Addiction In Firekeeper's Daughter By Angeline Boulley

Rebecca Boldan
Mrs.Maples Ms.McDermott
American Literature
7 March 2023
Drugs Ruin Lives

“One in eight teenagers struggle with drug abuse or addiction in the US today,” according to drugabusestatistics.org. In Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, we enter the Native American populated city of St. Sault Marie, MI. Readers are taken on a journey in which readers learn how the use of drugs by these people led to many devastating and unnecessary events unfolding. Drug abuse and addiction is a huge social issue in the United States Drug addiction is a problem because it leads to violence. “ Lily lands on her back, arms outstretched, like she's floating in a pool. But not moving. This moment lasts an eternity, or an instant, I don't know

I squeeze my eyes shut, and open them to see his head snap sideways. His body crumples at Lily's feet, as if groveling for one more chance.” (Boulley 87) This quote shows what devastating actions Travis took because he was under the influence of drugs. Since Travis was under the influence of drugs, it let him to kill the love of his life, as well as commit suicide. This is a huge problem because when people are using these substances, it leads them to act in such strange and violent ways they had never dreamed of. According to research,“ Alcohol and other drugs of abuse may act on brain mechanisms that cause a high risk individual to engage in aggressive and violent behavior.” (National Research Council). Displays of violence among drug users isn’t uncommon because they lose control over their feelings and have a sense of paranoia. This is an issue in itself because as a society, we shouldn’t be justifying such actions because of drugs. The usage of drugs also affects the people around the user. “Every time a person uses drugs, she is running the risk of experiencing negative side effects, such as aggression. If a person becomes more violent from

Randy E. Bartnett claims that “drug laws cause more harm to addicts and society than drugs themselves.” According to Bartnett, “Drug prohibition makes drugs so expensive, the addicts trying to crime in order to obtain money to buy them. Furthermore, drug prohibition is unfair in that it punishes users for committing a “crime” that has no victim.” Some people might agree with the idea that legalizing drugs would benefit addicts because then they would not be able to obtain drugs so easily. However, these people would just find another way or create another injury in which the doctor has to prescribe them another dosage. Readers see a very interesting conversation between Daunis and Robin Bailey’s mother. It states, “‘Robin’s been addicted to painkillers ever since she re-broke her collarbone last year,’ Mrs.Bailey breaks into raw, choking sobs. ‘Then she admitted she was doing meth’” (Boulley 268). This conversation shows that when Robin rebroke her collarbone, her body responded with addiction to these pills. She wanted more and more, but the painkillers weren’t giving her a big enough high, so she tried meth, which led to her death. This relates to drug abuse in the United States because many teenagers face the same issues and react the same way as Robin did. According to health professionals, “People are