Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Exploration Three - Melissa H.

My name is Melissa Haueisen. I have a dog named Muffin, my favorite color is aquamarine, and my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice. I play the clarinet and the piano, and I love almost all types of music.

One line from Under the Influence that I found particularly meaningful was the line, “Unlike the biblical swine, however, he left behind a few of the demons to haunt his children.” I think that line sums up what a lot of the essay is about. I think the author wants to share his experiences with his father’s alcoholism as a way to show why he acts and feels the way he does about alcohol as well as his own compulsion to work hard. Also, he wants to tell his story to his son, so his son can better understand his father. What really struck me about this essay was how much guilt the author felt, even after he had learned about alcoholism. When visiting his parents as an adult, instead of going in with a clear cut explanation of why his father drinks, he reverted to his childhood mentality of what was going on. This essay really shows what it is like to be the child of an alcoholic, and I found that very interesting.

5 comments:

  1. I completely agree with your quote, it seems that alot of the same problems the author's father had is also present in his own life.

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  2. I also found the rawness of the story to be interesting. It is actually the reason i continued to read. I enjoyed The Road, very dark story but very interesting.

    I am Eric, nice to meet you!

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  3. I like how you mentioned that the author's writing may be used to explain his addiction to work, because he mentions that in his essay. I also like how you talked about the guilt he felt for his father's addiction, like it was his fault. You can really tell the author struggled greatly with guilt throughout his childhood, and I don't think he has ever let that guilt go, even though he shouldn't feel guilty at all.

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  4. I agree with all of this. You did a really good job of summing up what you felt after reading the essay and I can completely relate to what you said.

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  5. I think this response related one of the main points the author was trying tell his audience, which is how a single alcoholic can change the way someone acts.

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