"Under the Influence", by Scott Russell Sanders, is an essay written about alcoholism, and it's affect on other people, from a point of view of the author (Sanders). Being a son of an alcoholic, after the death of his father, he discusses his behavior, under the influence of alcohol. I found myself along the same lines as the author and found the relationship of Sanders and his father really interesting. Sanders describes his father, being under the influence, change into a completely different person in terms of the way he acted towards people, his family in particular. He conveys," In a matter of minutes, the contents of a bottle could transform a brave man into a coward, a buddy into a bully, a gifted athlete and skilled carpenter and shrewd businessman into a bumbler."(61).The reason why I continued to read the story and found it really interesting was because the main storyline was very familiar to mine. It was like Scott Sander has taken the story of my life and changed it by adding alcohol to the scenario. Like Sanders childhood, my childhood was similar in terms of the way parents act towards their children under special circumstances and in my case it was my stepmother, step father and my aunt. I can barely recall my childhood, one of the few things I can remember about it were the sounds of arguing and quarrels that went on between my parents. At that time, the words didn't seem to make sense but I was old enough to figure out that something was wrong and they were unhappy with each other. I often noticed my father sleeping outside his bedroom, on the couch. It ... ... middle of paper ... ..., taught me to treat others well for the sake of someone you love and never turn your back on a person in need. "My brother Jaliawala 4 became a rebel, my sister retreated to shyness. I played the stalwart and dutiful son who would hold the family together" (68). This quote is one that Scott Russell Sanders uses in his essay "Under the influence." This quote goes to show how Sanders felt the need to hold his family together. One could even say that Sanders felt he was the "rock" in the family. Like Sanders, I also thought I would hold my family together through all the hardships and believed that they were strong enough to withheld anything that came in their way and not give up in the face of trouble, or at I thought they were.
As well as the long last effect that alcoholic parents have on a child and a loved one. Moreover, McCullers writes his story incorporating the reality of alcoholism to allow people to visualize the effect of addiction and how it a very serious life changing issue that can deteriorate and break apart families. Mucllurs also indirectly emphasizes the sacrifices that parents must do to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of their children and how being disconnected from your social circle can lead to very serious mentally draining issues. As well as how he emphasizes Martins own intentions and how Matin suffers his own dilemma throughout the story for specific
One in every twelve adults suffer from alcoholism in the United States, and it is the most commonly used addictive substance in the world. The World Health Organization has defined alcoholism as “an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency.” Reiterated themes encompassing Jeannette Walls’ father’s addiction to alcohol are found in her novel, The Glass Castle: a memoir, which displays instances of financial instability and abuse that hurt the Walls children for the rest of their lives. The Walls’, altogether, are emotionally, physically, and mentally affected by Rex’s alcoholism, which leads to consequences on the Walls children.
As I read “Under the Influence: Paying the Price of My Father’s Booze” over and over again I began to realize that my cousin and my family fall into the same situation as Sanders’ did. The essay made me realize that my family is not the only one who has to face this difficulty throughout my whole life. Even though I am not twenty-one yet I know that I am not going to abuse alcohol the way that some people can because I know it can have a different effect on my body and mind unlike some people. I feel the same pain that Sanders’ has gone through losing his father to alcohol. There is always a part of me that wishes I could talk to my cousin and uncle and just ask them why, why did they do it?
Wes (the author) has a family who wants to see him succeed. Although Wes didn’t know his father for long, the two memories he had of him and the endless stories his mother would share with him, helped guide him through the right path. His mother, made one of the biggest effects in Wes’s life when she decided to send him to military story, after seeing he was going down the wrong path. Perhaps, the other Wes’s mother tried her best to make sure he grew up to be a good person, but unfortunately Wes never listen. His brother, Tony was a drug dealer who wish he could go back in time and make the right decisions and he wanted Wes to be different than him. He didn’t want his brother to end up like him and even after he tried everything to keep Wes away from drugs, nothing worked and he gave up. As you can see, both families are very different, Wes (the author) has a family who wants him to have a bright future. Most importantly, a family who responds fast because right after his mother saw him falling down the wrong hill she didn’t hesitate to do something about it. The other Wes isn’t as lucky, as I believe since his mother already had so much pressure over keeping her job and her son Tony being involved in drugs. Same thing with Tony, he was so caught up in his own business that no one payed so much attention to
Alcoholism is a debilitating disease that affects an entire family. Alcoholism can cause physical and chemical changes in the diseased person, which in turn can lead to poor life choices. Jeannette's father was an alcoholic. While growing up in poverty, Jeannette's father made decisions that caused the family to suffer greatly. When Jeannette was a young child, Rex's alcoholism was better controlled. Jeannette's father could hold a job for months at a time and provide for his family the basic needs, such as food, required to survive. At one point it their lives, all the kids “lived the high life” when Rex brought home new bicycles for them. However, as Jeannette grew older, her father's disease took control of his life. Soon Jeannette's father began to lose his jobs more often, until he finally refused to maintain a job in any sense. Due to the lack of income, the family suffered greatly financially and emotionally. Jeannette and Brian were forced to eat out of garbage cans at school to combat their...
“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.
Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences dealing with alcoholism will be revealed. Not only are statistics, like the facts mentioned before, important when dealing with an issue such as alcoholism, but personal accounts and information are often more powerful and influential evidence. Non-alcoholics should be allowed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for research purposes.
They shared a special father-daughter bond. However, as she grew older she realized things more clearly and understood them more. She realized who her father truly was and did not want to end up the same way. “What I wanted to say was that I knew Eric would never try to steal my paycheck or throw me out the window, that I’d always been terrified I’d fall for a hard-drinking, hell-raising, charismatic scoundrel like you, Dad…” (Walls, 268). Their relationship weakened over the countless times of him coming home drunk, lying and getting the family into hard times. Jeannette also asked him to stop drinking several times, especially on her birthday as a birthday wish. Rex tried several times to stop and went into a depression while he stopped. He even locked himself in his room tied on his bed so he couldn’t move. He then again started drinking again and broke his promise to his daughter after their trip to the Grand Canyon. However, Jeannette could never imagine her life without him. “But despite all the hell raising and destruction and chaos he had created in our loves, I could not imagine what my life would be like-what the world would be like-without him in it.” ( Walls, 279). This shows how Jeannette will always have spot for her father, no matter how much he put her, her siblings and mother through. “Seeing the world that way has always helped Walls survive. In her first 10 years, her family lived in "at least 20 places" across the American West, she says. "I don't quite know what it means to live somewhere. Do you have to unpack? Does staying in a motel for a few weeks count?" Her dad would find odd jobs before getting fired or feeling the itch to move on. Her mom took teaching work but repeatedly quit when it interfered with her painting time. There were no new clothes, rarely enough to eat, no doctor visits.” (Hubbard, 76-80). Life got tougher and tougher as Jeannette got older. Rex’s drinking became worse as the
I found the movie Under the Influence to be a very realistic look into the functional dysfunction of a family that is besieged by the beast known as alcoholism. I could relate to the characters in this film growing up in a home where both parent were alcoholics. I could see my family in the characters in the film. The role of Noah Talbot (Andy Griffith) the alcoholic would have been my mother or father as they both were afflicted by this terrible disease. The film did a great job of showing how the disease of alcoholism can be passed from one generation to the next. As is the case of Noah’s son Eddie played by (Keanu Reeves) who is portrayed as a heavy drinker. But I think the one of the most powerful scenes is when Noah is laying in the hospital bed talking about his own father and how once in a drunken stupor had a bad dream and leaped from the bedroom window breaking his leg. The look of serene bliss on Griffith’s face in this scene shows how Noah didn’t view his own father as a man with a problem but as a man’s man, he goes on to say in the same scene that
I was fourteen years old when my life suddenly took a turn for the worse and I felt that everything I worked so hard for unexpectedly vanished. I had to become an adult at the tender age of fourteen. My mother divorced my biological father when I was two years old, so I never had a father. A young child growing up without a father is tough. I often was confused and wondered why I had to bring my grandfather to the father/daughter dance. There was an occurrence of immoral behavior that happened in my household. These depraved occurrences were often neglected. The first incident was at the beach, then my little sisters’ birthday party, and all the other times were overlooked.
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
Looking back at my past, I recall my mother and father’s relationship as if it were yesterday. I am only four years old, small and curious; I tended to walk around my home aimlessly. I would climb book shelves like a mountain explorer venturing through the Himalayans, draw on walls to open windows to my own imagination, or run laps around the living room rug because to me I was an Olympic track star competing for her gold medal; however my parents did not enjoy my rambunctious imagination. My parents never punished me for it but would blame each other for horrible parenting skills; at the time I did not understand their fights, but instead was curious about why they would fight.
The narrator begins the story in Frank Martin's drying-out facility. He is a drunk, and has checked into the home for the second time. At the beginning of the story, some of the physical dysfunctions associated with the disease are revealed, and they range from shakes and tremors to seizures. This part of the story is used by Carver to display the physical problems that result from withdrawal from alcohol. It is clear that these problems are significant, but overcoming them doesn't compare to the task of repairing the bonds with family members and friends that have been destroyed. In this story, the healing process is quite unique for the characters in that it involves a large group of men, all suffering from the same illness, pulling together and supporting each other through the pain- almost like a modern day leper colony. They are separated from their family and friends, and are ...
This research paper will help enable sociologists to determine what the ongoing effects have on an alcoholic and further provides information on the long-term effects that society has to deal with. The significance of alcoholism and sociology is the ability of sociologists to research and discover how human behaviour is affected on many aspects of its effects on a person. An alcoholic can be described as someone who is addicted to drinking alcoholic beverages in excess. What starts out as social drinking can lead to excessive drinking and the many problems associated with alcohol abuse and i...
Today I take this lesson and try my best to apply it in my life. I just recently broke up with my girlfriend and she hurt me deeply. My love for her is stronger than I’ve ever experienced for anybody. Even though my heart is hurting and it feels like my chest is going to cave in I know I can’t be angry at her. People’s feelings change and I can’t let that situation turn me into a person with a negative outlook on love and life. I’ll do just as Mama taught me to love and show kindness to my ex girlfriend, Kirtrina, regardless of how much she hurt me. Mama demonstrated ensuring the happiness of those we, love even when wronged is the best way to live and that is how I want to be remembered. Not having a negative thought connected to my name after I’m gone.