Long Day’s Journey into Night
by Eugene O’Neill

Long Day’s Journey into Night: Situational Irony 1 key example

Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Low Spirits:

One of the strangest problems in Long Day's Journey into Night is that the fundamental conflict of the play relies on an inherent hypocrisy. The issue at the center of the play is Mary's addiction to morphine and the attempts of the Tyrone men to prevent it. But James, Jamie, and Edmund—all hell-bent on treating Mary's addiction and keeping her from relapsing—each deal with addiction themselves (to alcohol). This creates a sense of situational irony that affects the entire play, as the addicts try in vain to help the addict.