Literature Review : ' The Night Of The Gun '

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.

In the first chapter, we read about Bill’s story. Bill’s story describes his journey as an alcoholic and the struggles he faced in both his personal and professional life. Bill’s story genuinely gives a true insight into the struggles and challenges of addiction. His story is written in a way in which you are able to feel his isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, and loss. I personally found Bill’s story impactful and insightful. Through Bill’s words, I was able to gain an inside perspective into his thoughts and feelings about his ordeal and how he shifted from having no hope to having an entirely new world of hope revealed to him through what was essentially the start of Alcoholics Anonymous. The second chapter of our text seemed to me to be a call to anyone who was experiencing a

With drugs everywhere in this world, Chris Herren became what he never believed he would; a drug addict. Chris grew up in a poor family in Fall River, MA and could have become a NBA star. He was predicted to be the number 1 pick in the NBA draft if he was clean. Now, not even the highs of his NCAA and NBA career will cover up what he has done to his life. The life of Christopher Albert Herren is a true example of how a person can overcome a struggle and then make an impact in society.

In the column “Guns do kill People,” Phillip Caputo draws the attention of people who disagree in gun shootings by trying to make them understand that guns are to blame for all of the deaths related to shootings. In order to rebute, her states that libertarians and gun-rights lobbyists state that, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” In the beginning, Caputo wants to support his argument on how guns are the problem, but he then switches the topic of his discussion to how people are the problem. He gives reasons and explanations for both sides of the topic so that he seems more reliable and makes more people understand and agree with him. Caputo compares how one would react to an animal in danger and a child in danger. He claims that,

"First, there's the shooting." On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and took 26 lives, most of them belonging to children. Sadly, too many situations similar to this have occurred prior to and since. In January 2013, Stephen King published an extended essay called Guns exploring the issue of gun violence in the United States.

School shootings, gang violence, drive by shootings, murder, and thousands of acts of violence are committed every day. Members of our society criticize their own people for this violence while they continue to sit back and do nothing about it. These acts of violence have many contributing factors. Violence in our country today is escalating because we don't control the distribution of the guns sold. There are not enough restrictions on guns sold legally. The illegal purchase of guns through the black market is out of control. There is not enough education on the usage and storage of guns.

Gun control is a law that controls how guns are sold and used, and who can own them. Allowing people to possess and use a gun with legal documents in the United States is legal. There have been arguments on whether or not is should be legal to own a gun as some people see it as beneficial and others do not. It is believed that guns are beneficial to have, and they are there because we need to be able to protect ourselves. We should not allow the government to have power over gun control for many reasons including the loss of tradition of hunting, not being able to protect ourselves, and simply because of the second amendment.

​In his book ‘Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America,’ Wrinkler tried to present an unbiased view towards the second amendment in the light of historical events and landmark cases that has tried to challenge or obtain the court’s interpretation. One of such cases is the ‘District of Columbia v. Heller’ case, which was argued and decided in 2008 (Supreme Court of the United States). For several instances, the provision in the Second Amendment that pertains to the right of an individual to bear arms has been contested. In fact, the clause, which states that “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”, is perhaps the most misconstrued clause in the American constitution (Supreme Court of the United States). Adding to the significance of this highly debatable clause is the fact that a flurry of gun related incidences has happened in the United States in the past that has taken many lives including that of children. Among the most significant authors that has attempted to answer the question or at least laid out the possibilities regarding the second amendment is Adam Wrinkler. In light of Winkler’s arguments as well as with other sources, this paper will examine the historical

The memoir consists of a period of time after his high school years when he is in college, but goes deep into the background of his previous school years as well. Many times over, he reiterates that living with obsessive compulsive disorder is not a choice and that any mental disorder can drastically affect a person’s life. Throughout his years of school, he explains the predicaments the disorder had gotten him into and how most of the time he had overcome them. Eventually problems began to pile on and he had to get treatment, which became a turning point in his

Everyday 93 Americans are killed by guns. Whether it is due to homicide or suicide, it does not matter. At the end of the day gun violence is increasing exponentially. In numerous states, gun laws have been placed in the hopes of reducing gun violence. But now many people believe that gun violence should be treated as a public health problem. I for one feel that gun violence should be put in the category of public health. Every year more than 30,000 people are victims to gun related incidents. It has become such an issue that gun violence is causing more deaths than some life threatening diseases.

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” A gun license grants a user the right to own and use a firearm. Gun-right supporters strongly oppose federally mandated licensing or registration. They see both as dangerous steps toward revoking Second Amendment rights. They say that with mandated licensing or registration, a right guaranteed by the Constitution becomes a privilege granted by the government (Doeden). The topic of gun control/rights in the United States has a long history, which some see as unconstitutional, and could easily be relaxed by requiring background checks.

In 2015, 13,367 people lost their lives due to gun violence according to Gun Violence Archive. The Archive also states that out of that number, 693 were children from ages 0-11. We can all agree that there is indeed a problem that we have to address. The solution to that problem, however, has been debated by many. I believe the solution to this problem exists in three parts: Mandatory training and licensing along with more heavily secure gun storage, stricter regulations on the purchasing of a firearm—disabilities and criminal records should be more deeply looked into before transaction—and finally, equipping teachers at highs schools with the right kind of weaponry to prevent mass shootings.

Both texts suggest that the increase of gun population leads to a violent result. Although, both consider the same outcomes, the Blood Drive is more effective in the thought of violence, rather than helping keep people safe.

“We are men of peace we are men who work and we want no quarrel. But if you destroy our peace if you take away our work if you try to range us one against the other we will know what to do. If you tell us to make the world safe for democracy we will take you seriously and by god and by Christ we will make it so. We will use the guns you force upon us we will use them to defend our very lives and the menace to our lives does not lie on the other side of a nomansland that was set apart without our consent it lies within our own boundaries here and now we have seen it and we know it.” (Trumbo, 242)

I hopped along the cracked path towards the house. When reaching the front lawn my feet struggled to wade through a jungle of plants. But soon enough they were free and the front door greeted me with peeling paint fingers, I twisted the handle but it wouldn’t budge. My knuckles pounded on the door “Gus!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. Tapping my foot while waiting for a response. Then heavy footsteps approached the door and the handle twisted, opening the door to reveal my dad towering above me. His eyes were distant and his face was pale and drooping. He wore the same tattered black shirt he always wore. “Hello Lars” he said in a deep raspy voice. “Hi dad” my voice squeaked in comparison. I quickly scurried past him towards the kitchen