Symbols and Symbolism in Long Days Journey into Night :: Long Days Journey into Night

Symbolism is used throughout ONeills Long solar days Journey into Night, a portrayal of the authors life. The three prominent symbols, the fog, the foghorn, and Marys glasses, represent the char practiceers isolation from reality. The symbols in Long twenty-four hour periods Journey into Night atomic number 18 used to substitute illusion for reality. Although Mary is the character directly associated with living in illusion, all characters in the fulfil try to hide from the truth in their own ways. At the beginning of the second act, ONeill notes a change in setting which has taken place since the happen opened. No sunlight comes into the room now and there is a faint haziness in the air. This haziness or fog obscures ones acquaintance of the world, and it parallels the attempts of each member of the family to obscure or hide reality. Tyrone, for example, drinks whiskey to escape his sons criticism of how cheap he is. The reference to fog evermore has a double meaning in this play, referring both to the atmosphere and to the family. Much of the activity carried on by the Tyrone family is under-handed and sneaky, they are always attempting to put something over on somebody and obscure the truth. This brings us to the second symbol, the foghorn. Mary says she loves the fog because it hides you from the world and the world from you, but she hates the foghorns because they warn you and call you back. This escape is similiar to the morphine she takes, and the foghorns are the familys warnings against her addictions. When they discuss the mother, Edmund resents Jamies hinting that she might have gone back to her old habit and Jamie is angry with Edmund for not staying with her all morning. Although they both think that she has started using heater again, they dont want to have to admit it. Because the men in the family all try so hard to deny the truth and to blame each other or the mother for her affliction, it appears that they all feel some guilt and some responsibility for what has happened to her , and to themselves. Even when confronted with the truth (that the mother is using drugs), they all still try to act as if everything were all right, to deny the reality and live in illusion. Marys glasses symbolize her inability to see things clearly. She frequently misplaces them, and really doesnt want to find them