The Damaging Effects of Alcoholism Alcoholism is a very harmful type of trauma, and can be extremely damaging for a person who is prone to it, most likely causing mental damage such as anxiety and depression. The novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian illustrates the topic of trauma and how events regarding alcoholism affect the characters, their actions and relationships. The novel is told from the perspective of an Indian boy named Junior, and the most impactful source of his trauma being alcohol, and how he’s consistently exposed to it in his environment, as followed by the death of his sister, grandmother and his relationship with his father. One of the traumatic events Junior goes through is the death of his grandmother, someone whom he loved most and admired greatly. “But my grandmother never drunk …show more content…
“He took what little money we had and ran away to get drunk. He left on Christmas Eve and came back on January 2. With an epic hangover, he just lay on his bed for hours.” (Alexie 120 pdf) "It's okay," I said. But it wasn't okay with that. It was about as far from okay as you can get. If okay was the earth, then I was standing on Jupiter. I don't know why I said it was okay. For some reason, I was protecting the feelings of the man who had broken my heart yet again.” (Alexie 120 pdf) Junior hides the feelings of disappointment with his father and his alcoholic habits, after he favored booze over spending time with his family. He then discovers his father had gifted him five dollars instead of being drunk for another day and was grateful for it, which seems like a heartwarming moment at first, but is overall beneath the bare minimum to show Junior is sorry as opposed to a heart-to-heart talk about despite his addiction, he still loves him. The strain alcohol has on Junior and his father’s relationship has a big impact on Junior’s
This is illustrated when the author says, “...when he turned to me, his eyes had a wounded look, like a dog who’s been kicked.” Also when Jeanette says, “It’s just that I think Mom would be a lot happier. Plus, we’d have the extra money.” It forces Rex to face the fact that he hasn’t supported and provided for his family and his children well enough, like he thinks a father should. He also is forced to face that he has done things that make his daughter feel uncomfortable and sad and frightened in their own house, which topples his good spirits. You can also tell Jeannette is extremely hesitant to go through with the request, the way she refuses to make eye contact with her father as she builds up the courage to ask him to stop drinking suggests that she knows the powers her words
Alcoholism is a severe disease that has the potential to negatively impact not only the individual combating addiction, but also the family members involved with the addict (Park & Schepp, 2014). The documentary series A&E Intervention follows the daily lives of individuals combating addictions such as alcoholism and substance abuse. Throughout Gloria’s A&E episode, before her intervention there was rarely a moment that did not consist of her having an alcoholic beverage within arm’s reach. Gloria was in denial about her alcohol abuse, and seemed to be unattached to traumatic events that occurred in her life, including the death of her father, her stillborn childbirth, and both of her daughter’s complex relationships with her. This paper seeks
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.
Underage drinking is a critical issue which can lead to severe consequences. These consequences have the potential to haunt someone throughout his or her life and lead to an unfortunate outcome for everyone involved. It is not uncommon that those in stressful circumstances turn to drinking as a therapeutic solution to their problems. Although many may think alcohol is a remedy to the everyday stressors of life, the results of actions taken while under the influence can be detrimental. In Brenda’s life, these everyday stressors include the relationship with her mother and the movement of her family to Westport, New York. In Vivian Vande Velde’s “Drop by Drop,” the adversity within Brenda’s family dynamic contributes
It is a fact of life that Alcoholism will distort the victim’s view of reality. With authors, they put parts of their personality and symptoms of their condition into their characters sometimes, flawed distortions included, with varying degrees
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.
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
Historical trauma is described to be an experience or event that have caused a generation or individual harm.
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...
Heroes. Everyone wants to be a hero, but sometimes, people lose sight of what a true hero really is. It does not have to be someone who flies around and saves innocent people from perilous monsters. A hero is simply someone that inspires others. In Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior was a hero because he rose above the expectations the world placed on him through his courage, passionate determination, and sympathetic perception.
“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.
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
Junior says he has been to many funerals and is at a young age. “Jeez, I’ve been to so many funerals in my short life. I’m fourteen years old and I’ve been to forty-two funerals. That’s really the biggest difference between Indians and white people” (Alexie 199). Throughout the years Junior has been to many funerals which impact Junior in an emotional way.
Ghosh, R. P. (2012, February 11). Native Americans: The Tragedy of Alcoholism. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/native-americans-tragedy-alcoholism-214046
Latham, P.K., & Napier, T.L. (1992). Psychosocial consequences of alcohol misuse in the family of origin. The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, 1137-1158.