Expert answer:English Essay Three: Narratives of Addiction
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Essay Three:
The Narratives We’re Told and the Narratives We Tell
We create the world around us, in part, by telling stories about it. These narratives can be fictional,
like the Harry Potter series or non-fictional like the articles and videos you’ve read and viewed in
this class. Fictional works include novels, short stories, plays, and comic books. Non-fictional works
include essays, histories, memoirs, biographies, newspaper articles, scientific studies, and journal
articles. Fictional texts are invented by writers; non-fictional texts are factual.
While the sources for fictional and non-fictional works are distinct, both interpret aspects of human
life and experience. Harry Potter novels help readers to explore the nature of friendship by
immersing them in a world where friendship is important. Sociologists or psychologists study
aspects of friendship, for example, through academic studies rather than novels. If insightful and
accurate, both inform our knowledge and understanding and contribute to our understanding of our
worlds.
The knowledge we gain, in part, from well written narratives help us to lead more informed lives. It’s
possible you’ve heard the expression, “knowledge is power.” Knowledge empowers us because it
helps us to understand more, to make sound decisions, and to be more effective. Education is valued
because we believe that the knowledge it provides empowers and improves our lives.
It’s also helpful to consider the inverse of this expression: “power is knowledge.” This means that
those in power have a tremendous ability to shape what we believe to be true, or what we consider to
be sound knowledge. Governments, businesses, the media, and institutions like schools have a great
deal of power to tell us what is “true” and they have the mechanisms to enforce this truth. In some
cases, this truth is insightful and accurate. In other cases, it serves ends like greed, benefiting only a
few through manipulation that takes advantage of our fears and short-term desires. In some cases,
it’s just poorly informed.
Careful and critical scholars and writers (like us) have the power to shape our worlds and help
readers think more clearly and form more accurate conclusions through the narratives we tell (like
the arguments we make). This means we play an important role in informing those around us. It
doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll always arrive at the very best conclusion or that we’ll know more
than anyone in the world, but it does mean that if we strive to be ethical, remain open-minded, think
critically, research well, and work hard to be accurate, we will have done something important.
In our personal lives and in our academic and professional careers, when we make arguments –
when we explain our positions, back them up with evidence and reasoning, and consider
counterarguments – we’re telling narratives about ideas that help to shape what we (our readers and
ourselves) consider to be accurate and useful knowledge. These narratives take readers from a
starting place (the introduction of our essay where we provide some overarching context) and walk
them through our thinking and that of others, to arrive at thoughtful, non-obvious, and accurate
conclusions. After reading, our readers have hopefully learned something that contributes to their
knowledge, and we’ve learned something through thinking and writing.
For Essay Three, you’re going to consider the power of narratives (in this case, the arguments experts
make about addiction) to shape our world. You’ll consider common narratives about addiction,
question those narratives, and then work to arrive at truer and more accurate narrative that can
better help us address the problem of addiction in our society.
We’ll work through this process in four essay development stages, which are described beginning on
page three.
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Essay Three Details
Essay Three is a 4-5 page MLA formatted essay. In Essay Three, you will accomplish the following, using
the essays and video provided and at least two sound outside sources.
PART ONE:
Part One will provide very general context for your essay, drawing from Postman and Adichie. In Part
One, you will –
o Reflect on and explain the power of narratives (our words, our stories, and our arguments) to shape
our world.
o Explain the ethical responsibilities we have as writers and thinkers when creating narratives.
o Consider and explain why it is important for writers and thinkers to look below the surface – to look
carefully at the complexities of any problem to arrive at meaningful and useful conclusions.
o Explain the danger of a single story.
In Part One, you MUST use Postman and Adichie as sources and include at least ONE quote or
paraphrase from each source with a signal phrase, accurate in-text citation, and explanation. You may
also use other sources in this section.
PART TWO:
Part Two will provide context for your argument. In Part Two, you will o Identify a common narrative we hear about addiction that you found in our readings (for example,
that addicts lack will power, that they should be jailed, that medical treatment provides the best
answer).
o Introduce and explain the positions of at least two authors on at least two different sides of the
debate.
o Explain how one or more of these positions or parts of these positions may be faulty.
o Recommend how our society should think differently and more accurately about addiction.
o Recommend the most important factors we should consider when addressing addiction (for example,
economics, race, will power, the law).
o Draw a conclusion (your main claim) about what societal response is most likely to be effective. As a
model for your own claim, ask yourself how each of our authors and those they report on would
respond to this question.
NOTE: Your goal is NOT to recommend treatment plans to addicts (Twelve Step programs, for example).
