ROLE OF ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE NOVEL?

Use this forum to discuss the May 2018 Book of the Month, "The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid" by Gary Robinson
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Stanley Ann
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Re: ROLE OF ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE NOVEL?

Post by Stanley Ann »

Addiction to drug and substance abuse serves as a balm of healing emotional feelings of people in this story.
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Post by Bukari »

I have two opinions of this topic, the first one is that people who are addicted to substances can get redemption or hope which could help them overcome their addiction. On the other side, people who are psychologically weak could also endulge themselves into substance abuse if they careless.
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Post by msomigreat »

the exploration of drug abuse in the book is of critical importance. with a high number of youths and adults as well hooked up in the trait, an overview of how someone can get him/herself out of the vice is greatly welcome.
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Post by crediblereading2 »

Addiction is a weakness that many persons face. They don't want to deal with challenges, therefore, they find a comfort zone to relax their minds.
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Post by Anthony Martial Tata »

I don't believe in the science that drug and substance abuse may help on soothening a person scars. Drug abuse is bad.
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Post by Telo_2018 »

Addiction or substance abuse is a good theme to be found in novels. This is a social phenomenon or problem facing mankind, which makes many people out there vulnerable. Adding this scenario in the novel makes the story more engaging.
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Post by Nelsy Mtsweni »

Yes, substance use or abuse has a huge impact on ones consciousness and their state of mind. Their user might feel like they are in control and in charge of their lives. They might express the self that they have only dream of in their minds, and so that feeling of being in the situation, makes them go over and over again into attaining it by abusing drugs, so I think.
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Post by kushiliz »

Gary Robinson grew up in family that not stable so his mother used to drink so that she may forget the poverty
Gary saw the situation of his mother and so him taking the alcohol no one can tell him to stop .and he knows that's right.
Both the mother and child have damaged their life with alcohol. they have become addicted
They do that to cope with the situation they are living with
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Post by Sharill Rasowo »

Addiction was definitely a central theme in the book as both of the main characters were defined by their addictions, which affected their lives negatively.
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Post by grace8031 »

Addition is a disease itself. The dependency of medicine to go on with live thinking you can't without them. Duke is no different alcohol was his escape route from reality . The short memory gap from his troubles was everything he was looking up to.
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Post by Bavithra M »

In my opinion the role of addiction in the book was only to pass on a good message to readers to stay away from drugs. This book only potrays the ill-effects of drugs and drug users
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Post by Kishor Rao »

Being an alcoholic and drug addict led Duke to the life which he finds himself in. After seeing Gary in the same situation as his, Duke comes forward to help him out. That's why I think the alcohol and the drugs become an important part of the book.
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Post by Radiant3 »

Addiction and substance abuse were central themes of the novel. Gary was addicted to alcohol and it ruined a large part of his life. Duke was addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol at different times of his life. Both had a destructive effect on aspects of his life. His addiction to alcohol destroyed his marriage and family life. Although, he did not go into detail about it, he did mention this to Gary.
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Jeyasivananth wrote: 07 May 2018, 09:22 In my observation addiction as a manifestation of a disturbed psyche is another important motif in the book.

Gary Robinson grows up as a helpless and powerless child unable to stop his mother’s drinking habits. Duke Reynold too extensively uses drugs to sustain himself.

An addictive action often creates a sense of being empowered, of regaining control against helplessness. Drugs are particularly good for this purpose because they alter one's emotional state, making them feel empowered and decisive. We see this in the protagonists. Both the protagonists hail from dysfunctional families and addiction helps them to cope up with this emotional scar and helplessness.

what are your observations on this?
Both of them were troubled, yes. Addiction helped them cope, yes. However, as much as I admire your views on drugs giving a sense of empowerment to the individual, the protagonists in this book seem to use it as a means to escape the mess their life has become. At least in Gary's case, I feel that he tried to forget the "emotional scars" you mentioned. In Duke's case, however, there is physical exhaustion that needs to be taken care of as well. Anyway, once someone delves into addictive substances, I guess the initial motives do not matter much. The urge for more is probably enough to keep the cycle on.
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Post by Tobiasblackwell »

K Geisinger wrote: 10 May 2018, 07:52
Jeyasivananth wrote: 07 May 2018, 09:22 In my observation addiction as a manifestation of a disturbed psyche is another important motif in the book.

Gary Robinson grows up as a helpless and powerless child unable to stop his mother’s drinking habits. Duke Reynold too extensively uses drugs to sustain himself.

An addictive action often creates a sense of being empowered, of regaining control against helplessness. Drugs are particularly good for this purpose because they alter one's emotional state, making them feel empowered and decisive. We see this in the protagonists. Both the protagonists hail from dysfunctional families and addiction helps them to cope up with this emotional scar and helplessness.

what are your observations on this?
I think addiction is a powerful crutch to avoid feeling certain ways. Both characters had outside influences that helped convince them that addiction or illicit drugs were not that big a deal. Gary was more shocked by Duke's atheism than a high and drunk friend trying to eat a mammoth. The addiction could be viewed as a disturbed psyche, but I think it is better viewed as one of the many failings of humanity. We like things that feel good and we try to avoid pain. Some of that is good, but it can turn self destructive as well.

What I thought the author did extremely well was Duke's later rationalization that snorting methamphetamine was perfectly ok because it was medicine, but alcoholism was not.


I agree with you. Their decisions to give in to snorting methamphetamine were influenced by their upbringing and background. Had they came from a more conservative and strict family, they wouldn't even have given using drugs a second thought.
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