A Long Day’s Journey into Night

Reference to Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Eugene O’Neill’s, Long Day’s Journey into Night have many connections to each other.

One of the strongest connections with the two stories is the theme of isolation. Mary isolates herself from the rest of the family as she constantly goes up to her room and shoots herself up with morphine, similar to the way Gregor Samsa isolates himself in his room, away from the rest of the family. The entire family refuses any signs of improvement in Mary’s morphine addiction, similar to how the Samsa family agrees that Gregor will forever remain a giant bug.

There is also a lack of communication within the Tyrone family. Throughout the play, there is no family dinner, no sign of family bonding. In the Samsa family, Gregor fails to communicate his feelings towards them.

Another similarity is the autobiographical content evident in both stories. Long Day’s Journey Into Night is Eugene O’Neill’s autobiography, whereas the Metamorphosis is Franz Kafka’s autobiography.

Eugene O’Neill had a brother named Edmund, was raised Catholic, and so on. Franz Kafka also found himself isolated from his family and who also dealt with a mean father.

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