Charles Phelan, An Alcoholic And So Called Bum

Scott Russell Sanders’ “Under the Influence” is about a family growing up with alcoholism, mental and physical abuse. When Sanders was very young, he didn’t recognize that his father was an alcoholic, but as he grew older, he saw the bloodshot eyes, hiding alcohol, the deceptions, and the dual personalities of an alcoholic. “My father drank. He drank as a gut-punched boxer gasps for breath, as a starving dog gobbles food—compulsively, secretly, in pain and trembling.” (215). Sanders story starts at the end, where his father dies from alcoholism. The turmoil and fear this family suffered because of their father’s alcoholism, is a story a lot of families are familiar with.

What is alcoholism and how does it severely affect people? It is a chronic condition characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette’s father Rex, is an alcoholic. We assume he enjoys drinking when on page nine, Jeannette recalls her father smelling of whiskey. “As he held me close, I breathed in his familiar smell of Vitalis, whiskey, and cigarette smoke. It reminded me of home.” While it is concerning that young Jeannette knows what whiskey smells like, it is not concerning enough until page fourteen, paragraph six. “In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a little bit of a drinking situation. There was what Mom

I was so drunk last night that I cheated on my girlfriend, but I don’t remember it, so does it count? People instinctively try to place blame on anything but themselves, and alcohol presents itself as the perfect escape route for a guilty conscience. People often find themselves making impulsive decisions more frequently while under the influence of alcohol. However, how much poor behavior can alcohol excuse before a person must accept the consequences for their own actions? Tennessee Williams delves into the theme of alcohol dependence throughout his play, A Streetcar Named Desire. Throughout the play, both Blanche and Stanley seem to rely heavily upon liquor. Alcohol is used as both a crutch and an excuse for poor behavior in A

Alcoholism does not only affect a person’s physical, mental, and emotional state, but it also changes the lives of people close to the drinker forever. It ruins relationships and trust that took years to build up, and may never be able to be restored. In Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle, she tells the story of her childhood in which her father was an alcoholic. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls, was brilliant and charismatic when he was sober, but when he drank, he was destructive and dishonest.

It is hard to have a healthy relationship with someone when they are controlled by alcohol. The relationship between John Purcell and his son had drifted apart more and more by his actions and his choice of being alcoholic. As inconsiderate as John he says to a curate "Three dollars! Why, I could have taken Johnny to a burlesque show for less than that." There is a little boy present and their parents do not want their children exposed to such inappropriate jokes like John often expressed. John is inconsiderate therefore he does things without thinking. His recklessness continued when he met another untrustworthy father at the meeting. At that point when the outsider offered him a drink, he expected it happily expressing “You’re a lifesaver,” because of his dependence on alcohol he humiliated his child much further; and had not taken his wife’s oath of being on his best conduct into thought. When he went up the stairs to receive Johnny’s reward, on the way he trips and falls making his son embarrassed and

Jeannette’s self-reliant behavior is frequently shown through her refusal of help from others. On one trip to retrieve her father from a bar, Jeannette’s father is so drunk that he can no longer walk. Another man offers to drive them home, and

One of the reasons that the narrator is responsible for his own actions is because he is an alcoholic. Because he relies so heavily on alcohol to make it through the day, he is not of sound mind and therefore his judgment is off. This can

Alcohol, it has been around for ten thousand years. Some great things have come from it, but in some situations it has ruined people’s lives. Some may ask how something can have such opposite endings. Well the answer is that people don’t know moderation while consuming alcohol. Alcohol can easily be misinterpreted as an un-harmful substance. In this essay I will educate readers that in moderation and in church traditions it is not harmful or being abused. I will be discussing the importance of where the selfishness and rule breaking comes from when one is intoxicated while driving. I say selfish because that is what it is, a human being lacking consideration for

When paramedics arrived they stated that 3 month old Julian was in cardiac arrest and not breathing. Under all the circumstances they had to continue to perform CPR and was giving oxygen before being rushed to the Royal Bournemouth hospital. Julian was diagnosed with severe head injuries, as well as some fractured collarbone and ribs. He was then transferred to Southampton General Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where he then died at 5:10am even with all the efforts of the medical staff. Robert Hinz was later convicted and charged for the murder of his son. He did a foolish thing that changed his family forever because of his alcoholic rage. This is only one of many things that can happen if you are under the influence of alcohol and/or liquor.

