alcoholism in spokane indian - 1139 Words

Alcohol has always been one of the most profitable industries in the business world. More than $400 billion worth of alcohol purchased in the US alone in 2013 according to an economic website. Alcohol is a common figure where it can be easily spot in every household to grand restaurants, however, it is a huge factor contributed to the death rate each year. It has ruined an innumerable number of people lives due to excessive drinking or affect by an alcoholic person. In his book, â€Å"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian†, Sherman Alexie emphasizes how significance alcohol can affect a teenager life, where Junior, the main protagonist has lost 3 family members because of alcohol. He shows that alcoholic should not be taken as a†¦show more content†¦And plenty of drunken Indians have killed other drunken Indians† (158). Junior’s grandmother was struck and killed by a drunk driver. It’s also states out the fact that many Indians when they get drunk can kill another person without notice what they have done is wrong. The fact that Junior’s grandmother should died because of the old age is more suitable and acceptable than being hit by a drunk driver. Accidents are not intentional, however, the criminal try to get as drunk as possible and his unconsciousness has lead to this unfortunate scenery. Spokane Indians such as Gerald, the drunken driver, only thinks that it doesn’t matter how much alcohol they drink, as long as they can take themselves home safely. However, the consequence of their action may result the death of many innocent victims who should enjoy the rest of their life, instead of burying under the ground .It claims that one drunken person can kill another person or maybe a group of people if there is a car accident. In this article Denise Martinez-Ramundo, talks about what she saw on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She talks about how much and how severe the alcohol abuse is on the reserv ation. She says that children as young as five or six years old have had alcoholic drinks. She also gives us the staggering statistic that 80-90% of adults on the Reservation have severe alcohol abuse problems. Lining the streets of the Pine RidgeShow MoreRelatedThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian1296 Words   |  6 PagesIn Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007) a teenage boy named Junior, explains his struggle of breaking the cycle of his indigenous people and moving between an Indian American reservation (the ‘rez’) and a mainstream school in a town called Reardon. The protagonist explains, through first-person accounts, his life on the reservation and his experiences as he attempts to break the cycle of alcoholism and poverty that is imposed on him merely because he is an IndigenousRead MoreThe Power Of Opportunity For Young Adults1346 Words   |  6 PagesFactors such as poverty, alcoholism, or prejudice. Alexie uses enthusiastic, and critical in-text examples to better direct targeted young adult readers in the path of an optimistic future. He indirectly gives the teen audience a sense of productivity for their own future. Through figurative hope and optimism, Alexie narrates American-Indian characters to provide an illustration of how undesirable factors of life can weigh down success for those residing on a reservation in Spokane, Washington. WhetherRead MoreThe Lone Ranger And Tonto In Heaven By Sherman Alexie978 Words   |  4 Pagescharacters, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie illustrates the lives of modern Native Americans on the Spokane Indian Reservation and their hardships, which include despair, alcoholism, and poverty. Tribal members hold high hopes for the young who have extraordinary talent while doubting that they will achieve success and watching them succumb to alcoholism. These stories, while sad and gloomy, are told with humor and wit, mak ing the stories bearable to the reader. The grabbingRead More Exaggeration of Despair in Sherman Alexies Reservation Blues950 Words   |  4 Pagesexaggerating the Native Americans’ despair. Alexie cannot ignore the alcohol situation when describing Native American culture, but Alexie does not need to make alcoholism a common trait amongst almost every ‘Indian’ on the reservation and other reservations. Bird’s statement concerning Alexie’s embellishment of Native American despair due to alcoholism is an accurate interpretation of Reservation Blues. In Reservation Blues, almost every Native American is an alcoholic. Two of the main characters, VictorRead MoreSherman Alexie s The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight1405 Words   |  6 Pagescollection of short stories about the lives of the people who live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. The central protagonist of the story is Victor Joseph who we see in many short stories and thus see the plight Native Americans go through in modern day America. The novel shows us the many trials that the people of the Reservation go through and addresses the many serious problems that modern Native Americans face, such as