Multiple Perspectives: Alcoholism
Alcoholism is another lens to view Alexie’s novel through. Arthur describes his community and family as prevalently drunk. He is saddened and angered by this, and is devastated by the many tragedies and deaths alcohol causes to those surrounding him. The issue is so central to Arthur’s life, he even says, “I know only, like, five Indians in our whole tribe who have never drunk alcohol” (158). He is accustomed to his family and community being alcoholics, and is far too familiar with the repercussions and consequences of heavy drinking habits and lifestyles.
The effects of alcoholism on Arthur are seen particularly in Arthur’s father. Arthur reflects on the disappointment of having no presents on Christmas because of his family’s situation, which becomes exacerbated when his father disappears for several days because of alcohol. Arthur describes his disappointment dryly, “When the holidays rolled around, we didn’t have any money for presents, so Dad did what he always does when we don’t have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk” (150). Arthur clearly resents his father for his alcoholism, and is repeatedly disappointed by his father’s irresponsible binge drinking.
Although Arthur experiences countless heartaches because of the alcoholism of his family and community members, he manages to be forgiving of his father’s disease because of the love his father consistently shows him. When Arthur’s father comes home after days of being gone for Christmas, he gives him five dollars as his Christmas present. To most, this would appear pitiful, and some may even reject the gift, but Arthur wades through his disappointment and sees the sacrifice his father has made. Arthur says, “Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me” (151). Arthur understands that his father does love him enough to sacrifice even something seemingly small. However, Arthur still says, “It was a beautiful and ugly thing” (151); perhaps if his father was not always drunk, he could have been home for Christmas and could have afforded a proper Christmas gift for his son.
In addition to sharing his father with alcoholism, Arthur loses several loved ones due to alcohol. Whether it be drunk drivers or drunk arguments, Arthur is not a stranger to deaths caused by alcohol. He describes the common occurrences of death from alcohol, “I mean, the thing is, plenty of Indians have died because they were drunk. And plenty of drunken Indians have killed other drunken Indians” (158). Arthur believes that Indians dying from alcohol is nearly inevitable. Despite the painful regularity of deaths from alcohol, Arthur is still unprepared to handle the deaths of his sister, Eugene, or his grandmother from alcohol. Arthur’s father attempts to comfort him by explaining that Mary did not feel any pain when she was burning alive because of how drunk she was; Arthur is not comforted by this as he says, “My dad was trying to comfort me. But it’s not too comforting to learn that your sister was TOO FREAKING DRUNK to feel any pain when she BURNED TO DEATH” (205). Although Arthur knows that many Indians die from alcohol, he understandably does not appreciate the “benefits” of his sister being drunk at the time of her death.
Arthur also struggles with the death of Eugene, his father’s best friend. He describes Eugene as “…a good guy, and like an uncle to me, but he was drunk all the time. Not stinky drunk, just drunk enough to be drunk. He was a funny and kind drunk, always wanting to laugh and hug you and sing songs and dance. Funny how the saddest guys can be happy drunks” (70). Eugene was clearly a more likable drunk than most, according to Arthur, but he still acknowledges that Eugene is actually a deeply saddened man. Eugene’s death is unpredictable, but alcohol as the main factor in his death is not as surprising. Arthur elucidates Eugene’s death, “Way drunk, Eugene was shot and killed by one of his good friends, Bobby, who was too drunk to even remember pulling the trigger. The police think Eugene and Bobby fought over the last drink in a bottle of wine” (169). Eugene risked his life essentially for the last drink of a bottle of wine, and lost the drunken battle for this precious drink. Unfortunately, Arthur’s father “went on a legendary drinking binge” as his way of coping with the loss of Eugene (171). As if Arthur has not experienced enough pain from alcohol, his father decides to drink more and drink harder to cope with the death of his friend, who died drunk.
Arthur also endures the agonizing death of his beloved grandmother, who had never drunk alcohol but was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Arthur knows how rare it was to encounter a lifelong sober Indian and was proud that his grandmother had never been drunk. He describes this accomplishment, “But my grandmother had never drunk alcohol in her life. Not one drop. That’s the rarest kind of Indian” (158). Because of this, he is especially outraged and devastated after her death, which was caused by a drunk driver. Arthur expected to eventually bury his grandmother, but did not expect to lose her because of alcohol she did not even consume. He explains, “Grandparents are supposed to die first, but they’re supposed to die of old age. They’re supposed to die of a heart attack or a stroke or of cancer or of Alzheimer’s. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET RUN OVER AND KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER” (158). Arthur’s grandmother’s death makes him furious because she was killed by alcohol even though she had never consumed alcohol; Indians, Arthur comes to believe, will be killed by alcohol no matter what. It is inevitable.
Despite all of the heartache Arthur has suffered, he still understands that his parents care about his achievements and success. After all of the deaths and disappointments in Arthur’s life, he knows he can never become an alcoholic. He knows is parents love him and want a better life for him; he says, “Yeah, Dad is a drunk and Mom is an ex-drunk, but they don’t want their kids to be drunks” (46). Although Arthur’s father is seemingly content with living the life of an alcoholic, he does not want the same for his son or daughter. Once it becomes too late for Arthur’s sister to avoid a life of alcoholism, his mother attempts to ensure that Arthur’s fate will be different from his father and sister’s: “ ‘Don’t you ever drink,’ my mother said to me. She slapped me. Once, twice, three times. She slapped me HARD. ‘Promise me you’ll never drink.’” (208). His mother’s words and physical action illustrate her desperation along with the stakes of drinking. Arthur promises his mother that he will not drink alcohol; after everything he endures caused by alcohol, this heavy promise seems absolutely necessary.
