As a result of the psychologically devastating effects of his unfortunate past, Abel enters on the dangerous path of alcoholism. Alcohol and Native Americans represent a major and perpetual theme of House Made of Dawn, illustrating the emotional deviance of Abel. This theme is indeed introduced very early in the book. Abel appears indeed too drunk to stand on his legs, his grandfather comes to pick him up at the bus station at his return from the war. Abel’s drunkenness is of importance because he cannot recognize his grandfather. According to Seklem, alcohol “separates him from the grandfather who had raised him, and who is closely associated with Indian rituals” (22). Francisco appears indeed very affected by his grandson’s attitude because …show more content…
At first, alcohol seems to link Abel to his friend, Ben, since as many Native Americans living in L.A., they are used to gather after work and heavily spend their new paycheck in bars. Alcohol indeed helps them to stay happy and forget their Native American culture that lives inside of them. However, alcohol ends up also separating Abel from his friends. After his hurtful altercation with Tosamah, he indeed inexorably falls into the abyss of alcoholism, until Ben and Milly do not recognize him and estrange him fearing his unpredictable and uncontrolled actions. Finally, this is also alcohol that pushes Abel to unreasonably attempts to get revenge on Martinez. Alcohol represents a barometer of Abel’s psychological state: the more Abel is confronted to painful psychological experiences and the more he loses and drowns his dark contemplations into alcohol. Thus, most of Abel’s troubles like his failure to adapt to life in the reservation or in Los Angeles are closely linked to his alcohol …show more content…
First, Momaday describes the albino as a very hideous and horrifying character through Angela’s eyes. “The face was huge and mottled white and pink, and the thick open lips were blue and violet” (39). His hands appeared “bloodless” with “long blue nails”. The apogee of this horrendous description comes when, as part of the traditional game, the albino choses Abel to be the victim, and beats Abel’s body with the rooster until the dismemberment of the bird in a blood bath. In addition to Abel’s humiliation, Abel perceives the albino as an diabolic “snake” (132). So, after being drinking together in a bar with the albino, Abel stabs the albino and kills him, which leads him to be jailed for seven long years and leaves the reservation. Secundly, Tosamah, represents the second “evil” in the eyes of Abel. Momaday portrays Tosamah as “shaggy and awful-looking in the thin, naked light: big lithe as a cat, narrow-eyed, suggesting in the whole of his book and manner both arrogance and agony” (80). According to Alan R. Velie, Tosamah “is ashamed that Abel, a member of the same ethnic group, has made a spectacle of himself. Abel has embarrassed the hell out of Tosamah by fulfilling the white stereotype of the Indian—primitive, violent, superstitious” (59). So, Tosamah never shows any compassion or understanding of Abel,
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.
If Brown truly conceives of himself as fallen, why would he snatch the child from one fiend to yield yet another, namely himself? Brown must believe himself untainted, or at least less tainted than various members of his community. (115)
With alcohol, dream-like states and moments of bliss are achieved. Although there is concrete evidence lacking, it is common to believe that seventeenth century Iroquois used alcohol as a shortcut to visions and dreams. [note—disorderly] Through intoxication, Iroquois would achieve an out of body experience. Unlike the Jesuits, who spent much time observing and interacting with the Iroquois, the Iroquois did not regard the temporary loss of conscience as an act of impiety. By getting outside the normal human physical order they would get inside the spiritual order and ultimately more in touch w...
Arnold Spirit is fourteen years old, and he has already attended forty-two funerals. “And you know what the worst part is? The unhappy part? About 90 percent of the deaths have been because of alcohol.” In the acclaimed novel and award winning audiobook The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, author Sherman Alexie tells the realistic, yet fictional, account of Arnold Spirit, better known as “Junior” on the Spokane Indian reservation where he lives. Junior’s family even expected him to “croak” at six months old when doctors cut open his skull to remove the water in his brain. But, he lives. ...
“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.
In the play, Ruined, Lynn Nottage the playwright shows how alcohol is important to the people of the Congo and how alcohol changes oneself. The play is based in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo in a bar/brothel that is owned by Mama Nadie. People come in the bar for sexual service and for a drink. The people of this area come to the bar to let go of their regrets because of the war or there hard work. One important man comes to the bar and changes from alcohol. His name is Christian a salesman to Mama and an uncle to one of Mama's workers. Throughout Ruined Christian a once respecful sober man changes because of his new desire for alcohol instead of Fanta.
...rator describes Brown as “a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man…” (2215). He can no longer look upon his community with the same hopefulness he once had. He becomes cynical of his surroundings and lives his life accordingly. His discovery of evil results in his loss of grips with humanity. He comes to believe there is evil in all people and is unable to accept it. He grows old with contempt for his former idols, and never again is he able to conceive of the idea that life is pure, grand, and good. At his funeral, his family has nothing encouraging to put on his grave, and neighbors do not even bother to attend. Thus, he is depicted, even in death, as an individual unable to find happiness in his own family and friends.
