Capitalism is said to provide the opportunity to achieve "The American Dream". With
good work ethic, financial sense, and a little bit of luck, everybody could become a wealthy
entrepreneur. However, this dream is hopelessly outdated and become increasingly difficult to
achieve. "The American Dream" has turn to a myth and a means of laying blame. People who
themselves try to achieve "The American Dream" may suffer the highest costs of this excessive
capitalism. "The 'working poor' as they are appropriately termed, are in fact the major
philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others
will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and
perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a
member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor to everyone
else" (Ehrenreich, P. 221). Tyson believes that it is what the capitalist culture has done to its
people, "Every family wants to own its own home on its own land is a capitalist ideology that
sells itself as natural by pointing, for example to the fact that almost all Americans want to own
their own property, without acknowledging that this desire is created in us by the capitalist
culture in which we live" (P. 53).
Marx analysis about "The American Dream" reveals that it is just an ideology, a belief
system that is employed by the capitalism, not a natural way of seeing the world. It blinds its
pursuers to the enormities of its own failure. O'Neill in Long Day's Journey concerns about this
failure and reveals the reality of "The American Dream" in the capitalist society. He represents the failure of American man, American values, and American culture. He shows the man who
is looking for a fulfilled life but he cannot find it in the real unequal conditions that are created
by capitalism. Metaphorically, O'Neill sees "The American Dream" as a way of escaping from
this painful reality.
Mary's words show that Tyrone is a practitioner of "The American Dream" and he
comes to this land for the financial success. The Tyrones are hopeless people that by drinking
and consuming morphine try to escape from the reality of their life. They are shocked by the
failure of their dreams and now alcohol and morphine are kinds of protection for them. Mary is
repeating a song of fatalism that "But I suppose life has made him like that, and he can't help it.
None of us can help the things that life has done to us" (P.22). O’Neill addresses the problem of
existence in the capitalistic Man.
In a capitalistic society, a man is not a “Man” until he is subjectified by the monetary
discourse. O’Neill has no hesitation in demystifying the “ugliness of American reality” behind
the innocent discourse of "The American Dream”. Unlike Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman,
O’Neill chooses not to romanticize the castrating effect of Money with a dreamy outlook, but to
foreground how this unconscious language can regulate the living body. In the play, Mr.
Tyrone’s rise to prosperity represents the birth of the modern, masculine Subject—the economic
Man. Marcelle Marini believes that O’Neill forces the reader to see that a man like Tyrone is
“caught as a whole, but like a pawn” in the play of the capitalistic signifier, “and this even
before the rules are transmitted to him. . . . Such an order of priorities has to be understood as a
logical order, that is, as an always actualized order” (P.45). While pleasure in itself may not be a
linguistic phenomenon, the idea that Money can give pleasure is certainly related to what
James M. Mellard claims, “the ordering function of the culture, a culture that separates man
from nature, by inscribing him from the start in language, in the founding law whose
primordial interdiction” (P.395-407) is that of the law of the father. The fear of lack on the
ontological level is translated by the capitalistic discourse to become Tyrone’s fear of poverty,
the “fear of poorhouse.” In O’Neill’s play, Mr. Tyrone has no hesitation in forgoing what he
truly likes in order to achieve "The American Dream". With all his money, he ends up saying, “I
don’t know what the hell it was I wanted to buy” (P.5).
Tyrone measures all human relations based on the notion of "productiveness" or "use
value". In Mr. Tyrone’s eyes, Jamie is an “evil minded loafer” (P.24) because he is depraved and
unproductive. Edmund is disappointing for he is weak in terms of his health or financial wellbeing. Mr. Tyrone learned this lifestyle from the capitalist society. He is the only character in
the play that is exempt from despair and confusion of values. Thus, Mary notes, “Ten foghorns
couldn’t disturb” (P.17) Tyrone. To a miser like Tyrone, the world is a very stable, easily
readable zone: his enemy is the one who wants to “have the house ablaze with electricity at
[night], burning up money!”(P.26). He sells his talents for money, spends his money on many
“bum piece[s] of property,” and ends up celebrating his life by drowning regrets with alcohol.
The paradox of success and non-being, happiness and unhappiness eventually leads Tyrone to
utter—with clear-headed sincerity—something that he really desires to do and never desires to
put it into action: “On my solemn oath, Edmund, . . . I’d be willing to have no home but the
poorhouse in my old age if I could look back now on having been the fine artist I might have
been” (P.51).
Tyrone is the result of capitalism. He wants to save both his family and his money, but
he is unable to manage both of them. In the capitalist society, everything must be scarified for
money. Tyrone's soul is destroyed by possessiveness and greed. He creates a dream of success
for himself but at the end, he and his family go disappointed they find their dream false and
inaccessible in the unequal capitalist society. They come to the point that they have been
betrayed by what "The American Dream" has created for them.
