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Themes about Alcoholism
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Many families have problems within that can sometimes ruin the relationship between themselves, In the short story A Domestic Dilemma by Carson McCullers, a family of four goes through a problem that if not for Martin, the problem probably wouldn't of been resolved. The problem was alcoholism, Martins wife Emily drank to much therefore jeopardizing her children's and her own safety, her relationship with her husband Martin, and according to Martin, their reputation. Most people don't just resort to alcoholism for nothing, Emily must have had a reason to start drinking the way she was.
From the beginning of the story clues are given that Martin didn't want to go home and deal with things: "It used to be that at this point the would relax and begin to think with pleasure of his home. In this last year nearness brought only a senses of tension and he did not anticipate the journey's end."(72) Martin would get home from work and see the two children; Marianne and Andy unattended and doing things they shouldn't be doing like taking out Christmas ordainments. They would not be fed or fed right, Emily once mistook a tin of cayenne for cinnamon therefore ruining the meal. Then he would approach Emily, he could always tell when she had been drinking even if she tried to keep it from him. It elevated the most when Emily in the past had dropped Marianne, she hit her head on the corner of the table, from there she tried to stop drinking but slowly she
started up again. Then another time she made a scene in front of the children when she
came downstairs when Martin got back from work and told Andy not to believe anything that Martin said about her even though he hadn't said anything, she scared her own kids forcing them to run to their father. Martin had to send the kids upstairs. That disappointed her enough to break down feeling ashamed of herself. Martin then put her to bed, then attended to the kids.
Martin also felt that this problem of theirs could effect them in the outside world. "Martin anticipated his own embarrassment, wondering if the others at the office could possibly suspect."(78) Martin was afraid that others knew about what was going on and that it could effect his children's lives too. "His wife was a dissolute woman.
Vaca debated with himself if he should return it or keep the gun as a trophy for the showdown that him and his friends won, against Martin. Vaca decided in the end that he shoudl return the cap gun to Martin. As Vaca searched for where Martin lived in the neighborhood he very became anxious, for he knew it was dinner time and he was about to be confronted of the food that had made Martin so plump. Vaca found the trailer and knocked anyways, despite his apprehension. When he entered the trailer, the sight shocked him. Vaca described the experince thorugh symbolism to adaquetly explain what he saw. Vaca used symbolism in the line, "on a weather-worn table, with peeling red paint, dinner was set." Vaca uses this line to show that not only did the boys assume Martin lived a lavish life, but it was quite the opposite. To continue with his encounter of Martin's home, he also described what was happening in the house. Which was made up of Martin and his mother sitting alone in the living room crying together. Vaca ends the passage with saying, "there lay the food that had made Martin so enviable in our eyes — a small stack of corn tortillas and a glass of water." Through knowing that Martin was only eating corn tortillas Vaca now understood was he was fat, for it was all carbohydrates, and didn't provide any other nutrient, which lead to poor nutrient absorbtion and digestonal problems. Once Vaca realized this is how Martin is living he no longer disliked him, but felt remorseful towards him, since he has it worse off then everyone else in the neighborhood, but they all judged him and proceded to exclude
As well as how Martin suffers from his own dilemma and fears that his wife might cause to his social life and children due to her life consuming addiction.
He stems from a relatively stable family but unfortunately struggles with many external factors that could explain his deviant behaviour. He is a reasonably good child with no past criminal history or contact with the police before this incident. However, He does have his moments of rebellious behaviour towards his father and his family. His father described him as being a rebellious youth at home when compared to his brother and sister, he often failed to obeyed house rules and acted in a manner which was both unacceptable and disrespectful. To further add to his bad behaviour he was heavily influenced by his peers. His father also stated that he was far more focused on his friends around his neighbourhood as opposed to his studies. In summary, Martin was severely affected by his external factors such as his family disagreement, peers, and community influence had a considerable impact in shaping his current attitude towards law an
throughout her childhood with an alcoholic father and a selfish mother who cared more about her art and happiness than that of her children’s. Alcohol misuse can affect all aspects of family functioning: social life, finances, good communication, relationships between family members, parenting capability, employment and health issues , It also has a strong correlation with conflicts, disputes and domestic violence which can leave a damaging effect on children. Alcohol misuse often times change the roles played by family member...
The two, both dealing with the loss of someone tremendously important and close to them, would be better off supporting each other, but instead they break away from their bond and deal with the pain alone. Since “[Henry] and Marty hadn’t talked much since the funeral,” (Ford 9), “it made the hole in Henry’s life that much larger,” (Ford 9). Not too many years after Ethel’s death, and after awkward and unfamiliar encounters between father and son, Marty introduces his father to Samantha, Marty’s fiancée. Henry is overjoyed that Marty wants to show him a part of his life, and the three start to uncover Henry’s past, bringing them all closer. Finally restoring their bond, Marty and Henry find that it’s easier to cope with their loss of Ethel than to ignore the grief like they had
Ruth Fowler is Matt’s wife of many years and the mother of their three children: Steve, Cathleen and the now murdered Frank. Ruth cannot come to terms with Frank’s death and is haunted at all times of the day, whether at home or out in the town running errands, “She was at Sunnyhurst today getting cigarettes and aspirin, and there he was. She can’t even go out for cigarettes and aspirin. It’s killing her” (108). This quote is a symbolism of her mental state. The anguish of just seeing her son’s killer on the streets with freedom is more than Ruth can mentally comprehend. Ruth continually applies emotional pressure to her husband with comments and allusions to why the killer is still able to roam freely while their son cannot, “And at nights in bed she would hold Matt and cry, or sometimes she was silent and Matt would touch her tightening arm, her clinched fist” (112).
