The Body Essay

1628 Words4 Pages

A parent’s alcohol addiction has a negative effect on themselves and their child as it results in mental, emotional, and physical abuse within the family. In The Body, Chris Chambers’ father is a raging alcoholic who does not care about anybody. Mr. Chambers will stay at home with Chris and Chris’ siblings and beats them and his wife: “Chris was marked up every two weeks or so, bruises on his cheeks and neck or one eye swelled up” (306). Mr. Chambers does not care about how young or helpless his children or Mrs. Chambers is. Chris and his siblings will be bruised anywhere on their bodies which the public sees but he does not care what people think of him or his children. For there is no respect that he gives to himself or to his children because …show more content…

In Dolores Claiborne, Joe St. George is an alcoholic and seems to always present himself intoxicated in the film. Joe’s alcoholism controls his life in such a way that any difficulty in life becomes easy by drinking: “That won 't be hard” (King). Dolores arrives home from Vera Donovan’s, where she works as a maid, with alcohol. Dolores does not want to fight with Joe on this particular evening and is able to win him over by the representation of alcohol. He also refers to whatever he finds difficult to handle in life, he can overcome it because he drinks to the point where nothing makes sense. Dolores to him is also difficult to handle because he has found her unattractive. Joe admits that him and Dolores are only married because he was attracted to Dolores when drinking. Since Joe suffers being married to Dolores, looking at other females are a way for him to enjoy. However, there is a history of sexual abuse between Joe and his daughter, Selena: “Remember how I showed you?” (King). When Joe and Selena are on the ferry, he forces her to pleasure him after getting Selena hot chocolate. The quote is significant because it presents that Joe has made Selena engage in sexual activity before this incident. Joe is isolated living in Tall Island, Maine, which causes him to not engage in any sexual activity with other women since Joe and Dolores exist in poverty. Selena is the only female around that Joe finds attracted to since Selena reminds Joe of Mrs. St. George, his

Show More
Related

  • Relating to Scott Russell Sanders' Essay Under the Influence, Paying the Price of My Father's Booze

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    I can still remember the day, June 2, 2013, my cousin took his own life due to alcohol. This is not the first time alcoholism has taken a family member from my family. I lost my uncle ten years ago to the same things, but running his truck into a tree. Like Scott Russell Sanders’ my family has suffered from the pain and disease that alcohol causes. Although Sanders’ case was much different than mine, my families is more unknown until all of a sudden one of my family members is gone. In Sanders’ essay, “Under the Influence: Paying the Price of my Father’s Booze,” he discusses how it was growing up around him, his father’s life being taken, and his life now.

    Read More

  • Alcoholism In Jeannee Walls's The Glass Castle

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just one become only two, which then leads to number three that will be the last… so they say and apparently so will the one after that, after that, and after that until they can physically drink no more. For some, this might happen on their twenty first birthday or only once, but for many people in the world this happens every month, every week, or even every day. “Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence” (“Alcohol”). The need and overdose of alcohol is called alcoholism. This addiction causes pain, anger, and loss of control all over the world. One might say, “I can handle myself. I am just fine,” but we all know they are not fine because most of the time they are causing hurt around them. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, her father, Rex Walls, is an example of one of these 17.6 million alcoholics and this disease affects the family in multiple ways.

    Read More

  • Alcoholism In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Social Issues Presented in Jeannette Wall's Memoir, The Glass Castle

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 changes the roles played by family members in relation to one another, and to the outside world as well.... ... middle of paper ... ...and agencies designed to meet the physical, intellectual, and social-emotional needs of individuals and families.”.

