Comparison And Contrast Essay

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Subject]

[Date]

Compare and Contrast Essay

This compare and contrast essay is based on two famous plays in the field of English literature, and it will highlight the major aspects of both plays. The comparison is between Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’ Neil and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Both plays are focusing on the element of sadness and tragedy in different ways. In the play, Long Day's Journey the writer is focusing on how good time converts into something really painful, and he conveys a message that nothing in this world is permanent. The writer has depicted a series of events that struck the audience emotionally and makes them think that there is a fall to everything that rises. The main character in this play is a female with whom and due to whom all the tragedies mainly occurred. The second plays are depicting the sacrifices of a woman due to being a female, and the writer conveys a message that females are always asked to make sacrifices regardless of the fact that if they are financially sound or weak. This gender is always dominated and oppressed by society.

Eugene O' Neil is a famous American playwright and holds the honor of being a Nobel laureate in the field of literature. His plays gave birth to the essence of realism in the American drama industry. Apart from that, he is known to be the first one to write and introduce speeches in American English. Whereas Henrik Ibsen is a famous Norwegian playwright from the 19th century, his plays are also focused on moral that are related to realistic class issues of the society due to different reasons. He is entitled to be the father of modernism in the field of theatre and is known to be one of the most influential writers during his era. His dramas are considered to be the most practiced and read after the work of Shakespeare.

The play a long day’s journey into night is revolving around a noble family named the Tyrones. The family includes James Tyrone (head of the family). Mary Tyrone (Wife of James Tyrone), Jamie Tyrone (eldest son of the Tyrone family), Edmund Tyrone (younger son), Cathleen (maid of the house). The element of tragedy is mainly associated with Mary Tyrone due to her addiction towards the consumption of morphine, alcohol addiction of her sons, and a variety of other factors including financial tensions and other problems as well. Mary's arrival from the rehabilitation center is hope for the entire family that her morphine addiction is treated completely, but she is unable to get rid of that. Despite her addiction and illness, Mary and her husband are still keeping high hopes from their children that they will achieve something beneficial and great in life. However, due to the continuously increasing addiction of their sons towards the consumption of alcohol, their hopes and expectations are slowly diminishing.

The writer depicts how internal family conflicts can affect the communication process between family members. The Tyrone family members are witnessed to keep zero communication and when they do it's mostly in the form of fights and quarrels. The conflicts between the family members are also making their bond as a family weaker gradually. The two brothers of the Tyrone family kept a reluctant behavior towards each other until the ending scenes of the play when Jamie confronts his brother that he is jealous of him and wants to see him unsuccessful in life. On the other hand, James, as being the head of the family instead of making efforts to end the conflicts between the family members, is continuously seen as criticizing and making taunts on his sons. However, as being the head of the family, he never allows any family member to speak a word against him. His criticism and continuous taunting is a depiction that he is not interested in solving the issues of his family. Hence, all the family members are restricted to their own choices and do not prefer to show any leniency towards each other. However, Mary apart from being a drug addict as being a mother continued to keep high hopes towards her son but faced continuous disappointment.

The title of the Play A Doll's House is referring to Nora as the Doll of Torvald in his house, whom he admires, adores and spends time with when he wants. The play is mainly depicting sacrifices that women make as being a wife, lover, and mother. It revolves around Torvald Helmer, Nora (wife of Torvald Helmer), Krogstad (an employee at Torvald's bank), Mrs. Linde (Nora’s childhood friend), Dr. Rank (Torvald’s best mate), and Annie-Marie (Nanny). This play is a depiction of sacrifices that females make on different stages of life. The writer has included three different females to depict different stages in a woman's life. Nora apart from being financially sound is dominated by her husband, and as being the head of the family, his decision is compulsory to be followed by everyone in the family. Torvalds reaction upon reading the letter that opens the secret of Nora is extremely outrageous and angry, he insults her and calls her extremely abusive words. He claims that Nora's revealed secret is a disgrace to her and she is not going to be allowed to raise their children. However, his moods turn cheerful when he reads the second letter from Krogstad and declares to forget everything. The insults that he did struck Nora very deeply, and she confronts her husband that she was always treated like a doll in this house. She was admired, adored and loved by her husband when he needed her. She leaves her husband by stating that she will make sense of her own life on her own will power and interest. On the other hand, Nora's best friend Mrs. Linde sacrifices her own interest and joys of life for her brothers and parents. After the death of her husband she has been working to support her family financially, which was another reason to visit Nora as she wanted to get employment. Later on, she makes a sacrifice of her love for Krogstad by marrying a rich guy, who promised to support her family financially. Lastly, Annie Marie who has sacrificed her love for her children by abandoning them so that she can search for a job and earn her livelihood.