The Impact of Alcoholism on Families
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Questions and Answers

What effect did alcohol have on the father described?

  • It had no noticeable effect on his behavior.
  • It transformed his personality drastically for the worse. (correct)
  • It improved his skills as a carpenter and businessman.
  • It made him more sociable and engaging.
  • How did the family cope with the father's drinking problem?

  • They confronted their father directly about his drinking.
  • They kept it a secret within the household. (correct)
  • They openly discussed it among relatives and friends.
  • They sought professional help immediately.
  • What metaphor is used to describe the father's transformation due to alcohol?

  • A flower into a weed.
  • A prince into a frog. (correct)
  • A lion into a lamb.
  • A soldier into a coward.
  • What was the feeling of the children growing up in an unstable environment due to the father's drinking?

    <p>They felt as though they were playing in a minefield. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What action did the mother frequently take to manage the father's drinking?

    <p>She tried to hide the alcohol and monitor his finances. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the author's response when he finally confessed about his father's drinking problem?

    <p>He felt relief and freedom from the burden of the secret. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the author mean by 'The secret bores under the skin'?

    <p>The impact of secrets can affect a person deeply and persistently. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When the father was sober, how did the children react towards him?

    <p>They sought his affection and welcomed him warmly. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the children notice on the floor of the barn?

    <p>Broken glass (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was hidden among the tools in the drawer?

    <p>A six-pack of beer (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the children smell on their father's breath after his goodnight kiss?

    <p>Clorets (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Where did the father often acquire alcohol?

    <p>Sly's store (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What would Father do when he drove to Sly's with the children?

    <p>Leave them in the car (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did the narrator's mother react to the father's drinking behavior?

    <p>She was concerned (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the narrator's feeling toward Sly’s store owners?

    <p>Hatred for their role in poisoning his father (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the narrator want to do with the bottles in Sly's store?

    <p>Smash them (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What emotions does the narrator experience towards their father?

    <p>Love and fear (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the narrator believe they can do to reduce their father's pain?

    <p>All of the above (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What realization does the narrator come to about their father's alcoholism?

    <p>It is a common disease affecting many (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the narrator feel about competing to determine who has suffered the most?

    <p>They find it pointless (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What recurring theme does the narrator grapple with regarding their father?

    <p>Shame and responsibility (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the narrator indicate about their father's drinking habits?

    <p>It is a way to cope with pain (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the narrator's age affect their perception of their father's struggles?

    <p>They still relate to their younger self's confusion (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What physical actions of the father are described that reflect his emotional state?

    <p>He rummages through the kitchen and slams doors (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What reaction did the speaker's friends have to the story of the lunatic and the swine?

    <p>They were concerned about the hogs. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the speaker suggest about their father's behavior when he was drunk?

    <p>He was unrecognizable and frightening. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which biblical event is emphasized in the context of the father's drunkenness?

    <p>The exorcism of the lunatic. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the speaker imply would be the solution if their father was seen as possessed or ill?

    <p>He should be exorcised or cured. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What biblical commandment do the ministers wish was added regarding alcohol consumption?

    <p>Thou shalt not drink. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What mental state does the speaker ascribe to their father during his drunkenness?

    <p>He was lost and fearful. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the ministers believe about the wine at the Last Supper?

    <p>It was purely grape juice. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In what manner did the lunatic behave before Jesus intervened?

    <p>He was violent and erratic. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What motivated the narrator to avoid substances that alter his state of mind?

    <p>Fear of losing control like his father did (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the narrator perceive his work ethic?

    <p>A distraction from deeper issues (A), An obsession that hinders personal relationships (B), A tool for self-improvement and redemption (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect does the narrator's father's behavior have on him as a child?

    <p>He learned to suppress his emotions and take on guilt (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the narrator's daughter present him with?

    <p>A placard labeled 'Workaholic' (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the narrator feel when witnessing others express anger?

    <p>Conflicted and anxious about his own reactions (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the narrator fear for his own children?

    <p>That they will repeat the cycle of addiction (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What internal conflict does the narrator experience regarding his emotional state?

    <p>Confusion over his son's feelings of responsibility (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the narrator mean by stating he would become a 'worthy sacrifice'?

    <p>He aims to achieve greatness to overshadow his father's failures (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What event led to Greeley Ray Sanders remaining sober for fifteen years?

    <p>A near-fatal medical crisis (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did Mother initially react to Greeley’s drinking habits?

    <p>She frequently scolded him (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was Greeley Ray Sanders's pattern of drinking described in the content?

    <p>He went through periods of sobriety and relapse (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What major event coincided with Greeley Ray Sanders's breakdown during the author's senior year?

    <p>The Cuban Missile Crisis (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Mother consider Greeley Ray Sanders's prolonged sobriety to be?

    <p>A miraculous answer to prayer (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did the environment at the Ohio arsenal influence Greeley Ray Sanders?

