What if Duke never accepted the methamphetamine the circus pushed?

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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Re: What if Duke never accepted the methamphetamine the circus pushed?

Post by MollyEnter »

Without it, I don't think he would have survived. I think he would have turned more to alcohol and fallen down the rabbit hole of a severe, non functioning alcoholic.
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Post by Jgideon »

PeaceLoveNature44 wrote: 06 Jun 2018, 07:53 I feel that he wanted to be accepted in the circus life, and it's what was just normal. He accepted it to fit in, but also to really live the life. If a bag of drugs was handed to me back in the day, for free, I would of took it. Now I have three kids, and I wouldn't dream of it, but the temptation will always be there. If he didn't take the stuff, then he might of fell asleep while driving, and that never ends good. He also probably would of been kind of rejected from the circus life because I feel it may be like part of the job in a way. His life would of been different, but for the better or worse, no one knows. That's part of our life, is making choices, and riding the waves! :)
I also agree that it was his way of fitting in the circus life. It would have been rather difficult to live the circus life without picking up some of the behaviors of the rest of the guys.
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Post by Jgideon »

MollyEnter wrote: 18 Jun 2018, 02:55 Without it, I don't think he would have survived. I think he would have turned more to alcohol and fallen down the rabbit hole of a severe, non functioning alcoholic.
I agree with you. Life would have been harder and messy without it.
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Post by mcfeealexis »

Yes I think that if he did not accept it he may have not even stayed in the circus because everyone around him would have still being doing it. He could have gone on to do something else with his life.
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Post by drunyan »

I think that if Duke had refused the bags of drugs, then he would have been seen as an outsider. Like he was not really a full participant in the lifestyle of the performers.

Each person had their own issues and problems, but the use of methamphetamine was not considered a problem, it was a tool that helped them do their jobs.
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Post by LV2R »

I remember seeing the circus as a kid. I never thought that their lives were so hard and difficult. I think that Duke was in a "catch-22" about the drugs. He needed to keep alert and awake for his job, but was it really a safe thing to do? Taking illegal drugs is not the best choice and I am sure Duke's life would have been different if he had not taken them.
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

Like most people have mentioned, if he didn't take the drugs it probably would have changed everything that came after. Made it harder to keep up with his lifestyle, fit in, etc.
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Post by LaurenHaupt »

Probably wouldn't want to be in the circus anymore. Would have a different choice of lifestyle.
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Post by Stanley Ann »

I think that he would have found a solution to his troubles
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Post by Anthony Martial Tata »

I don't know how he would have turned out. All in all I do not think taking the drug would have influenced his character.
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Post by Nma26 »

I can't really judge him, or say which way he would have gone, because one can never really tell where life takes us.
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Post by Nelsy Mtsweni »

If he had said NO to the drugs, he would have been perceived different from his co-workers by his manager/s...as though he was not part of the circus family. So if they had found another Sword Swallower, then Duke would probably be released, making his life turning to somewhat real different from the way it was shown in the book.
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Post by dbulkley »

I’m split on this issue. Would’ve liked to not see drug use used in this novel but understand the reality of it at the same time.
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Post by samiam013 »

There are so many what ifs in life really. This is just another one of those. Who knows? Maybe he would not have stuck with the circus because the lifestyle was so demanding. Maybe nothing at all would have changed if he had chosen not to take the meth in the first place.
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Post by Surabhi Rani »

I think that it should be a natural consequence of a hobby based job to avoid all the harmful life threatening activities, in life! It may lead to the many positive conclusions and affirmations that the people may have read or heard about. This did happen to Duke but in a more gross way, in the form of talking philosophy to his successor, Gary Robinson. So,to make it happen at the very layer of his being might be a possibility he dreamed about to take place in future.
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