Eugene O'Neill, author of the play Long Day's Journey Into Night, sought to use the play as a background against which he could explore and understand the dysfunction of his own family . One of the major themes of the play is trauma, a theme used to explore several different events that took place in the Tyrones' family lives. A major event that the whole family had to face was the birth and subsequent health problems of Edmund Tyrone, the youngest son. These two events affected each member of the family in different ways. Additionally, each family member had to deal with their own personal trauma. Mary, Tyrone and Jamie each had their own problems to solve; instead of confronting them head on, they used drugs and an endless blame game to make themselves feel better about their situation, even if it wasn't a permanent solution. Edmund's birth brought about many changes that would have lasting effects. about the Tyrone family. His effect on his mother was perhaps most pronounced. It was the pain of her birth that introduced Mary to morphine. Mary's morphine addiction persisted for the rest of her life, tearing apart her already fragile family. Mary blamed Tyrone for hiring a cheap doctor for the delivery, instead of a real doctor who would have helped her deal with her pain in another way. Tyrone, for his part, refused to believe it was the doctor's fault, implying that he thought Mary should have been stronger to overcome her addiction, calling her a "ball of nerves" (34). Mary also struggled to adjust to having to raise her family on the road. She grew up in a stable home, and after marrying Tyrone, she had to give up that lifestyle. It was difficult for her to raise her children on... middle of paper ...... in a sanatorium. Without Edmund as mediator, the family could have fallen apart. Edmund's illness, along with others, was one of the major traumas the family faced in this play. Each member of the family had their own idea of ​​what was best for Edmund, and each had their own way of coping with this life-threatening illness. As previously mentioned, Mary relapsed into morphine use. Tyrone became more accepting of Edmund's fate and used alcohol to bond with his son. Although disagreements arose over which sanitarium Edmund would attend, Tyrone's reaction to the news was understandable and normal. Jamie did his best to make sure his younger brother would be taken care of. Although neither Tyrone truly knows how to cope with all the trauma in their lives, the common bond of family love has kept them from completely falling apart..