He uses the values and expectations to try to define himself. All that comes from that was him having to fake it to make it, still not finding out who his is as a person. Later on in the story when the narrator chooses to join the Brotherhood, he doing this is because he thinks that he can fight his way to racial equality by doing this. Once he enters in to this he figures out that they just want to use him because he was black. While at the place where this battle royal was going to take place is where some of the most important men in town are "quite tipsy", belligerent and out of control. When he gets in the ballroom there is a naked girl dancing on the table at the front of the room. He wants her and at the same time wants her to go away, "to caress her and destroy her" is what is states in the story. The black boys who were to take part in the battle were humiliated, some passed out, others pleaded to go home. But the white men paid no attention. The white men end up attacking the girl, who is described as having the same terror and fear in her eyes as the black boys. Over all, the narrator comes to conclusion that the racial prejudice of others influences them to only see him as they want to see him, and this affects his ability to act because
Growing up on an Indian Reservation is a tough thing to do. Everyone is poor, and almost every adult is always drunk and unhappy. Junior’s own father suffers from alcoholism. His father will sometimes forget about Junior and never shows up to give him a ride home. Junior is then forced to walk or hitchhike all the way back to the Reservation. His father also constantly spends all of their money on alcohol, even during the holidays, “...Dad did what he always does when we don’t have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk” (Alexie 150). Junior’s unfortunate understanding of alcoholism makes him see the world as an unfair place. He knows that he never wants to be like his father when he grows up. Alcohol also causes a lot of deaths in Junior’s life. His sister died in a terrible fire because she was too drunk to escape her burning RV. Junior is let out of school early because of his sister’s death. He has to wait for his father to come get him, and he laughs and he cannot stop laughing at the thought of his dad also dying on his way to pick Junior up, “...it’s not too comforting to learn that your sister was TOO FREAKING DRUNK to feel any pain when she BURNED TO DEATH! And for some reason, that thought made me laugh even harder, (Alexie 205). When he finally finds out about how his sister dies, he cannot help but laugh even more. Every Indian dies because of alcohol, and Junior finds it funny
Within the memoir, The Glass Castle, the self destructing addiction of alcohol becomes an apparent theme throughout the literature. Alcoholism is a disease that can cause destruction to families and even ruin lives. This is a common occurrence that effect’s many Americans today. Alcoholism is one of the most common problems in families, it doesn’t always interfere with just the person drinking the alcohol. It also affects the people around the influenced person. Rex’s struggle with alcohol is logged through his daughter Jeannettes struggles as she is finding the balance between respecting daughter and a strong individual. It is through her accounts that the reader is able to see the truly damaging effects of this disease.
firstly, we can say that he had a good childhood. he loved his pets. but slowly as he grew old, may be because of some unfortunate events of failures, he started getting a feeling of emptiness in him and so he turned towards alcohol to fill this emptiness or to forget about all the bad things. the narrator also calls it a devil's act(feind intemperance). it was this alcohol that made him abuse his pets and slowly his wife.but when his own cat, who use to once love him, ignored him and scratched him in self defence he lost his mind. "The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame". by saying this he is discribing how he wasnt thinking properly. he had lost his rational thinking.he's lost himself(soul take its flight from his body)and no longer is in control of himself. and the alcohol that was running through him body was taking control of his body. this imagery explains perfectly what was going throught his mind at that moment. the readers can actually feel the insanity going on his mind. this is not something that a third person would have been able to discribe or experience and thus even the readers wouldnt have been able to understand his insane state of mind. so the 1st person narration plays an important role in explaning this plot of the story.
Warner, Nicholas O. "Equivocal Spirits: Alcoholism and Drinking in Twentieth-Century Literature (review)." Muse.jhu.edu. Purdue Research Foundation, Dec.-Jan. 1987. Web. 22 May 2014.
Once Brown enters the forest he meets the devil, who resembles his father. The representation of his father as the devil symbolizes that even Browns own blood is evil, and that everyone has some evil inside themselves. It shoes how far back evil goes, and that...
There are many times where the narrator describes his actions towards his loved ones while under the influence of alcohol. Since the narrator is trying to draw the attention to his consumption of alcohol, he tries to make sure that his actions trace back to it. In the short story, the narrator says "But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like Alcohol !..."(Poe 23) which shows his addiction for alcohol becoming stronger. The narrator's madness seems to be heightened by the alcohol. He begins to chan...
The presentation of childhood is a theme that runs through two generations with the novel beginning to reveal the childhood of Catherine and Hindley Earnshaw, and with the arrival of the young Liverpudlian orphan, Heathcliff. In chapter four, Brontë presents Heathcliff’s bulling and abuse at the hands of Hindley as he grows increasingly jealous of Heathcliff for Mr. Earnshaw, his father, has favoured Heathcliff over his own son, “my arm, which is black to the shoulder” the pejorative modifier ‘black’ portrays dark and gothic associations but also shows the extent of the abuse that Heathcliff as a child suffered from his adopted brother. It is this abuse in childhood that shapes Heathcliff’s attitudes towards Hindley and his sadistic nature, as seen in chapter 17, “in rousing his rage a pitch above his malignity” there is hyperbole and melodrama as the cruelty that stemmed from his abuse in childhood has been passed onto Isabella in adulthood.