Work Citation
Babaee, Ruzbeh. “Long Day's Journey into Night; a Journey into Revelation. International Journal of International Social Research. 4.19 (2011): 7-14 Print.” Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/1046883/Long_Days_Journey_into_Night_a_Journey_into_Revelation._International_Journal_of_International_Social_Research._4.19_2011_7-14_Print.
good work ethic, financial sense, and a little bit of luck, everybody could become a wealthy
entrepreneur. However, this dream is hopelessly outdated and become increasingly difficult to
achieve. "The American Dream" has turn to a myth and a means of laying blame. People who
themselves try to achieve "The American Dream" may suffer the highest costs of this excessive
capitalism. "The 'working poor' as they are appropriately termed, are in fact the major
philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others
will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and
perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a
member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor to everyone
else" (Ehrenreich, P. 221). Tyson believes that it is what the capitalist culture has done to its
people, "Every family wants to own its own home on its own land is a capitalist ideology that
sells itself as natural by pointing, for example to the fact that almost all Americans want to own
their own property, without acknowledging that this desire is created in us by the capitalist
culture in which we live" (P. 53).
Marx analysis about "The American Dream" reveals that it is just an ideology, a belief
system that is employed by the capitalism, not a natural way of seeing the world. It blinds its
pursuers to the enormities of its own failure. O'Neill in Long Day's Journey concerns about this
failure and reveals the reality of "The American Dream" in the capitalist society. He represents the failure of American man, American values, and American culture. He shows the man who
is looking for a fulfilled life but he cannot find it in the real unequal conditions that are created
by capitalism. Metaphorically, O'Neill sees "The American Dream" as a way of escaping from
this painful reality.
Mary's words show that Tyrone is a practitioner of "The American Dream" and he
comes to this land for the financial success. The Tyrones are hopeless people that by drinking
and consuming morphine try to escape from the reality of their life. They are shocked by the
failure of their dreams and now alcohol and morphine are kinds of protection for them. Mary is
repeating a song of fatalism that "But I suppose life has made him like that, and he can't help it.
None of us can help the things that life has done to us" (P.22). O’Neill addresses the problem of
existence in the capitalistic Man.
In a capitalistic society, a man is not a “Man” until he is subjectified by the monetary
discourse. O’Neill has no hesitation in demystifying the “ugliness of American reality” behind
the innocent discourse of "The American Dream”. Unlike Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman,
O’Neill chooses not to romanticize the castrating effect of Money with a dreamy outlook, but to
foreground how this unconscious language can regulate the living body. In the play, Mr.
Tyrone’s rise to prosperity represents the birth of the modern, masculine Subject—the economic
Man. Marcelle Marini believes that O’Neill forces the reader to see that a man like Tyrone is
“caught as a whole, but like a pawn” in the play of the capitalistic signifier, “and this even
before the rules are transmitted to him. . . . Such an order of priorities has to be understood as a
logical order, that is, as an always actualized order” (P.45). While pleasure in itself may not be a
linguistic phenomenon, the idea that Money can give pleasure is certainly related to what
James M. Mellard claims, “the ordering function of the culture, a culture that separates man
from nature, by inscribing him from the start in language, in the founding law whose
primordial interdiction” (P.395-407) is that of the law of the father. The fear of lack on the
ontological level is translated by the capitalistic discourse to become Tyrone’s fear of poverty,
the “fear of poorhouse.” In O’Neill’s play, Mr. Tyrone has no hesitation in forgoing what he
truly likes in order to achieve "The American Dream". With all his money, he ends up saying, “I
don’t know what the hell it was I wanted to buy” (P.5).
Tyrone measures all human relations based on the notion of "productiveness" or "use
value". In Mr. Tyrone’s eyes, Jamie is an “evil minded loafer” (P.24) because he is depraved and
unproductive. Edmund is disappointing for he is weak in terms of his health or financial wellbeing. Mr. Tyrone learned this lifestyle from the capitalist society. He is the only character in
the play that is exempt from despair and confusion of values. Thus, Mary notes, “Ten foghorns
couldn’t disturb” (P.17) Tyrone. To a miser like Tyrone, the world is a very stable, easily
readable zone: his enemy is the one who wants to “have the house ablaze with electricity at
[night], burning up money!”(P.26). He sells his talents for money, spends his money on many
“bum piece[s] of property,” and ends up celebrating his life by drowning regrets with alcohol.
The paradox of success and non-being, happiness and unhappiness eventually leads Tyrone to
utter—with clear-headed sincerity—something that he really desires to do and never desires to
put it into action: “On my solemn oath, Edmund, . . . I’d be willing to have no home but the
poorhouse in my old age if I could look back now on having been the fine artist I might have
been” (P.51).
Tyrone is the result of capitalism. He wants to save both his family and his money, but
he is unable to manage both of them. In the capitalist society, everything must be scarified for
money. Tyrone's soul is destroyed by possessiveness and greed. He creates a dream of success
for himself but at the end, he and his family go disappointed they find their dream false and
inaccessible in the unequal capitalist society. They come to the point that they have been
betrayed by what "The American Dream" has created for them.
Work Citation
Babaee, Ruzbeh. “Long Day's Journey into Night; a Journey into Revelation. International Journal of International Social Research. 4.19 (2011): 7-14 Print.” Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/1046883/Long_Days_Journey_into_Night_a_Journey_into_Revelation._International_Journal_of_International_Social_Research._4.19_2011_7-14_Print.
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