    Read More

  • Alcohol Usage In The Distance Between Us By Reyna Grande

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do we really know how much damage alcohol can do to a person? Alcohol becomes an addiction. Alcohol has its benefits but it also has its downsides. It’s known that alcohol has it’s benefits but if you drink “moderately”. Alcohol can destroy your life and ruin your family. People tend to abuse alcohol, people make bad choices when it comes to alcohol. Alcohol makes you act a certain way when you're intoxicated. Alcohol can cause liver damage and many other health problems. The background of this essay is that I can relate to alcohol usage. Alcohol creates emotional, physical, mental and family problem to a person that abuses alcohol usage.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle Alcohol Abuse

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine, a little boy sitting at home alone, hungry and scared because he doesn’t know where his parents are. Millions of children live this scenario every day because they have parents who abuse alcohol. Alcohol abuse is an addiction that affects everyone in the drinker’s life. Many examples of this are shown in The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls and her siblings are heavily impacted by their father’s drinking habit and are constantly forced to take care of themselves. Having a parent with a harmful history of alcohol abuse increases the risk of child maltreatment greatly, alcohol use disorder creates many problems especially when children are involved so government should step in and remove children from that environment.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In The Glass Castle

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Documentary Analysis: Kind Hearted Woman

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Kind Hearted Woman, Robin talks about being sexually abused by numerous men in her life. Most of the men that abused her were men that she called father. I believe that sexually abused individuals are at a higher risk of alcoholism because it helps these individuals “numb” their pain. In a recent article it was noted, “Childhood trauma (abuse and/or neglect) was significantly more prevalent among the men and women who were now seeking help for a drinking problem.” (Nowinski). It was also noted that the severity of the childhood trauma correlated to the severity of the adults drinking problem (Nowinski). This contributes to the idea that children who are sexually abused are more likely to consume alcohol, thus it was evident with Robin this was true. Robin was sexually abused throughout her childhood, so this suggests that the sexual abuse she endured as a child was the root of the problem. Since alcoholism is such a significant problem in the Native American culture, it is important that we also look into what is likely a contribution to alcoholism: sexual abuse.

    Read More

  • Adult Children of Alcoholics

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    For Adult Children of Alcoholics, surviving their families becomes the point of existence. The fortunate may be able to draw support from a supportive adult, and may emerge with fewer difficulties than their brothers and sisters. The majority, however, have to “make do.” Some spend lonely hours in their rooms wishing only to vanish behind the woodwork. Others attempt to rescue the foundering vi...

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: The Perfect Body Image

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Perfect Body In today's society, women are obsessed with having a specific body type to make others find them attractive. They want to feed the society’s body type expectations. What is a perfect body? Does it even exist? However, advertising, boyfriends, and family members often make women feel that skinny bodies are perfect bodies.

    Read More

  • Sociological Perspectives on Alcohol Use, Problems, and Policy

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Body Image Essay

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before understanding the effects of body image on contemporary women, one must first comprehend the term that is body image. According to Psychology Today’s definition, “body image is the mental representation one has for themselves. It is the way one sees their physical body. However, this mental representation may or may not always be accurate.

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Alcohol and Alcoholism

    3315 Words  | 7 Pages

    “For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Drinking Alcohol

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    ..., common are divorces and, sometimes, loss of parental rights. Most victimized here are children, who do not, yet, have much understanding of similar situations, and that, effects in impaired ability to trust people and feel safe, later on in their life. What else, next to the family situation, collapses in a long-term alcohol abuser’s life? Alcoholics are antisocial; they do not want to let anyone thru a wall they built around themselves. With time, they lose friends. Important matter is that alcohol dependents lack feelings of responsibility, so they become less effective at work. Their credibility drops and they are no longer valued workers – they lose their jobs.

    Read More

  • Essay On Body Image

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Body Image is one of the most crucial topics America has developed over the years. It is based off of the way an individual sees themselves or think people see the way their body looks and this might not completely be equevalent . In the United States, it is not uncommon for a person to feel like they need to fit in with society and the way people are portrayed. Without very little realization, the effects of being obsessed with a certain look can be drastic to ourselves, it becomes like a disease which eventually can lead to potential drastic measures. Body Image is sometimes influenced by the people that surround us. Since we are around them most of the time, they have a huge importance, for instance, if you have a friend who is

    Read More

More about The Body Essay

Open Document