In A Long Day’s Journey Into Night O’Neill presents the fraternal conflict between Jamie and Edmund to express the projection of self-loathing to gratify or protect oneself. Jamie knows that his life will amount to little more than a continued downward spiral of alcoholism and promiscuity. Because of this, he seems determined to ensure that Edmund falls as well, so that he doesn’t look so bad. Though the parents have given up on Jamie, Mary still holds out hope that Edmund will one day break out of the familial ties that restrict him and accomplish something notable. “I’ll do my damnedest to make you fail. Can’t help it.I hate myself. Got to take my revenge on everyone else. Especially you” he says, because Jamie sees a threat to his wayward lifestyle. If Edmund ever achieves success in anything, Jamie would be forced out of his apathetic, isolated environment and would no longer be able to blame Tyrone for his failures. Jamie would have to accept his responsibility for where he is in life, so in order to prevent this, he attacks Edmund, breaking him down from all sides. Jamie encourages the belief that Edmund is responsible for Mary’s morphine addiction, while also trying to destroy Edmund’s somewhat naive and positive thinking with his pessimistic brutal truths. The paradoxical conflict reverses the typical sibling relationship to highlight Jamie’s miserable life and Edmund’s struggle to survive in a trying in environment.
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