    <p>It had an abundance of alcoholics and addicts (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What emotional state did the author describe feeling about Greeley's drinking spells?

    <p>Hope and fear (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What reason was given for Greeley Ray Sanders's temporary sobriety after the birth of his children?

    <p>A sense of responsibility as a father (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Flashcards

    The Father's Addiction

    The narrator's father is an alcoholic who exhibits various behaviors related to his addiction.

    Guilt and Responsibility

    The narrator feels responsible for his father's drinking, believing his own failings are causing the pain and anger.

    Understanding the Disease

    The narrator understands that his father's addiction is a disease, not a reflection of his own shortcomings.

    Alcoholism's Reach

    The narrator acknowledges that alcoholism is a widespread problem, affecting millions of people and families.

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    Inner Conflict

    The narrator describes the complex emotions he felt as a child, including helplessness, shame, and a desire to protect his father.

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    Acceptance and Guilt

    The narrator realizes he could not have caused or cured his father's alcoholism, yet his guilt persists.

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    Past Trauma

    The narrator, despite being an adult, finds himself reliving the emotional state of a child trying to save his father.

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    Impact of Family Dynamics

    The narrator's experience illustrates the enduring impact of family dynamics, especially when dealing with addiction.

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    Family Secret

    The act of hiding a problem or truth from others, particularly when it is unpleasant or embarrassing.

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    Alcohol's Transformation

    The destructive power of alcohol addiction on an individual's character and abilities.

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    Living in a Minefield

    The constant fear and anxiety caused by living with an alcoholic parent, where even small actions could trigger anger or violence.

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    Shame's Fever

    The deep sense of shame and guilt experienced by family members due to an alcoholic's behavior.

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    Mother's Obsession

    The intense desire of a non-alcoholic family member to control or stop the alcoholic's behavior, often leading to obsessive actions.

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    Suppressing the Truth

    The act of concealing a critical problem from outsiders, often due to shame or fear of judgment.

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    Anguish of Watching a Loved One Decline

    The agonizing experience of watching a loved one struggle with addiction, witnessing their decline and transformation.

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    Confessing the Ugly Truth

    The challenging task of confronting the truth and acknowledging the reality of addiction within a family.

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    Sly's

    The narrator's father would often purchase alcohol from a local store called Sly's.

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    Whiskey breath

    The narrator's father would often consume alcohol, leaving a strong smell on his breath, much like the smell of whiskey.

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    Guards

    The narrator and siblings were often tasked with watching their father and preventing him from purchasing alcohol at Sly's.

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    Two green pints

    The narrator's father would often buy two green pints of Gallo wine at Sly's, consuming one and hiding the other in his pocket.

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    Poisoning my father

    The narrator felt anger and resentment towards the store owners for selling alcohol to their father, blaming them for his intoxication.

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    Careless angle

    The narrator's father would often park the car at an awkward angle, allowing the children to see him buy alcohol through the window.

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    Jerk a knot in your tails

    The father would dismiss his children's pleas to join him in purchasing his alcohol, often using a harsh and threatening tone.

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    Tipsy Father

    The narrator's father would often show signs of intoxication or being under the influence of alcohol.

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    The Father's Transformation

    The narrator's father would become a different person when drunk, behaving unpredictably and exhibiting both anger and sadness.

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    Father vs. Lunatic

    The narrator compares his father's drunken behavior to a lunatic, drawing parallels between his father's uncontrolled actions and the biblical tale of a demon-possessed man.

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    Demons and Addiction

    The narrator questions whether his father's alcoholism is a result of demonic possession, highlighting the spiritual anxieties surrounding addiction at the time.

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    Fear and Unpredictability

    The narrator describes his father's drunken episodes as frightening and unsettling, expressing the terror a child experiences when witnessing such unpredictable behavior.

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    Desire for Help

    The passage expresses the narrator's internal conflict – wanting to understand and help his father, yet feeling helpless and overwhelmed by his father's addiction.

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    Moral Code and Alcohol

    The passage highlights the moral anxieties about alcohol consumption in the narrator's childhood, reflecting the strong religious upbringing he experienced.

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    Addiction's Impact

    The narrator's experience with his father's alcoholism illustrates the complex emotional toll that addiction can have on a family.

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    Alcoholism's Cycle

    The father's alcoholism has a profound impact on the family dynamic, causing both joy and sorrow. It can be characterized as a cycle of hope, disappointment, and fear.

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    Fleeting Hope

    The narrator's father's periods of sobriety are often short-lived and followed by relapses, leaving the family with a sense of fleeting happiness.

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    Fatherhood's Sobering Effect

    The father initially gets sober when he becomes a father, demonstrating a brief period of responsibility and stability.

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    Child's Perspective on Addiction

    The narrator, as a child, is aware of his father's struggles with alcohol and experiences the emotional consequences of this addiction.