racism, alcoholism, poverty, limited educational opportunities, and being geographicalRead MoreSherman Alexie s Childhood And Education1896 Words   |  8 PagesSherman Alexie’s childhood and education have had a profound effect on his writing and career. Being a Native American growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, Alexie has had to fight stereotypes and certain negative influences such as alcoholism and poverty his entire life. The reader can gain a better understanding of Alexie’s struggles and negative influences in his life through one of his poems, â€Å"Influences†, where he discusses the negative influences he faced with alcohol from his ownRead MoreReservation Blues By Sherman Alexie1794 Words   |  8 Pagesfrom the purpose, or theme, of the book. That theme is the fact that everything happens for a reason as your desires could stare you in the eye without you realizing. In the beginning of the book, a black man named Robert Johnson walks into the Spokane Indian reservation looking for one woman to help him, and Thomas Builds-The-Fire selflessly goes and helps him as his whole reservation has never seen a man with such a dark skin tone. This was where he was staring his ambition in the eye, as Rob hadRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie1886 Words   |  8 PagesIntro The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the story of a Native American boy who lives on a reservation but wants to leave in hopes to be different and make his life into something special. He ends up leaving the reservation in search of hope and after a few bumps he finds it. The story is based in the 1990s and around the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian exemplifies the Native American culture through theRead MoreCultural Influences in the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian1168 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sisterRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian, By Sherman Alexie1391 Words   |  6 Pageseffects that go along with living on an Indian reservation, this statistic may appear slightly more alarming. The effects of growing up on a reservation is a commonly overlooked topic that many don’t give a second glance. Unfortunately, there are issues that should be seen by the common person and with the knowledge of these issues, can possibly alter a person outlook on reservations in the US. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, the author sheds light

Sophocles Antigone By Sophocles Essay - 1869 Words

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices fight for the thrown of Thebes. The war comes to an end when both brothers die fighting for the honor, and their uncle Creon becomes the king of Thebes. Upon his coronation, Creon issues a decree that Eteocles, the former king of Thebes, will be honored with a traditional military burial, while his brother Polynices will be â€Å"left unwept, unburied, a lovely treasure for birds that scan the field and feast to their heart’s content† (Sophocles, 60). Antigone, one of the two sisters, outraged by this ruling, takes matters into her own hands and goes against this newly established law by properly burying her brother. Ultimately Antigone sets aside the political law and does what’s morally right by honoring her brother with a traditional burial. I will argue that Antigone’s decision to bury her brother was the right decision. While she may have disobeyed the law put in place by the new ly appointed inexperienced king of Thebes, she was in turn honoring her brother and the long standing traditions and expectations of the g-ds, principles much more important than the arbitrary laws of the state. I would argue that most importantly, Creon’s law was arbitrary. Creon says in a discussion he has with Haemon, â€Å"Am I to rule this land for others – or myself?† after a short dialogue back and forth where Haemon argues that a city is not â€Å"owned by one man alone,† Creon declares that â€Å"The city is the king’s – that’s the law†Show MoreRelatedSophocles Antigone By Sophocles1892 Words   |  8 PagesAntigone †¢ Title: Antigone by Sophocles †¢ Genre: Play; Tragic drama †¢ Historical context: Written circa, 442 B.C.E. in Athens Greece. Performed circa, 441 B.C.A. Its literary period was classical. While Antigone was the first written of Sophocles’ three Theban plays, it was the last of the trilogy. It was performed during a time of national unrest. Sophocles was appointed to serve as a general in a military crusade against Samos. The significance of the historical events during that timeRead MoreSophocles Antigone By Sophocles1495 Words   |  6 PagesAs one of the most famous tragedies ever written, Antigone, by the Greek playwright Sophocles, has received much notoriety as well as much speculation. Set in the city of Thebes after a devastating civil war between the brothers Polyneices and Eteocles, the play begins after the brothers’ deadly struggle for the throne. Polyneices and Eteocles have already caused the undue deaths of one another, and without another man in their immediate family available, their uncle Creon trav els to