Instead, think about the larger societal narratives about addiction and make recommendations about how
US institutions, corporations, and/or the US legal system should think differently about addiction to
arrive at large-scale change.
PART THREE:
Part Three will form the remainder of the paper. In Part Three, you will o Fully defend your main claim, using evidence from the readings and at least two sound outside
sources.
o Include body paragraphs that lead with subclaims. These will support the main claim and be defended
by evidence and reasoning.
o Link each paragraph back to the main claim.
o Identify and explain specific factors from the readings (which may be medical, societal, racial,
economic) that we should consider when attempting to address addiction as a society.
o Identify facts, principles, circumstances, or reasoning should we take into account that we may
commonly fail to consider.
o Consider how a new narrative around addiction that is more accurate and insightful might improve
our outcomes.
o Include at least one counterargument from a specific, cited source and your rebuttal.
o Include a Works Cited list for outside sources.
o Conclude the essay with a new insight for your reader to consider, rather than simply recapping
what’s already been stated.
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o
To support this section, which will be multiple paragraphs in length, you MUST –
§ Use Ross AND Duhigg AND Slater as sources and include at least ONE quote or paraphrase from
each with signal phrases, accurate in-text citations, and explanations.
§ Include at least THREE citations (total) from TWO sound outside sources, using with signal
phrases, accurate in-text citations, and explanations.
Essay Development Process
Stage One: The Word Weavers/The World Makers
Week Nine
INTRODUCTION TO ESSAY THREE/WEEK NINE WORK:
During Week Nine, we’ll reflect on how language shapes our worlds, consider our ethical obligations when
creating our narratives (our arguments), and evaluate the danger of looking at a subject with limited
information (through a “single story”).
KEY READING/VIEWING QUESTIONS:
•
•
•
•
•
•
How do humans “use language to create the world” (Postman 2)?
Why is there an “inescapable moral dimension to how we use language” (Postman 2)?
Postman cites the following as immoral uses of the language (2). Can you think of an example of
each that you’ve recently seen in the news or encountered through social media?
o Using language to defend the indefensible.
o Using language to transform certain human beings into nonpersons.
o Using language to lie and blur distinctions.
o Using language to say more than one knows or can know.
Given the role of scholars as truth-tellers, what are our ethical obligations when developing our
arguments?
What is the “danger of a single story” (Adichie)?
Why should we look deeply at a subject and consider the complexities of an issue, rather than just
arriving at an easy conclusion?
o How do the discoveries of scientists and other experts help us form strong conclusions?
o How is our thinking enlarged and our judgments informed by learning about all sides of a
debate?
o What difference does the careful process of discovery make in the quality of our
narratives (our arguments) and to the world in which they are shared?
READING AND VIDEO:
•
•
“The Word Weavers/The World Makers,” by Neil Postman
“The Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Adichie (18:46)
ASSIGNMENT: DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20
•
Reading and Analysis Exercise, including part one of Essay Two (20 points)
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Stage Two: The Narrative of Addiction: Finding My Position
Week Ten
ESSAY THREE/WEEK TEN WORK:
During Week Ten, we’ll consider one example of a narrative we often hear about: addiction. Think about
the position you currently hold about addiction. Are addicts merely those who lack will power or are there
other forces at work that contribute to their addiction? As a society, should we address addiction through
law enforcement primarily or are interventions like education or health care more likely to address the
significant problem of addiction in the US?
KEY READING QUESTIONS:
•
•
•
•
What are the primary causes of addiction?
What are some unexpected causes of addiction?
What societal, economic, and mental health factors contribute to addiction?
What is the appropriate role of law enforcement in dealing with the problem of addiction?
READINGS:
•
•
•
•
“Dr. Robert K. Ross at 2017 YMCA of San Diego MLK Breakfast” (36:22)
o Start this at the 1:53 minute mark to skip over the introductory remarks.
o When viewing, think about the common narratives (or ideas about) addiction that Ross
discusses, what he learned in his practice, the factors he thinks we should focus on in order to
address the addiction problem, the population he has served and describes and how factors
like poverty, the psychology of hopelessness, and institutional racism has contributed to the
problem he sees.
“The Neurology of Free Will,” by Charles Duhigg
o While reading Duhigg’s chapter, identify factors that contribute to addictive behavior,
consider who should be held accountable for the consequences of addictive behavior and
under what circumstances; and evaluate the role of free will.
“Rat Park,” Lauren Slater
o While reading Slater’s chapter, consider what environmental and physical factors contribute
addictive behaviors and, given these, what responsibilities individuals, governments,
companies, and economies bear in curbing addiction;
“Jeff Sessions ‘Appears Intent on Taking Us Back to the 1980s’ and the ‘War on Drugs’” by Jeremy
Berke
o While reading Berke’s article, consider the role of law enforcement in curbing addiction and
the position of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Under what circumstances, if any, is law
enforcement the appropriate response to drug addiction? How might Ross respond to this
approach?
