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Effect of abuse on child development
Culture impact on behavior
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In the story “Every Little Hurricane” the author Sherman Alexie introduces the main character of a 9 year- old boy named Victor. Alexie inaugurates a cultural environment of Native Americans whom play role during 1976. The setting in the story takes place in a Spokane Indian Reservation village where Victor’s parents are hosting a New Year’s Eve family reunion. Throughout the story the author evaluates stories of Victor’s life in a metaphoric view contrasting the hurricane to express lived moments of his childhood. The author uses many forms of figurative language to abstract the readers in a critical thinking position. Towards the end the reader finds out there is no kind of hurricane in the story but metaphorically used to analyze the effects …show more content…
Victor recalls the fight by remembering the struggles he went through with his family. By remembering the past, the author gives the reader a sense of sympathy of Victor’s life experiences. Coming from a household that went through violence is very affecting in many ways where the individual’s physical acts or thinking mindset can change who they first where. Violence is a memory to Victor when he recalls Adolph and Arnold, his uncles, fight. He describes the memory by going outside the window “He could see his uncles slugging each other with such force that had to be in love. Strangers would never want to hurt each other that badly (Alexie 2)”. I personally believe the narrator is expressing Victor’s deepest thoughts how family should not be getting into physical fights but instead showing care for each other because no stranger will get into such pain if hate is not involved or common sense towards …show more content…
During his childhood his father was an alcoholic which he had to experience has a child. In the other spectrum his mother was a hard working lady who work at a trading post to support the family. In the story Alcoholism is a big theme where the author represents his personal experience with Victor’s. The main character in the story was effected with pain where his childhood was fulfilled with abuse from the alcohol. The narrator flashbacks Victors nightmares when he “dreamed of whiskey, vodka, tequila, those fluids swallowing him just as easily as he swallowed them (Alexie 7)” the author paraphrases more metaphoric meaning towards expressing his thoughts of the alcohol abuse. For the Reservation it seemed alcohol was the normality into fixing any problem. In another scene when the fight seemingly looked over Victor smelled the whiskey and blood from his uncle which made his body hurt when it reminded him the day he went sledding. Victor having to witness the actions of alcoholism it was very affecting to him to see how drinking was the way people solved or got away from problem. Alcohol should not control someone’s behavior because in the end that person’s actions will affect the way the young abstracts life values. The authors purpose in the story is to convey a message in which alcohol is not the solution when you are facing problems.
In most stories symbols represents a significance meaning
In his piece “The Storm” Elijah Paschelke reflects upon his 7 months in solitary confinement. He states that he “will never see the world the way I did before,” and then continues “I will never not see it the way I did before.” This statement suggests that he used to not notice the world around him, hence “not seeing”. He vows that he will never live the way that he did before because his time in prison has made him more appreciative of the smaller things in life.
One piece of literary work that has changed my life is a book called Every Storm, by Lori Wick. It has changed the way that I look at my family and how much I depend on them for support. This book is set right after World War II and two sisters, Josie and Lorri, are set to head back to the United States (US) from Australia to visit family. On the way back to the US, there is a huge thunderstorm that results in Josie and Lorri’s plane crashing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, Josie and the pilot did not make it, forcing Lorri to survive on a random island alone to fend for herself. Lorri is finally able to reach her home and she is faced with all sorts of challenges physically, mentally, and emotionally. This book has always
In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix Arizona”, Victor has become psychologically troubled because he has put his own traditions behind. Throughout the story, the readers find out that Victor has an internal conflict due to the unhealthy relationships in his life. His father abandons him at a very young age, which causes Victor’s loss of guidance and self-identity. The day that Victor’s father abandons his family, Victor gets “really drunk and beat[s] Thomas up for no apparent reason at all”(276). If no one would have stopped Victor, Thomas-build-the-fire would have died which clearly shows the readers that Victor is mentally troubled. Not only does he lose his father but, Victor also loses his best friend on that same day. In other words, Victor is mentally traumatized after the abandonment. In fact, Rothe Eugenio, a professor in the department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at Florida Inter...