Thebes to seizeRead MoreSophocles Antigone By Sophocles964 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Antigone† by Sophocles, a famous ancient Greek tragedian, the main character, Antigone, demonstrates a prohibited action in a strict, male-dominated society. Greek civilization upheld strong values and rules that were designed to enforce orderly behavior among its people. There were state laws created by the King, Creon, and divine laws created by the Gods. Divine law was superior to the king laws, and if that rule was disrupted, eternal consequences could ruin an individual. In this societyRead MoreSophocles Antigone By Sophocles967 Words   |  4 PagesTragedy in Antigone Antigone is one of the greatest Greek tragic plays by Sophocles. The play portrays two main characters, Antigone and Creon, who undergo tragedy in the play. Various arguments have been put forth regarding who amongst the two characters is the actual tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. A number of people are for the idea that Creon qualifies since he does possess the real characteristics of what tragedy is all about, while numerous others believe that Antigone is the actual heroRead MoreAntigone by Sophocles1059 Words   |  5 Pages In the book Antigone, Creon and Antigone can be considered as the tragic heroes of the play. Antigone is considered the tragic hero because of the characteristics she shows such as her ambition to defeat Creon, Creon shows more of the characteristics clearly. Creon is the king of Thebes. He is also Antigones uncle. Creon became king after a fight between Eteocles and Polyneices. One may see Creon as a harsh and controlling ruler, but he is not good nor bad because he shows signs of both like whenRead MoreAntigone, by Sophocles1997 Words   |  8 PagesThe death of Antigone is truly a tragic episode in the Theban Plays, where she hung herself with a woven linen of her dress. By convention, her death would be characterized with feminine quality. However, Antigone, one of the few female characters in the book, possessed distinguishable female characteristics that are as remarkable as a male hero. Antigone was determined when she made up her mind to bury her brother. She was an agent o f her words and took up the risks that accompanied to her deedsRead MoreAntigone By Sophocles Antigone1478 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout Antigone, Antigone is a presented as a strong woman who is both dedicated to her family and her community. That said, there is much conflict between these two dedications. In this paper, I will give examples of Antigone’s different individual responsibilities and her philosophies and explain how those conflict with the commitment that she is to have to her community and indirectly, her king. Ultimately, I will argue that Sophocles demonstrated his values of family, the way of the godsRead MoreAntigone By Sophocles Antigone912 Words   |  4 PagesIn Sophocles, â€Å"Antigone† begins with the stages of grief as Antigone mourns the loss of her two brothers, Polyneikes and Eteokles, who die simultaneously in face-to-face combat in Thebes. Eteokles dies with honor fighting for the Thebesians and is honored with rituals and a proper burial. The body of Polyneikes, who attempted to burn the city of Thebes, is left for the dogs and birds to savage. Thesbesian’s law forbids anyone giving a traitor, like Polyneikes, a proper burial, for that itself isRead MoreAntigone by Sophocles622 Words   |  3 PagesIn the playwright Antigone by Sophocles, the characters reveal their values while exposing a life lessons through their actions, dialogue, thoughts ,and effects on others. Antigone starts with two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, being killed at battle. Creon, the king of Thebes, declares that Eteocles’ death will be honored and Polyneices’ dishonored. He instead will lay unburied to become the food of animals. When the play opens, Antigone takes Ismene, Antigone and Ismene are sisters of the deadRead MoreAntigone, by Sophocles996 Words   |  4 PagesIn Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the main character uses rhetoric to effectively persuade her audiences to sympathize with her. In the play, Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, dies a traitor to the Theban people. The king, Creon, decrees that no one is to bury the traitor despite the necessity of burial for proper passing into the afterlife. Believing that Creon’s decree is unjust, Antigone buries her brother. When she is brought to the king, Antigone uses this speech in defense of her actions. In

Alice Sebold free essay sample

