Matt Groening’s quote, “Here’s to alcohol: the cause of, and answer to, all of life’s problems,” describes the thought process of most of France’s working class during the late 1800s. In Émile Zola’s L’Assommoir, Zola explains the many different ways the working class abuses alcohol and the impacts it has on people’s health and the relationships with people around them. Zola focuses specifically on the short and long term effects that spirits have on the Coupeau and Goujet families.
Gervaise and Monsieur Coupeaus’ original idea to avoid alcohol would have been an excellent strategy to surviving lower class France if they had not given up. The minute Coupeau fell off of the roof and picked up a glass of alcohol, everything was destined to be
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Her husband was no longer the man she had married and she wanted something more. She was quickly drawn to Lantier since he had been her first love. At first she was very hesitant and felt guilty for the affair, but she was quick to validate her reasoning. She told herself that, “if a woman was married to a soak, a swine that wallowed in his own filth, then that woman had every excuse for looking around for someone cleaner” (275). The affair continued for a long time. The irony of the affair is that if Coupeau had never started drinking, then Lantier would have never been in the house and the opportunity for the affair would not have been presented.
Coupeau soon became violent after a few years of drinking. He became violent not only towards Gervaise, but also towards his daughter. Nana grew to hate her father and eventually no longer saw him as a father. “It was a long while since her father had meant anything to her; when a man’s on the booze the way her father was, he’s not a father, he’s a filthy brute you long to be rid of” (367). Slowly but surely, both Coupeau and Gervaise’s aggressive behavior towards Nana drove her to run away a few times and eventually she remained
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He and his mother loaned her hundreds of Francs that they knew they would never get back. Gervaise eventually began to take advantage of Goujet’s kindness, especially after she had lost her shop. Thankfully, Goujet’s mother was capable of standing up to Gervaise and eventually had to fire her. In this instance, both the Goujets and the Coupeaus suffered. The Goujets had lost a lot of their laundry and loads of money, and the Coupeaus no longer had very many customers and had destroyed their friendly relationship with the
there. Gradually, the problems facing Rudkus's life drove him to drink. On top ofthat, the
During these times, domestic violence was commonplace and many blamed alcohol as the culprit. Reformers also noticed that alcohol decreased efficiency of labor and thought of alcohol as a menace to society because it left men irresponsible and lacking self control. One reformer, named Lyman Beecher, argued that the act of alcohol consumption was immoral and will destroy the nation. Document H depicts the progression of becoming a drunkard from a common m...
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
Scott Fitzgerald writes about a man named Charlie, who returns to Paris to visit his daughter, who remains in the custody of his sister-in-law, after the death of his wife during his time while drying out from alcohol in a “Sanitarium” (Fitzgerald 706). During his trip, he is offered the chance to retake custody of his daughter, Honoria. Charlie, who still drinks one drink a day to stave off alcoholic obsessions, ends up meeting a pair of drunks in the bar he frequents for his one drink. They end up turning up sloppy drunk at his sister-in-law’s, ruining his chances for the moment at regaining custody, due to the sister-in-law’s mistrust of his “sobriety” and the people he still communicates with.
Another way these characters avoid living their life is by drinking continuously, in a way to make the time pass by faster and forget. ?Haven?t you had enough? She loses count after 10 cocktails,? (pg.11) proving to the audience her own self denial, and how she wastes every day. Unfortunately, there are many, who in society today, do the same thing to get out of a situation they?re trying to hide or a difficult time they?re going through. This relates back to their affair which they?re obviously hiding and trying to get through this time in their life.
