics like their father. Their father is an alcoholic as well as an Irish Catholic, identical to James O'Neill. The home the Tyrones live in only serves a temporary purpose, just as Eugene's home growing up. The youngest son Edmund is infatuated with the sea which resembles O'Neill's short lived obsession with the sea. Edmund also is disgnosed with tuberculosis in the play and sent to a sanitaruim just like O'Neill. The twist comes when the son of Mary and James Tyrone, Eugene, is killed at a young age accidentally when he catches a disease from his older brother Jamie. This may be where Eugene O'Neill illustrates an emotional death he experienced in his own life.
In this case, Eugene O'Neill's life obviously influenced this specific work. The details which reflect his real life may be the reason he would not allow its publishing until after his death. It is the dysfunctionality of his family life which makes it even more captivating for the reader. The stark realism of the play has influenced many writers after him.

Works Cited:
"Eugene Gladstone O'Neill." Britannica.com and Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2000) 20 Sep 2008 .