Alcoholism In Lord Of The Flies Essay

My dad is a recovered alcoholic. His actions (and lack thereof) while constantly intoxicated plagued my family's economic status, my parents marriage, my and my sister's relationship with my father, and the overall happiness of my family for years. Fortunately, my father has, through self determination and medication, quit drinking alcohol. However, I have a fear that with all of the positive stigma around alcohol pushed society, that my dad may relapse at some point. Addiction plagues the human mind and halts progress from being made. However, society pushes addictive substances and passes them off as harmless.
Society sheds a very positive light on alcohol. “The media portrays the pleasures of drinking in advertising and programming. The medical benefits of light-to-moderate drinking are frequently publicized, giving ex-drinkers the spurious excuse of returning to alcohol for their health”(“Alcoholism In-Depth Report”). When people see these images, especially at a young age, they are made to believe the the drug is fun and free of consequences. Teens are rarely shown the dangers of alcohol, and when they are, it is often about topics such as
Hunting started on the island because they boys wanted meat. However, it soon became a sick game to the boys. Golding writes, “The boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands. ‘Look.’ He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks. Roger began to withdraw his spear and the boys noticed it for the first time. Robert stabilized the thing in a phrase which was received uproariously. ‘Right up her ass!’”(Golding, 135). At this point of the story, hunting is no longer a fun hobby for the benefit of food rather than demonic entertainment for the benefit of a power trip. The boys at this point are drunk on