Most people point to wars, Presidents or the economy when asked to describe the history of the United States, but what about alcohol. Social history in general has always taken a back seat to political and economic history, mostly because many aspects of social history are not exactly bright spots from the past. Alcohol, for example, is actually a much bigger aspect of our history than one may expect. As a matter of fact, early America was centered around drinking as a kind of social event. William Rorabaugh’s book Alcoholic Republic outlines how prevalent drinking really was during the years after the Revolutionary War. Rorabaugh argues that post-colonial Americans should be considered alcoholics. However, the evidence Rorabaugh uses
After denial the family tries to get rid of the problem. The non-alcoholic parent realizes that the drinking is not normal and tries to tell the alcoholic to quit, be more careful, or at least cut down. The parent also tries to hide the problems from the outside and keep up a strong look. The kids may now start to have problems due to the family stress.(Harrison)
The novel “The Drinking Den” by Émile Zola revolves around a hard working women, Gervaise, who experiences difficulties taking a ride roller coaster. It can be compared to the shape of an inverse parabolic structure. Gervaise faces obstacles as the novel begins, starting with her alcoholic ex-husband, Lantier. As the novel continues Gervaise’s character development progresses positively to a certain point, but then it turns and begins on the negative development. This essay will first analyze the development of Gervaise’s character in The Drinking Den. It will then examine how Zola uses her to examine the problem of alcohol? As this essay examines the rise and fall of Gervaise, it will also demonstrate how the characters that surround her
In terms of drinking, the author uses it a means of showing just how much the two were not keen on having a meaningful discussion of their problems and how to solve them. Throughout the story as the two are waiting for the train, the author points out that they are both drinking alcohol as if they are trying to avoid the important discussions that they were having. As soon as the two set their foot in the station, they order large beers with the hope that drinking will take as much of their time as possible and would not give them the chance to communicate. The lack of commitment in the conversation about how to deal with the white elephant or the baby is shown when the girl requests to order more alcohol just to avoid having that discussion. The reader can also get the sense that the two are also drinking to forget about other problems that they seem to have throughout their relationship. This is depicted when the girl points out that the two do not really engage in other activities apart from the tasting out of new alcoholic drinks. One can also get the view that as a result of the drinking and the lack of communication between the two, the future is not that far for them and that they are bound to lead separate ways. This is shown as they separate when the girl is drinking with another
In Rabelais' second novel, Gargantua, the author begins the text with a Prologue in which he clearly states that his writing is destined specifically to drinkers and free lovers, " Buveurs très illustres et vous, vérolés très précieux (c'est à vous, à personne d'autre que sont dédiés mes écrits) ". His works are for those who drink freely and greatly, for those who are thirsty. The drink, however, is not limited to the alcohol which is highly praised on the surface, but is also an elixir containing knowledge; for, in the works of Rabelais, nothing is as it seems. Rabelais challenges his readers to " rompre l'os et sucer la substantifique moelle " of his textes. One could thus conclude that his buveurs très illustres are in reality s...
Alcohol has been around for years, used for social events, as an addition to dinner or dessert, and as a relaxation aid. It can also be used to supplement hardship, pain, frustration, and other difficult mental health issues. Alcoholism is considered a disease and an addiction; like many other addictions or diseases, it can be easier to ignore the issue than to deal with it. Similarly to other addictions, the kids in the house are subject to the negativity from an alcohol addiction; they can be ignored, treated poorly, they can feel ashamed or helpless, and if the parent promises to quit and then does not, they can get frustrated. I am going to test the affects alcoholic parents have on teenagers at home.
“When I was 13, my dad started drinking more and more. Every day he would come home from work and have beer, lots of it. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then he started getting more angry and violent. He would shout at my mom and me. It was like my father had gone and been replaced with another guy” says an anonymous kid who lives with an alcoholic parent in “How my dad’s drinking problem almost destroyed my family”. The kid depicts that he is so confused, angry and upset especially when his father got fired for going to work drunk. This is one of many children’s voices who suffers having an alcoholic in their family. Most of them are depressed because alcohol has destroyed their family. This is an addiction that does
Both stories mention alcohol an excessive amount. In Hills Like White Elephants Jig and the American order drinks before discussing the elephant in the room: abortion. They talk about drinks almost as much as they talk about the operation and it seems as if their relationship is based around alcohol. The couple agrees that all they do is, “. . . look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 116). That seems like a pretty surface level relationship. The alcohol highlights the talking aspect rather than the communicating aspect of the theme: talking versus communicating. It helps to convey the idea that their relationship is not deep and the couple does not communicate well. The alcohol tells the reader that a lot is lacking from the couple’s relationship if the reoccurring topic of conversation for them is about drinking alcohol. Anyone can talk about alcohol; couples should talk about more important things and get to know each other on an intimate level. Alcohol poses the idea that perhaps the pair is not in an exclusive relationship at all, but only know one another from parties and social events. Alcohol serves as a distraction from the heavy subject that they should converse. Like Hills Like White Elephants, all three characters in the Cathedral drink alcohol constantly. Before every main event a character is preparing or drinking an alcoholic beverage. Once again, this symbolizes
Moderate alcohol consumption can provide health benefits as well as a temporary sense of bliss. During Baudelaire’s time, wine was the drink for workers, who would drink collectively; in other words, drinking was a social activity. On the contrary, alcohol consumption to the point of drunkenness is a different story. Alcohol and alcoholism are popular subjects in art and writing, mainly because throughout history and to this day there have been myriad artists, who have used and abused alcohol, claiming that drinking releases their creative spirits, or conjures a muse of some sort. Consequently, while medically worrisome, alcohol is still favorably looked upon in the artistic world. Supporting this conjecture is French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire, who has an entire section dedicated to wine, or alcohol in general, within his poetry
As Herie and Skinner state “Beverage Alcohol can be described as a depressant drug which diminishes the activity in parts of the brain and spinal cord in accordance with the amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream” (Herie & Skinner, pg. 42). With its long history and unique properties such as the cure of all diseases “prolongs life, clears away ill humours, revives the heart and maintains youth”, alcohol is often related to tradition and expressions; many of these traditions are adaptation from earlier times where it was believed alcohol reflected water of life (Herie & Skinner, 2010). This is quite evident in Days of Wine and Roses where Joe is first seen drinking because “it was part of his job” and because “he had to because of everyone