Alcohol Abuse Essay

Alcohol abuse is perhaps one of the biggest puzzles in the United States today. It is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects an individuals lives, but moreover those that surround such a life. In the essay Under the Influence by Scott Russel Sanders, he expresses his emotions with a poem. My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke. The whiskey on his breath could make a small boy dizzy but hung on like death such waltzing was not easy. (258).This poem is one of many effective devices that Sanders uses to clearly and decisively convey to us the readers of how profound the effectuate of imbibition are. Sanders reflects back to his shaverhood and explains his complex relationship with his alcoholic father and the after effects now that he is a grown up.One of Sanders memorable comments in his essay is when he states his father He would not hide the green bottles in his tool box, would not sneak off to the barn with a thug under his coat, would not fall asleep in the daylig ht, would not roar and fume, would not drink himself to death, if only I were perfect (255). What a strong even of view in a little boys mind to think, if only I were perfect his father would not drink Sanders tell us how our children experience the burden, of the effects of alcoholism.Sanders said, Father s drinking became the family secret. While growing up, we children n constantly breathed a word of it beyond the four walls of our house I asked my mother if she ever spoke of his drinking to friends. No, no, never she replied hastily. I couldnt bear for anyone to know(257). It must be very difficult for a family and, especially for a child not to be able to communicate their suffering to others. Sanders as a chills wasnt able to be honest he was force to live a lie.Another comment from Sanders was, I hated also the Gallo brothers, Ernest and Julio, whose jovial faces shone from the labels of their wine I meant to go out there and tell Ernest and Julio what they were doing to my father, and then, if they showed no mercy. I would come out them (259) Sanders contrast the jovial faces on the wine label to the reality of his fathers fuming.character.Sanders closes with, I still do- once a week, perhaps, a glass of wine, a can of beer, nothing stronger, nothing more. I listen for the turning of a key in my brain (266). Sanders is comparing his drinking to his fathers drinking as an alcoholic. Unlike his father, Sanders is not an alcoholic and has the ability to control his drinking.Work CitedSanders, Scott Russel.Under the InfluenceFifty Great EssaysEditor. Robert Diyanni.Pearson. 2011Pages 258, 255, 257, 259.