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    Addiction Mirrors World Events

    During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the father's drinking becomes a major source of anxiety and fear, mirroring the world's anxieties.

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    Fear as a Catalyst for Sobriety

    The father's near-death experience and subsequent recovery inspire a long period of sobriety. It appears to be a consequence of fear rather than genuine change.

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    Consequences of Alcoholism

    The father's drinking habit creates various consequences for the family, including arguments, physical dangers, and emotional turmoil.

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    Maintaining a Facade

    The family maintains a facade of normalcy despite the father's addiction, concealing the truth from outsiders.

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    Redemption Through Success

    The narrator's father's alcoholism created a cycle of shame and guilt, forcing the narrator to suppress his own emotions and ambition. The narrator's attempt to achieve dazzling things in life is driven by a desire to redeem not only himself but also his father's failures.

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    Work Addiction vs. Alcoholism

    The narrator recognizes that his work addiction is a reflection of his father's alcoholism, a pattern he is trying to break free from. The narrator realizes that true redemption cannot be achieved through work or achievement, but through confronting and addressing the underlying causes of his own struggles.

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    Intergenerational Cycle

    The narrator's experience with his own son highlights the generational cycle of shame and guilt, where the child internalizes the parent's emotional struggles. The narrator understands that his son feels responsible for his emotions, similar to how he felt towards his father.

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    Hyper-Sensitivity to Emotions

    The narrator finds himself constantly hyper-aware of other people's emotions, fearing their anger or disappointment, as if he were still concealing the shame of his family history. This sensitivity stems from his childhood experiences with his father's alcoholism and the emotional turmoil it created.

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    Lingering Guilt and Shame

    The narrator's ongoing struggle with guilt and shame, despite his understanding of his father's alcoholism, is a testament to the lasting impact of childhood trauma. He blames himself for everything, even external events, a reflection of the internalized responsibility he felt as a child.

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    Confronting the Darkness

    The narrator's act of writing aims to expose and confront the inner demons that plague him, recognizing the power of sharing his story and potentially freeing his children from the same cycle. He wants to break the generational pattern by acknowledging and addressing past trauma.

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    Avoiding Triggers

    The narrator's avoidance of alcohol-related environments reflects his ongoing struggle to break free from the patterns established by his father's alcoholism. He actively seeks to avoid triggers and situations that might evoke past trauma or lead to relapse.

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    Internal Conflict & Healing

    The narrator's internal conflict between his desire to achieve success and overcome his father's legacy, and his struggle to cope with his own guilt and shame, highlights the complexity of healing from childhood trauma. He seeks to find a balance between his own identity and the deep-seated emotional baggage he carries.

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    Study Notes

    Paying the Price of My Father's Booze

    • The author's father was an alcoholic, drinking compulsively and secretly.
    • His father's drinking affected his family.
    • Alcoholics are a public scourge in the US with many experiencing this ailment.
    • The author felt responsible for being the son of an alcoholic.
    • The author's father's drinking led to negative consequences in the family, including arguments and emotional distress.
    • This led to issues in the neighborhood and with the author's own perception of their father.
    • Father's death was a turning point.
    • The author reflects on their own relationship with their father and their feelings of responsibility.
    • The author feels pity for their father and the effect of alcoholism.
    • The author's father's struggle with alcoholism is a personal issue that touches on alcoholism affecting multiple people.
    • The author's childhood memories include their father's drinking.
    • The author recalls their father's drinking in the garage and other places.
    • The author's family tried to conceal their father's drinking.
    • The author and their siblings, and their mother, attempted to ignore or avoid their father's drinking.
    • The author's recollections of the effects of their father's drinking.
    • The author feels a sense of shame and guilt stemming from their father's drinking.
    • The author has a deep understanding of their father's alcoholism and its effects on the family.

    Alcoholism and Its Impact

    • Alcoholism is a public health issue that causes problems for millions of US citizens
    • Alcoholism affects families in many ways, often leading to conflict and guilt within them.
    • The author uses the term "alcoholic" as a noun.
    • The author's perspective includes the damaging impact of an alcoholic parent on children's lives.
    • Quotes from the Bible are used to underscore the ill effects of alcoholism, illustrating the perception of alcoholism as a sin or a problem.
    • The concept of "redemption" and "guilt" are prominent themes in the narrative.
    • There is a sense of hope that the father can change but pessimism about their chances.
    • The author reflects on feelings of shame, guilt and guilt of responsibility.
    • The struggles of the alcoholic father are acknowledged in the texts, with references to consequences including physical and mental health decline.

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    Description

    This quiz explores the narrative of a son reflecting on his father's alcoholism and its effects on their family dynamics. It delves into the emotional turmoil, feelings of responsibility, and the broader implications of addiction. Through personal anecdotes, it highlights the struggles faced by families dealing with alcoholism.

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