Vivian Nguyen
Eng 099
Mrs.Shiroshi
16 April, 2015
Substance Abuse
“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.” (Carl Jung) This quote is very true according to anyones case but especially true for David Sedaris. In his book of short stories, he explains his experiences with sleep deprivation and malnutrition through his addiction of speed, his many blackout moments with his alcohol addiction. In David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day, he warns readers of the downward spiral of drug and alcohol dependency, particularly in “Twelve Moments in the Life of the Artist,” and “The Late Show,”.
The “Twelve Moments in the Life of the Artist” is a short story describing his experiences with speed, otherwise known as Amphetamine. Through twelve, even smaller stories, he explains how speed affects his life, and his career.“ The moment I took my first burning snootful, I understood that this drug was for me” (44) He shows his downward spiral in life by showing us that this drug gave meaning to life and that he thought the drug was meant for him. “Speed heats the brain to a full boil, leaving the mouth to function as a fulminating exhaust pipe. I talked until my tongue bled, my jaw gave out, and my throat swelled up in protest.” (46) In the previous quote, he shows us that the drug is affecting his thought process and the way he talked to others. Another way David Sedaris shows that his life is disintegrating into nothing is by showing that his life or home was filled with nothing but “ … just cigarette butts, aspirin tins,wads of under nourished hair and bloody kleenex.” (47) This shows that he his life is now only revolving around his drug. There is no longer any food scraps in his apartment because he never ate anything or did anything else but speed. After a while, he explains to us that he needs the drug or else he can not do art anymore when his drug dealer cuts him off before he has a chance to finish...