Long Day's Jouney into Night
...be which sanatorium Edmund should be sent to. The family believes that James is sending Edmund to this sanatorium because it is cheap and he will be able to save money. The family cannot trust Jamie because of his passion for alcohol and prostitutes. How can the family trust any of his decisions when he insists on spending his whole paycheck on alcohol, which produces an artificial happiness, and cheap sex? Each member of the family has its own reasons to distrust each other. Another source of their happiness is their denial of the future and their focus on the past. They refuse to think of the future and what it may bring, so they live in constant fear of the possibilities of their lives. An example would be Edmund’s diagnosis with consumption. Mary refuses to accept Edmund’s diagnosis because she would have to think of the possibilities of him succumbing to the disease. The Tyrone family also has a tendency to blame the past and each other for their lives today. The constantly relive the events that led up to the present. Mary still remains bitter to James for making her leave with him, and she soon becomes enamored with her past dreams of becoming a nun or pianist. She is angry that he was ...