Arthur endures the many pains that alcohol brings into his life. He deals with constantly being disappointed by his alcoholic father, the tough decision to consistently forgive him, and the deaths of many loved ones due to alcohol. However, he does know that, despite the alcohol and disappointment weaved into his family life, his parents truly care about his success and happiness.
The effects of alcoholism on Arthur are seen particularly in Arthur’s father. Arthur reflects on the disappointment of having no presents on Christmas because of his family’s situation, which becomes exacerbated when his father disappears for several days because of alcohol. Arthur describes his disappointment dryly, “When the holidays rolled around, we didn’t have any money for presents, so Dad did what he always does when we don’t have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk” (150). Arthur clearly resents his father for his alcoholism, and is repeatedly disappointed by his father’s irresponsible binge drinking.
Although Arthur experiences countless heartaches because of the alcoholism of his family and community members, he manages to be forgiving of his father’s disease because of the love his father consistently shows him. When Arthur’s father comes home after days of being gone for Christmas, he gives him five dollars as his Christmas present. To most, this would appear pitiful, and some may even reject the gift, but Arthur wades through his disappointment and sees the sacrifice his father has made. Arthur says, “Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me” (151). Arthur understands that his father does love him enough to sacrifice even something seemingly small. However, Arthur still says, “It was a beautiful and ugly thing” (151); perhaps if his father was not always drunk, he could have been home for Christmas and could have afforded a proper Christmas gift for his son.
In addition to sharing his father with alcoholism, Arthur loses several loved ones due to alcohol. Whether it be drunk drivers or drunk arguments, Arthur is not a stranger to deaths caused by alcohol. He describes the common occurrences of death from alcohol, “I mean, the thing is, plenty of Indians have died because they were drunk. And plenty of drunken Indians have killed other drunken Indians” (158). Arthur believes that Indians dying from alcohol is nearly inevitable. Despite the painful regularity of deaths from alcohol, Arthur is still unprepared to handle the deaths of his sister, Eugene, or his grandmother from alcohol. Arthur’s father attempts to comfort him by explaining that Mary did not feel any pain when she was burning alive because of how drunk she was; Arthur is not comforted by this as he says, “My dad was trying to comfort me. But it’s not too comforting to learn that your sister was TOO FREAKING DRUNK to feel any pain when she BURNED TO DEATH” (205). Although Arthur knows that many Indians die from alcohol, he understandably does not appreciate the “benefits” of his sister being drunk at the time of her death.
Arthur also struggles with the death of Eugene, his father’s best friend. He describes Eugene as “…a good guy, and like an uncle to me, but he was drunk all the time. Not stinky drunk, just drunk enough to be drunk. He was a funny and kind drunk, always wanting to laugh and hug you and sing songs and dance. Funny how the saddest guys can be happy drunks” (70). Eugene was clearly a more likable drunk than most, according to Arthur, but he still acknowledges that Eugene is actually a deeply saddened man. Eugene’s death is unpredictable, but alcohol as the main factor in his death is not as surprising. Arthur elucidates Eugene’s death, “Way drunk, Eugene was shot and killed by one of his good friends, Bobby, who was too drunk to even remember pulling the trigger. The police think Eugene and Bobby fought over the last drink in a bottle of wine” (169). Eugene risked his life essentially for the last drink of a bottle of wine, and lost the drunken battle for this precious drink. Unfortunately, Arthur’s father “went on a legendary drinking binge” as his way of coping with the loss of Eugene (171). As if Arthur has not experienced enough pain from alcohol, his father decides to drink more and drink harder to cope with the death of his friend, who died drunk.
Arthur also endures the agonizing death of his beloved grandmother, who had never drunk alcohol but was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Arthur knows how rare it was to encounter a lifelong sober Indian and was proud that his grandmother had never been drunk. He describes this accomplishment, “But my grandmother had never drunk alcohol in her life. Not one drop. That’s the rarest kind of Indian” (158). Because of this, he is especially outraged and devastated after her death, which was caused by a drunk driver. Arthur expected to eventually bury his grandmother, but did not expect to lose her because of alcohol she did not even consume. He explains, “Grandparents are supposed to die first, but they’re supposed to die of old age. They’re supposed to die of a heart attack or a stroke or of cancer or of Alzheimer’s. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET RUN OVER AND KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER” (158). Arthur’s grandmother’s death makes him furious because she was killed by alcohol even though she had never consumed alcohol; Indians, Arthur comes to believe, will be killed by alcohol no matter what. It is inevitable.
Despite all of the heartache Arthur has suffered, he still understands that his parents care about his achievements and success. After all of the deaths and disappointments in Arthur’s life, he knows he can never become an alcoholic. He knows is parents love him and want a better life for him; he says, “Yeah, Dad is a drunk and Mom is an ex-drunk, but they don’t want their kids to be drunks” (46). Although Arthur’s father is seemingly content with living the life of an alcoholic, he does not want the same for his son or daughter. Once it becomes too late for Arthur’s sister to avoid a life of alcoholism, his mother attempts to ensure that Arthur’s fate will be different from his father and sister’s: “ ‘Don’t you ever drink,’ my mother said to me. She slapped me. Once, twice, three times. She slapped me HARD. ‘Promise me you’ll never drink.’” (208). His mother’s words and physical action illustrate her desperation along with the stakes of drinking. Arthur promises his mother that he will not drink alcohol; after everything he endures caused by alcohol, this heavy promise seems absolutely necessary.
Arthur endures the many pains that alcohol brings into his life. He deals with constantly being disappointed by his alcoholic father, the tough decision to consistently forgive him, and the deaths of many loved ones due to alcohol. However, he does know that, despite the alcohol and disappointment weaved into his family life, his parents truly care about his success and happiness.