Alice Sebold once said, â€Å"But it was later now, and I live in a world where the two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hands.† Hope is defined as a feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. While hell is being defined as a place or state of turmoil or destruction. These two words fit together in the adventures of Alice Sebold. Alice Sebold was born on September 6, 1963 in Madison, Wisconsin. She was raised by both academic parents; a father with a Spanish literature and a journalist mother. Her parents gave her the knowledge and confidence that she can become whatever her heart desired. In 1980, Sebold graduated from Great Valley High School and left home to start a new life as a student in Syracuse University. From there, her life went tumbling down. Alice Sebold is considered the one of the emotionally strong people in the world because she dealt with hard times like her and family not being close, her m other’s drinking problem and also her rape when she attended Syracuse University. During her path of recovery, she began writing novels which today are considered most popular novels to read. These novels were great inspiration to girls all around the world. Her memoir Lucky and novel, The Lovely Bones taught them the dangers of talking to strangers, and the understanding of death and heaven. Alice Sebold’s met on a blind date and actually hated each other. As time went by they eventually fell in love through her father’s dedicated pursuit. Her father had a Ph. D in Spanish literature from Princeton and began his first job at Duke University. Her father most of his time at Duke University which caused Sebold’s mother, Jane to become lonely and alienated with people. Soon after her mother used alcohol as her way of feeling less lonely, eventually Jane became a full- blown alcoholic. This is one of the many reasons why Alice Sebold is considered one the emotionally strong people in the world. In 1977, her father went away to Spain for months, leaving her mother extremely anxious and causing her and sister, Mary becoming caretakers of their mother. As time went on Mary gave up on her mother by becoming less compassionate and more embarrassed towards her mother’s drinking problem. Unlike Mary, Alice was the one to reconcile with her mother, meanin g she soothed her mother and belittled her sister. Since the day she belittled her sister, her family became distant towards each other. â€Å"I described myself as too loud, too fat, and too arty.† During Alice’s teenage years, her family was falling apart. She often argued with her parents about her mother’s drinking, her father not being around and Mary’s embarrassment of her parents (mainly her mother). â€Å"I wanted to be the moron of the family, because morons seemed to have more fun, more freedom, and more personality.† The constant bickering gave Alice Sebold the idea to move away after high school in 1980. In the fall, Alice attended Syracuse University leaving her family still arguing with each other. In all areas of life, Alice had to drive to make herself the way by following others guidance who have become the same in different attitudes of their lives physically, mentally, and emotionally. She was born this way because she was made that way! You find people you consider strong and that’s why many people consider Sebold the strongest of them all. Even though she didn’t admit that her family wasn’t like any other family. Deep inside, she couldn’t accept the fact that her mother was an alcoholic, her father not being around and her sister not caring about this family. There was only one way to avoid the stress and that was to move away from her family and start on her own so she can discover who she really is. After her freshman year of college at Syracuse University, her journey went plummeting down earth when she was attacked. During her semester at Syracuse, Sebold was raped in a tunnel . She tried to fight off her rapist, who constantly fought and beat her. Shewas brutally raped, forced to kiss the man who urinated on her and eventually left her to crawl away. She then reported her rape to police, later they told her she was lucky because a few month early before her rape, the rapist raped another girl but unfortunately she was killed and dismembered in the same tunnel. â€Å" I had changed. The world I lived in was not the world that my parent still occupied. In my world, I saw violence everywhere. It was not a song or a dream or a plot.† Staying strong, Alice Sebold stayed at Syracuse and continued her creative- writing program to help relieve the pain from her incident. She began letting her anguish out in her writing and wrote dark novels. She felt the affliction of trying to write a story that would strike all rape victims’ stories, that recent story became a novel. This novel soon be came popular and was names the book of the year award for adult fiction in 2003. That novel was The Lovely Bones. Her other novels were also relating to rape and murders because of these novels, her readers became more aware of their environment. Not everyone in this world seems to be who they are. Alice Sebold’s writing made us have this awful picture in her heads of innocent people getting raped and murdered and teaching us to be more cautious around people. And for that, she is the emotionally strong person in the world. For the those who wanted to know what happened to her rapist. A few months after the rape, she recognized her rapist while walking down a street. She brought her rapist to court and caught his conviction. Today her rapist is out of prison but Sebold says she has not kept track of where he is.