Drug Use And Addiction (Essay Sample)

Drug Use and Addiction in “Sonny’s Blues”
Drug addiction is one of the most critical challenges plaguing our world today. Researchers have gained a deeper comprehension of the stressors that lead to substance abuse and dependency. Investigations on the physiological impacts of substance abuse have ascertained the operation of specific brain areas and how substances target the brain’s normal functions. Regrettably, misconceptions propagated by the media have silenced many breakthroughs. According to studies, how drug abusers are depicted has a significant impact on how society views addicts. “Sonny’s Blues,” a fictional narrative by James Baldwin, describes an unidentified narrator’s experience after learning that Sonny, his brother, has been imprisoned for using and supplying heroin. Although much of the scholarship on Baldwin’s story has focused on the importance of music, much less emphasis has been placed on substance abuse’s equally important and related topic. Baldwin’s storyline can help the reader gain a deeper insight into the issues highlighted in the story. This paper seeks to explore the effects of drug abuse on addicts and those close to them. The paper also seeks to determine how the media influences the perception of drug users and contributes to misinformation and a lack of understanding and empathy for drug abusers.
While Baldwin’s story is fiction, it helps highlight real issues in society. While describing fiction, Mays (16) argued that “we assume such stories are true, or at least that they are meant to describe an experience honestly.” Mays’ argument demonstrates that although “Sonny’s Blues” is a fictional narrative, it is effective in communicating its message.
Baldwin’s short story depicts a novel perspective on drug use. Unlike successive, often stigmatizing representations of addiction, particularly in the Black Power Movement’s political dialogue and other late-twentieth-century black mass culture, “Sonny’s Blues” portrays addictive behaviour as a source of potential. Baldwin implies that, while open-mindedness towards addiction is destructive for the drug user, being aware and open-minded towards the issue is vital for the general public. Baldwin addresses the effects of drugs on addicts and their relatives. Sonny abuses drugs to break free from a sad, hectic, and agonizing environment. Baldwin refuses to pronounce judgment on Sonny despite his struggles with dependency because he wants to shed light on the negative impacts of substance abuse and the brain’s role in drug consumption. Some of the teachings readers can get include a realization of the situations that cause addiction, a depiction of the effects substance use has on the brain, an assessment of how addiction's portrayal can change one's perspective on the subject, and discourse on consequences that drug users face. Although many individuals may be suffering from drug addiction, imprisonment is not a viable solution. Because the problem of drug addiction occurs within the brain, it is essential to establish strategies that will focus on the functions of the brain to increase drug addicts’ ability to exert control over their impulses.