Despite the sufferance of victims, they often aren’t entirely blameless, as their poor decisions and irresponsibility is ultimately associated with their upsetting and newfound situation. Therefore victims like Fin O’Neil in The Story of Tom Brennan, who ultimately chose to travel in a car with drunken, inexperienced, and impulsive driver, it becomes questionable whether he is also culpable for his injuries. Despite Fin’s sobriety and awareness prior to the accident, this does not implicate him, however it becomes debatable whether the outcomes would be alike; with Fin’s extensive injuries and crash itself, if the decisions made on Fin’s behalf were different. Similarly in the story of ‘In My Little Town’, Leigh Charter Jnr also decides to travel with a drunk driver, regardless of the risks. Although his alertness was also compromised by alcohol, he holds some level of responsibility in his death. However, in ‘Shattered’, there are no obvious victims who made poor decisions, due to the situations isolation. Although, it is disputable whether the perpetrator; Peter Hodgkins’ friends who witnessed the accident could have altered the outcome. Though, it was voiced to Peter; “don’t throw a rock at a car, that’s stupid,” (‘Shattered’, 2011) this partly ousts some responsibility, especially due to their intoxication, which is similar to the other stories. However, responsibility is never fully removed from others, as it only takes one person, one conversation, and any one action during the lead to alter the outcome of July 21st 2007, in Kiama, New South

Throughout the story many bad decisions were being made because they couldn't handle themselves whether they were drunk or sober and it caused a lot of trouble and problems for these young men. We sometimes forget to make the right decision and sometimes is hard to make the right decision when you are hanging out with the wrong people and wrong set of minds of wanting to be "bad" or "revel" because other people are doing so.

On Jeannette’s 10th birthday, her alcoholic dad gave her an opportunity to ask whatever she wants as long as it’s physically possible. Jeannette asked, “Do you think you could maybe stop drinking?” (Walls 116). Her wish was granted and her dad stopped drinking -- in just one chapter. After a few days, he came home drunk again; “he cursed and lurched at [his kids], swinging his fist” (Walls 122). This illustrates that not only he lacks responsibility, but he also lacks the resolve to do what her daughter asked for her 10th birthday. Furthermore, when they were on a trip to the Grand Canyon, “the speedometer needle crept past one hundred, the last number number on the dial, and pushed into the empty space beyond” (Walls 119). He knows the consequences but he did it anyway. The car broke down, and they were stuck in the middle of the desert. This further emphasizes his lack of responsibility and resistance to

     The lines, "When he does get through, / next week, it will all sound / exaggerated" (9-11) reveal the hopelessness of the man’s situation. By the time the woman sobers up enough for him to speak intelligently with her, the relevance of the things he wants to say will have diminished with the passing of time. It is like with all things in life—what seems desperately important and upsetting to us today may seem insignificant and laughable to us tomorrow. The man will probably still feel deeply about the larger effects that her actions are having—on her, on him, and on others. The specific indiscretions or injuries that he mentions, though, will probably sound ridiculous to her, and may even sound trifling to the man himself. His comments would have had much more impact if given in context, but they could not be because she was too inebriated to communicate with. Even though the man knows that she will not understand the importance of what he has to say, he feels compelled to try anyway. He knows that she will offer an insincere apology simply to appease him. She will feel only as if she

John Henry is a legend that was taken place in the 1800's. During this time, locomotives were becoming a big part of the economy, and increasingly getting popular. His family was poor, and John Henry needed a job. With him being a large man, and the demand of locomotive tracks increasing, building tracks was the perfect job for him. He was the best at what he did, and nobody could match him

“An Alcoholic Case” is the story of a nurse who is assigned with an alcoholic case. Throughout the story, she struggles to take care of her patient, but at the same time is worried about his sanity. One comes to realize the cause of the patient’s alcoholism when the narrator states, “She knew there were three medals from the war in his jewel box...” and it becomes clear why the man is suffering so much (Fitzgerald 334). He had psychological scars because of what had happened to him while serving in World War I. Similarly, “My son the murder” is a short-story about Leo, a father who becomes