During the long day that takes place in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, the members of the Tyrone family struggle with the events of the present due to their inability to go forward from the events of the past. For example, Mary Tyrone, James Tyrone's wife, struggles to live peacefully in the present due to her morphine addiction that began in the past. As early as the first act of O'Neill's play, Tyrone introduces the audience to Mary's struggle in the present by declaring her behavior "a little nervous" (O'Neill 5) which is influenced by her drug use, which has been initiated by a previous dose of medically administered morphine during labor. Mary faces an ongoing struggle to accept both her past and her present and says, “None of us can help the things life has done to us. They're gone before you know it, and once they're gone they make you do other things until finally everything comes between you and what you want to be, and you've lost your true self forever" (O' Neill). Mary's greatest challenge, dealing with morphine addiction, is something that has actually changed her true self from what she would like to be, however her statement does not fully apply to her life or her family Mary and the rest of Tyrone family have the ability to direct their own lives; the decisions that the Tyrone family has made in the past have affected things that affect them in the present. Therefore, the Tyrone family could help the things that life does to them by making choices in the present that would create good fortunes in the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned” Get an Original Essay The choices James Tyrone made earlier in his life affect his present life which takes place during the plot of O'Neill's play. Although Mary's statement in the second act of the play infers that people cannot help the things that life has done to them, Tyrone could help the things that life has done to him by making choices that would benefit his future. For example, Tyrone chose early in his career to become an actor for a single character in a traveling show rather than face the more difficult task of auditioning for different roles. Tyrone later admits: “That damned play which I bought for a fortune and which was such a great success – a great financial success – ruined me with its promise of an easy fortune. I didn't want to do anything else, and by the time I woke up to the fact that I had become a slave to the damn thing and never tried any more comedy, it was too late. They had identified me with that part and didn't want me in anything else” (O'Neill 82). Tyrone's decision to become an actor for a one-off role came with the immediate payoff of earning a good salary, but prevented him from growing his skills and abilities as an actor to the point where he could potentially work as an actor in other comedies in future. Therefore, Tyrone had the ability to change his present life if he considered the future while making choices in the past. A further circumstance that James Tyrone had the power to control was Mary's morphine addiction. Tyrone's financial avarice led to his decision to hire a cheap doctor, Dr. Hardy, who was known as an “ignorant fool” who should be banned from practicing (O'Neill 38). Nonetheless, Tyrone hired the cheap doctor who administered morphine to Mary, causing her to become addicted shortly thereafter. Tyrone made the decision to hire an inexpensive hotel doctor instead of a reliable doctor; if inhad he paid extra money for a more expensive doctor to deliver the couple's second child in the past, Tyrone would potentially not have to deal with his drug-addicted wife in the present. Therefore, Tyrone had the ability to help matters in the present if he had made wiser choices in the past. Tyrone simply admits that he is responsible for what life has done to him and Mary by admitting that it wasn't Mary's fault for her drug addiction, and that "Once that damn poison gets a hold on someone..." (O' Neill 76), then they no longer have any control. Therefore, it was the doctor's fault for Mary's addiction, and Tyrone ultimately created the result by hiring the doctor on the cheap. In addition to these circumstances, Tyrone has the ability to shape his wife's future by providing her with better care, but instead refuses to pay for better care because he claims he has “spent thousands and thousands on care! A waste. What good have they done?" (O'Neill 77). Tyrone could have hired a good doctor for his son Edmund and potentially changed the intended fate of Edmund's life, but Tyrone instead chooses "another cheap charlatan like Hardy! [Because he] wouldn't pay for a first rate rate” (O'Neill 18). As a result, Tyrone proves that Mary's judgment of fate is not true because she has the ability to change the course of fate for her family. . Tyrone also had the ability to change the fate of his children, Jamie and Edmund, by teaching them good values ​​through parenting. As a father who has experience much more than his children, James Tyrone could have influenced his children to appreciate a hard work ethic similar to the hard work ethic he was introduced to when he was a child Throughout the play, Tyrone laments how his children appreciate neither the value of money nor the life it has provided for them. because they are given everything instead of earning everything, which leads to his children "knowing [nothing] about the value of an asset." dollar?" (O'Neill 81). Rather than complain about the work ethic and financial value his children achieve, Tyrone has been empowered to raise them in a way that prioritizes the values ​​of a high work ethic . Tyrone could have helped shape his children's habits by raising them responsibly instead of drinking like a father, and leading his children to become heavy drinkers later on. Mary even apologizes to her children for missing her and Tyrone in providing the kids with a different lifestyle. Mary confesses that her children “never had the chance to meet nice people here. I know you both would have been so different” (O'Neill 21). his children with different values, then his son Jamie would not have been fired from different colleges, would not have had a job, and would not have come home for the summer seeking his parents' support. Therefore, Tyrone had the ability to manipulate the current situation in which he is dealing with his son, who he considers a failure, if he had made cautious parenting decisions in the past. As demonstrated by Edmund, who “worked so hard before he got an illness.” " (O'Neil 46), it is possible for children to adopt a hard work ethic. Mary's further insinuation that things from the past "make you do other things until...you've lost your true self forever" is a subjective statement based on obstacles in her life. Things that happened to Mary in the past, such as falling in love with James Tyrone, made her do things she otherwise wouldn't have done. For example, if Mary hadn't met Tyrone at the theater , she would continue to try to become a nun, rather than marry and have children. By marrying, Mary indirectly gave up her friendships and aspirations of.