Nightwalk Summary

In the story “Nightwalk” by Aleem Hossain, the narrator shows several symptoms of drug use throughout the story. Signs are first noticed when the narrator and Anthony are at Kmart, and then at the end when he attempts to harm himself. Based on some of the narrator’s experiences, it appears he takes LSD. LSD is manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in the ergot fungus that grows on rye and other grains. In addition, LSD belongs to a group of drugs known as hallucinogens. These hallucinogens cause hallucinations, mood swings, and impact thinking. According to the DEA, “during the first hour after ingestion, users may experience visual changes with extreme changes in mood. While hallucinating, the user may suffer impaired depth and time perception accompanied by distorted perception of the shape and size of objects, movements, colors, sound, touch and the user’s own body image.”

In the text, it says, “I turn around and on her shoulder is a small dark spot which is slowly growing. I smile, knowing that it bit her good and hard.” (pg. 7) This illustrates him hallucinating, because he claims the mink bit the women, even though it’s no longer alive. The author also states, “I look out the window and see the raccoon staring in at me through the window...From my knees, I tell him that he is my superior and that I will never again laugh at him.” (pg. 12) This shows that he isn’t thinking properly because he’s convinced the raccoon dislikes him and then feels the need to apologize. Therefore, LSD may be what’s causing him to hallucinate and react this