Addiction is a complicated and challenging condition that affects millions of people around the world. The consequences of drug addiction can be devastating for individuals and for society. Addiction can cause numerous health issues, and changes to personal life with friends and family. The play “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage highlights addiction, her characters Tracey and Brucie both face addiction after traumatic experiences. The play “Sweat” calls attention to the challenges that people and families dealing with addiction face.
Addiction starts as a coping method for people dealing with intense pain or trauma. The play “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage the character Brucie, a father, husband and Union Leader, experiences addiction of Heroin. Brucie is locked
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In addition to the health issues that come with drug addiction and use, addiction can also cause social isolation. Addiction can also have an effect on families and communities, as loved ones may be forced to deal with the burden of caring for someone struggling with addiction. In the article Heroin Addiction, Ethics and Philosophy of Medicine it says how “The heroin user seems to be considered as one who rejects these cultural values. He refuses the task of self actualisation ; he refuses to contribute positively to society” In the play Sweet by Lynn Nottage the character Brucie experiences addiction the worst, he is torn from his life and is brought to desperate and unthinkable things to feed his addiction. In the play, one of the worst things we hear about that Brucie did to feed his addiction is when Cynthia is at the bar talking to Stan and says “I go downstairs. My Christmas presents under the tree are gone— STAN. / Get outta here. CYNTHIA. AND my fish tank with my expensive new tropical fish, gone.” (Nottage 17) Brucie had stolen Christmas from his family. This is not uncommon for people dealing with addiction, they will use the vulnerability of the people trying to help and turn them into enablers of their addiction. Addiction is a devastating mental illness that affects not only the addict but society as a