According to smith and Hamon (2012), Families are considered as a whole in society. However, they believed that couples have many components in which makes up the family, if one component is missing, the family as a whole can get unbalance (Smith & Hamon, 2012). In the Brice’s family, communication was the component that was missing. The couple was not able to communicate their differences, which was what caused Carolyn and David to verbally insult each other. Smith and Hamon (2012), also explain that a person who expresses his or her feeling is considered as someone who is breaking the functions of their family system; especially if the person is focusing on the individual who is causing the problem, rather than the problem itself. In the Brice family, Carolyn could be considered the one that cause the dysfunction in the family structure because she was focusing on David as the problem of their marriage, rather than focusing of the elements that are causing their problems. Smith and Hamon (2012) explain that individuals should focus on how to solve a problem, rather than trying to find who is causing the
had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go'. I don't see that
every corner. A couple of years later, her life hit rock bottom, she was getting into several different drugs and leading a very promiscuous lifestyle.
The bringing together of Sophie and Martine does not improve the lives of either one of them. Their discomfort with each other is foreshadowed by the nightmares Sophie has of her mother before going to live with her in New York. In the nightmares Martine has "arms like two long hooks" (Danticat, p. 28, ch. 4) and is chasing her, trying to catch her. Sophie's nightmares of her mother resemble her mother's nightmares of her father. Despite their differences, they are bound together by the sa...
Martineau clearly had a strong political agenda in writing this story, however in doing so, she addresses the fundamental difference she sees in the roles of responsibility in marriage. In her mind, the husband and the wife have clearly defined roles, not so much along lines of production, but rather in terms of the household. That which is in the household, whether it is the domestic duties or financial responsibility, falls to the wife while it is the husband who is responsible for the income stream.
As the result of being raised in a home where one or both parents were addicted, children of alcoholics generally have certain common characteristics that continue to affect them as adults. Members of a dysfunctional family tend to build up defenses to deal with the problems of the addicted family member. Common problems include lack of communication, mistrust, and low self-esteem. Adult children of alcoholics often become isolated, are afraid of authority figures, have difficulty distinguishing between normal and abnormal behavior, and judge themselves harshly. This often leads to enduring feelings of guilt and problems with intimate relationships. In many cases, adult children of alcoholics develop an over-developed sense of responsibility, and respond poorly to criticism. They may feel different from other people, fear failure but tend to sabotage success, and fall in love with people they can pity and rescue. Fortunately, there are a number of support groups designed to help adult children of alcoholics identify their problems, and start resolving them.
When it comes to the meaning of life for Martin analyzes The Problem of the Meaning of Life vs. The Problems of Life. He distinguishes that there are three different barriers that challenge the meaning of life, which are death, bad times, and philosophical doubts. The problem of the meaning of life is just the life long question of whether or not our lives have any meaning to them. It brings up other speculations such as what is out there beyond my understanding or if there is even a higher power that wants me to serve a certain purpose. Since we are still searching for the answer to The Problem of the Meaning of Life we then try and solve The Problem of Life. The Problem of Life consist of questions about whether or not we are living our life in a way we believe is worth living. Both important questions but Martin is unfortunately stuck since he will never know the answer to The Problem to the Meaning of Life. In Martin’s pursuit to find the answer to The Problem of Life he begins by saying that if one is able to live one’s life so that it is worth living, as possible one will have meaning in one’s life. Martin believed that we could determine meaning in one’s life simply if one is doing something one
Alcoholism is a continuing stressor, not only for the alcoholic but also for the family members. Drinking and intoxication can also adversely affect intimate and family relations, and friendships. The researchers are of the opinion that alcoholics are not “weak” or “immoral”. They have the real disease or difficulty caused by the combination of factors including environmental influence, difficulties in emotion regulation, biological make up, stress, depression, and anxiety (Marks, 2014). When looking at alcoholism from a family systems perspective, it is considered an important aspect of family life that must be addressed in order for the family to survive the effects of alcoholism. The hope is that if one member of the
An extremely common theme from my interviews was the tension felt from family and peers. From very early on children are taught what is expected from them as either a male or female. Now at first, this might seem like a simple concept of just how someone raises their children, but there is more to it than that. Britney, during my interview with her, said how she felt that “gender expectations are just stereotypes.” This is a great example of gender stereotyping through socialization. Tension is caused by my interviewees’ differing views from the people they have tension with whether it is family or friends. The older of my two interviewees, Ahmed and Bernadean, had a stronger sense of tension between them and family members. Sexism,