Sometimes, an alcoholic can be abusive. In Arnold Josephs case, it is nonetheless. When Arnold realizes that he accidentally starts a fire that kills Thomas’s parents, alcoholism seems as the only thing in which he can turn to and try to resolve his problems. After a few years, Arnold’s alcoholism takes a toll on the household. Victor’s attitude toward alcohol is greatly affected as he sees what it did to his father. Arnold eventually left the reservation due to him not being able to manage his emotions. Even though it may seem that Arnold was being selfish, in reality, it was quite the opposite. Arnold saves the two by not submitting them to a life of fear by leaving town. In the end, alcohol rescues Victor from living in fear.
The doctor at the Veterans Affairs hospital says that “’Reports note that since the Second World War a pattern of drinking and violence, not previously seen before, is emerging among Indian veterans.’” (Silko 49). This is evident in the way that Tayo’s friend are always at the bar self-medicating, because “Liquor was medicine for the anger that made them hurt, for the pain of the loss, medicine for tight bellies and choked-up throats” (Silko 37). This behavior from his friends put this pressure on Tayo to drink, but when he does it only makes him sicker. While it temporarily relives the pain it only hurts him more. The social pressure is not the only thing hindering Tayo’s forward
Drugs is one of the themes in this story that shows the impact of both the user and their loved ones. There is no doubt that heroin destroys lives and families, but it offers a momentary escape from the characters ' oppressive environment and serves as a coping mechanism to help deal with the human suffering that is all around him. Suffering is seen as a contributing factor of his drug addiction and the suffering is linked to the narrator’s daughter loss of Grace. The story opens with the narrator feeling ice in his veins when he read about Sonny’s arrest for possession of heroin. The two brothers are able to patch things up and knowing that his younger brother has an addiction. He still buys him an alcoholic drink at the end of the story because, he has accepted his brother for who he really is.
Through symbolism the author shows us how Neddy goes from social drinking to destitution. Each stop at a neighbor’s pool gets progressively harder, but he keeps on. Neddy ignores these signs and becomes beaten and finally alone. This truly is a sad journey of a man who destroys himself through alcohol. As the story ends, Neddy realizes that he is alone. Will he change? Get help for his alcoholism? The author leaves us hanging, but at this point we know he is alone, everyone has abandoned him. Neddy has followed the stereotypical footsteps of an alcoholic.
“The White Umbrella” by Gish Jen is a very reflective realistic fiction story of a chinese american girl’s youth. When the girl was young, her mother went to work without telling anyone. Her mom didn't even tell her father. The narrator and her sister just assumed normal life when their mother started coming home late. The story picks up one day when the two sisters are at their piano lesson. The older sister becomes envious when her piano teacher (Mrs.Crossman) applauds Eugenie (the girl whose lesson was before hers) on her playing. When the Eugenie leaves, the narrator notices that Eugenie has left her umbrella. Before she can react, Eugenie gets in her car and drives away. When the
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.
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)
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
In “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Alexie creates a story that captures the common stereotypes of Native Americans. For instance, in the story the narrator states, “Who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarette and fireworks salespeople?” (Alexie). This quotation shows that the narrator addresses the idea that all Native Americans must own businesses that sell fireworks and/ or cigarettes in order to be successful. In this example, Victor is shown to not identify with the Native Americans because he does not pursue the same job opportunities as many Native Americans do. Victor's character is used as a contrast to the stereotypes that , there he represents reality. Another instance in which the author incorporates a stereotype about Native Americans is when Thomas-Builds-the-Fire first makes conversation with Victor. Thomas-Builds-the-Fire informs Victor about the news of Victor's ...
In life, everyone experiences a time of hardship, and for the most part, those affected find methods of overcoming the adversity. The idea of getting through hardship is best reflected in; Sherman J. Alexie’s story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (274). In the story, victor whose father had recently died from a heart attack has to travel to phoenix Arizona to reclaim his father’s ashes and his truck. Victor is joined by his former childhood friend “Thomas Builds-the-fire”, who finances the trip to phoenix since Victor did not have the means. They drove back truck from phoenix to the reservation. Throughout the trip, Thomas is always telling stories mostly reminiscing about their childhood. It is through Thomas stories that we learn much about Victor’s father. Through the use of symbolism, and character development, Alexie conveys the idea that, when someone is experiencing an adversity, reconnecting and embracing the past may lead to a discovery of a brighter future.
Baym, Nina, Arnold Krupat, Robert S. Levine, and Jeanne Campbell Reesman. "The Storm." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York, NY: Norton, 2012. 557-61. Print.