ASSIGNMENT: DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27
•
Reading and Analysis Exercise (20 points)
ASSIGNMENT: DUE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29
•
Essay Two: Finding My Position: Writing Parts One and Two (30 points)
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Stage Three: The Narrative of Addiction: Drafting the Essay
Week Eleven
ESSAY THREE/WEEK ELEVEN WORK:
During Week Eleven, you’ll draft the body, counterargument, rebuttal, and conclusion of Essay Three.
ASSIGNMENT: DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3
•
•
Reading and Analysis Exercise (20 points)
Peer Review of Finding My Position: Parts One and Two (10 points)
ASSIGNMENT: DUE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5
•
Essay Three Draft with Completed Checklist (40 points)
Stage Four: Peer Review and Final Revision
Weeks Twelve & Thirteen
ESSAY THREE/WORK FOR WEEKS TWELVE & THIRTEEN:
During Week Twelve, you’ll provide a peer review and during Week Thirteen you’ll submit your final
revision of Essay Three and completed checklist.
ASSIGNMENT: DUE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8
•
Peer Review of Essay Three Draft (20 points)
ASSIGNMENT: DUE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19
•
Essay Four Draft (50 points)
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Rat Park
THE
RADICAL
A D D I C T I O N
EXPERIMENT
In the 1960s and 1970s scientists conducted research into the nature of
addiction. With animal models, they tried to create and quantify craving, tolerance, and withdrawal. Some of the more bizarre experiments
involved injecting an elephant with LSD using a dart gun, and pumping barbiturates directly into the stomachs of cats via an inserted
catheter. With cocaine alone, overfive hundred experiments are still performed every year, some on monkeys strapped into restraining chairs,
others on rats, whose nervous system so closely resembles ours that they
make, ostensibly, reasonable subjects for the study of addiction. Almost
all animal addiction experiments have focused on, and concluded with,
the notion that certain substances are irresistible, the proof being the
animal’s choice to self-administer the neurotoxin to the point of death.
However, Bruce Alexander and coinvestigators Robert Coambs and
Patricia Hadaway, in 1981, decided to challenge the central premise of
addiction as illustrated by classic animal experiments. Their hypothesis:
strapping a monkey into a seat for days on end, and giving it a button
to push for relief, says nothing about the power of drugs and everything
about the power of restraints—social, physical, and psychological. Their
idea was to test the animals in a truly benevolent environment, and to
see whether addiction was still the inevitable result. If it was, then drugs
deserved to be demonized. If it wasn’t, then perhaps, the researchers
suggested, the problem was not as much chemical as cultural.
I
2
k n o w a j u n k i e . E m m a i s h e r n a m e . At s i x t y – t h r e e years old, she i s
a s c i e n c e d e a n at a small N e w E n g l a n d c o l l e g e , and e v e n w h e n
she’s n o t in h e r office, she’s stylishly dressed, today in l i n e n pants a n d
a s c a r f t h e c o l o r o f m e r l o t . A f e w m o n t h s ago, s o m e t h i n g b a d h a p p e n e d t o t h e b o n e s i n E m m a ‘ s b a c k . T h e v e r t e b r a e , w h i c h snap
t o g e t h e r like L e g o s , b e g a n t o l o o s e n and slip. T o ease t h e pressure, she
w e n t u n d e r t h e knife a n d c a m e u p t o c o n s c i o u s n e s s w i t h a surgical
seam and o n e brown bottle
of O x y C o n t i n , the
m e d i c i n a l disks
releasing h e r to a plac e w i t h o u t pain.
