Analysis Of The Book ' Cuts By Raymond Carver

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, “addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.” Throughout the novel Beautiful Boy, David Sheff devotes a considerable amount of time and energy attempting to understanding and mend his son’s fragmenting existence. Sheff’s son, Nic, suffers from a substance addiction that is far too common in contemporary society. The addiction is not only destroying Nic’s mental faculties, it is degrading David’s livelihood through his inability to save his son. When drugs degrade Nic; distress degrades David, when Nic aimlessly wonders the streets; David aimlessly searches, as Nic struggles with drug relapse; David struggles with relapse into emotional degradation, Is not David’s devotion to his son’s safety an addiction?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver. Named “One of the true contemporary masters,” by Robert Towers of The New York Times Review of Books, Carver creates fiction that opens the reader’s eyes to a seldom spoken of, but all too real, part of American life. Alcoholism, and its ability to destroy families and escalate domestic disputes into violence, was a common theme throughout Carver’s short stories. Though there are many equally powerful themes in all of the stories, alcoholism is the driving force behind most of the misfortune in “Gazebo” and “A Serious Talk.”

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, alcohol, opium, tobacco, hypnotics, just to name a few. Addiction is a chronic disease that affects the chemicals in the brain. It dysfunctions the circuits in the brain that deal with memory, reward, sex, motivation, behavior, relationships and emotions all mostly resulting in substance use or other behaviors to fulfill those circuit rewards. This world is in a current addiction epidemic on drugs. Let’s try to understand addiction to make it a little clearer.

Addiction, it is all around us, affecting people from all walks of life, it is not limited to certain social classes or lifestyles. It is found in every ethnic group, regardless of gender or age. It affects our neighbors, our friends, and our family either directly or indirectly. Although substances such as alcohol and illegal drugs are two of the most common addictions we hear about, there is a wide range of substances and even activities such as gambling and shopping. There is some debate whether addiction is a brain disease or a choice.

The word addiction has a strong, negative connotation and defined as the states of being enslaved to a habit or action. In the novel, The Glass Castle, Rex is addicted to alcohol. He is dependent on alcohol, constantly craving it and spend money on it despite the family’s financial situation.The text describes him, on many occasions, making his way down to the Green Lantern, the bar, with a drink already in his hand. Rex also takes money from the family to buy booze instead allowing the children to spend it on food to eat. For example, he would always demand for a part of Rosemary’s paycheck, refusing to take “no” as an answer. Additionally, Maureen is addicted to alcohol as well as smoking. Just like Rex, her actions suggest that she abuses

The meaning of a word portrays what it encompasses and if the phrase itself is misunderstood then defining what it’s trying to explain can be a studious task. Addiction has been defined by many and holds different meanings based on the context it’s used in. Addiction can be defined as a condition in which a person undertakes the use of substance, or engages in activities, which in turn brings pleasure, and tends to divert oneself from their day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Addiction is mostly related to drug use but it is also used to describe non-drug entities, such as gambling, and Internet addictions (Avena et al, 2008). Researchers (Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., 2010) have been keen on identifying the factors that lead to

Addiction- a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. The difference between addiction and abuse is often times unclear. It’s a difficult call to make as a family member or a close friend that is dealing with a person like this in their life, but ultimately it is a call that only the addict can make for themselves. There are tons of different sources and tests and questions out there that can be done that can

According to the text addiction is the “physiological and psychological dependence on a behavior or substance. Behavioral addictions (sex, gambling, spending, obsessive Internet use) and consumptive addictions (alcohol, drugs, food) often have similar etiologies, prognoses, and treatment procedures” (Wormer & Davis, 2018 p. 9). Nick Hasley in the movie was an alcoholic that displayed issues in the workplace and personal life. Nick lost his job due to working while intoxicated, damaging company property, and failing to meet mandated treatment. Nick provided 16 years of service to the company and was terminated due to his alcoholism.

Addiction is everywhere, from celebrity tabloids, to television, and possibly to a family member or close friend. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling addiction; the effects of such are devastating. For example, the following excerpt is from the harrowing Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant:

Addiction is something that occurs when you become dependent on a substance or activity. When people are overwhelmed, things can become too hard to handle which can lead to addiction. The addiction then takes over their body and they can not control it, they are always craving what they are addicted to and using it to cope which makes them stop thinking straight. People are worried about things that are not in their control such as their environment, culture, friends and family which can make people develop an addiction. In the novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, Elijah and Xavier turned to morphine when things got hard in the war. Both Elijah and Xavier were stressed with the pressures of the war. Many factors influenced Elijah and

What is addiction? The most common definition is the condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Addiction is so much more than that. People with addiction may not realize that their problem is out of control and could be causing problems for themselves or others around them. Addiction becomes an all-time thing and interferes with usual life responsibilities like relationships, social life, work, and health. People that are struggling with addiction, often cannot quit on their own. Addiction is an illness that entails treatment,

In literature, authors may get inspiration from real life events. For Raymond Carver, rather than writing about his own life, he wrote fictional stories, poems and books, but each can relate to his personal experiences. Alcohol plays a dominant part in Carver’s life, from child to adult. Due to this, his texts revolve around alcohol in some form, most often an alcoholic main character. Through Carver’s writing, he displays family tensions often as a result of alcoholism. Sara Kornfeld Simpson, instructor at Boston University, states that in Carver’s short stories “alcohol serves as a social lubricant that diminishes inhibitions, which allows hidden tensions and emotions to emerge.” (Simpson). Raymond Carver’s personal experience with alcoholism led him to create fictional texts that revolve around alcohol and have characters that may reflect his personal life, leading into his career as a writer.

“The truth is most families discover is that no one can cure another person’s addiction. Only addicts can do that for themselves.” The textbook definition of addiction is a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance. Some researches speak of two types of addictions; substance addictions (such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and smoking) and process addictions (such as gambling, spending, shopping, eating, and sexual activity. Users that are guilty of any one of the addictions listed above are so caught up in their behavior they may not be aware of the problems it is causing for themselves or others.

In Short Cuts, by Raymond Carver, characters experience trials and problems in their lives, whether extreme such as in " A Small, Good Thing" and "Lemonade" or nominal such as in " Vitamins". They all seem to depict these struggles as uphill battles which the characters cannot and mostly do not overcome. The characters throughout Carver's "Short Cuts" struggle through their lives in private desperation, often to ultimately realize that they are bound to the truth of who they really are, which is shown in the story "Neighbors."

Addiction is a dependence on a substance in which the affected individual feels powerless to stop. Millions of Americans have addictions to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and even to behaviors such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Recent studies suggest that millions of Americans are addicted to food, as well.