Wednesday, March 6th

Long Day's Journey - consideration of the text, Acts 3 & 4 – characters, plot, and setting

Assignment for Wednesday, March 6th

Read Long Day's Journey Into Night, Acts 3 and 4

Reflection Prompts

1. How do your sympathies shift among the four main characters in the first three acts? 

2. What is the role of the household help in the play? 

   1. What is the role of the household help in the first two acts? How do these characters influence your perception of the Tyrones?

   2. Why not cut the scene between Mary and Cathleen and the beginning of Act Three? What does that scene add to the impact of the drama?  

   3. Do Cathleen, Bridget, and Smythe factor into Act Four in any ways?

3. What is the impact of the exchange of long monologues between James and Edmund?

4. What is the impact of the scene between Jamie and Edmund towards the end of Act Four?

5. Although she is only on stage for a short time in the lengthy fourth act, in what ways is Mary central to Act Four? 

6. O’Neill reportedly called the final scene of the play (probably starting with Mary’s entrance) “the greatest scene I have ever written.” Why do you think he said that? What’s so good about it?