O p i u m , called i n o l d e n days t h e S a c r e d A n c h o r o f Life, t h e P l a n t
o f J o y , M i l k o f Paradise, w r i t t e n a b o u t b y classic G r e e k physicians a s
c u r i n g ” c h r o n i c h e a d a c h e , epilepsy, apoplexy, tightness o f b r e a t h ,
c o l i c , lilac p o i s o n , hardness o f t h e spleen s t o n e , the troubles t o w h i c h
w o m e n are s u b j e c t , m e l a n c h o l y a n d all p e s t i l e n c e . ” O p i u m , a strange
s u b s t a n c e harvested from t h e l e g g y p o p p y plant w i t h its testicular
p o d full o f seed; i n n i n e t e e n t h – c e n t u r y E n g l a n d , n u r s i ng w o m e n
used t o b r e w t h e p o p p y plant’s seeds, d r i n k t h e tea, a n d q u i e t t h e i r
fitful infants. O p i u m , possibly t h e p r e c u r s o r to R i t a l i n , t h e first p s y chotropic,
sold
in
the
streets
of s m o k y
London
as
“Infant’s
Q u i e t n e s s ” and ” M r s . Winslow’s S o o t h i n g Syrup
E m m a L o w r y , h o w e v e r , has a different v i e w o f t h e drug. S u r g e r y
c u r e d t h e b a d b o n e s i n h e r b a c k b u t left h e r w i t h ” a t e r r i b l e d e p e n d e n c e . I n e v e r m u c h t h o u g h t a b o u t drugs, n e v e r m u c h c a r e d for t h e m
o n e w a y or t h e o t h e r , b u t I’ll tell y o u , I’ll n e v e r l o o k at a p o p p y plant
and t h i n k it’s p r e t t y — n e v e r , ever again,” she says w h e n I visit h e r in
h e r h o m e , a s o l a r – p a n e l e d c o n t e m p o r a r y w i t h h i g h w h i t e walls.
Today, E m m a i s reading a b o o k b y G e o r g e E l i o t , talkin g o n t h e
p h o n e t o h e r staff a b o u t h i r i n g p r o c e d u r e s , and i n b e t w e e n that,
telling me h e r tale. S h e d o e s n ‘ t n e e d to tell me really. I c a n see it, in
t h e way, after t w o h o u r s w i t h o u t a dose, h e r b o d y b e g i n s to q u i v e r; I
w a t c h h e r ease t w o tablets from t h e b o t t l e , p l a ce t h e m o n t h e pad o f
h e r t o n g u e . S h e c o u l d , i t s e e m s , n o m o r e refuse t h e s e pills than a
plant c o u l d d e n y t h e sun it tilts toward .
H e r s is a c o m m o n , u n d i s p u t e d story. O u r predecessors m a y have
t h o u g h t o p i u m a n elixir, b u t w e k n o w b e t t e r , w e w i t h o u r n e e d l e s
g o n e b l u n t from sharing, o u r c o l l e c t i v e nasal cavities collapsing. W e
k n o w drugs are addictive. I f y o u m a i n l i n e h e r o i n l o n g e n o u g h , y o u
will d e v e l o p a taste for it. I f y o u s m o k e c r a c k c o c a i n e , y o u will b e
r u s h e d and r o c k e d and later feel t h e n e e d for m o r e . W e t h i n k these
things b e c a u s e t h e m e d i a and t h e m e d i c a l e s t a b l i s h m e nt have r e p e a t edly tol d us it is so, t h e i r p r o o f in P E T scans s h o w i n g brains b r i g h t
red w i t h craving.
A n d yet, in t h e e n d , eve n p r o o f i t s e l f is a cultural c o n s t r u c t . B r u c e
A l e x a n d e r , P h . D . , a p s y c h o l o g i s t w h o lives i n V a n c o u v e r , B r i t i s h
C o l u m b i a , w i l l tell y o u this. He has spent his life studying t h e nature
o f a d d i c t i o n and has c o m e t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n that i t d o e s n o t reside i n
t h e p h a r m a c o l o g y o f a drug a t all, b u t i n t h e c o m p l e x w e a v e o f
u n s u p p o r t i v e s o c i e t i e s . A c c o r d i n g t o A l e x a n d e r , t h e r e i s n o such
t h i n g as a c h e m i c a l that causes a d d i c t i o n , as, say, a n t h r a x causes p u l m o n a r y distress. In A l e x a n d e r ‘ s s c h e m a , a d d i c t i o n is n o t a fact, b u t a
narrative, and o n e q u i t e p o o r l y p l o t t e d . T h e r e f o r e , h e v e r y m u c h
d o u b t s t h e stories o f t h e E m m a L o w r y s , o r t h e A A c o n v e r t s , o r t h e
research b y E . M . J e l l i n e c k , w h o was t h e first physician t o d u b a l c o h o l i s m a disease in t h e 1 9 6 0 s , and t h e later research by J a m e s O l d s
and P e t e r M i l n e r , w h o f o u n d that animals i n cages will c h o o s e
c o c a i n e o v e r f o o d until t h e y starve t o death, b o n e d rodents. Instead,
A l e x a n d e r has t w o stark claims: ( 1 ) t h e r e is really n o t h i n g ” i n h e r e n t l y
a d d i c t i v e ” a b o u t any drugs, a n d ( 2 ) r e p e a t e d e x p o s u r e s t o e v en t h e
m o s t e n t i c i n g drugs …
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