Under The Influence Scott Sanders Analysis

“Under the Influence” by Scott Russel Sanders is a personal essay about Sanders’ father and specifically, his alcoholism. As the title of the essay suggests, his father is under the influence of alcohol, but this essay will argue that Scott Sanders is under the influence of his father. Sanders uses the structure of the personal essay to reflect on how his childhood was negatively impacted by his father, and to reveal to himself how his childhood affects his present adulthood. Sanders writes that “the story ends” for his father but that “the story continues” for his siblings, his mother, and most significantly, for himself. (Sanders 733). He continues to write that “for all this grown up knowledge I am still ten years old” and “as that boy I

Sanders frequently switches from using universal pronouns to singular pronouns. The type he chooses to use depends on the tone of the particular part of the essay and the subtopic that is being discussed. Sanders uses the “our” pronoun to say that his father had an effect on his siblings as well, such as in “our Father” (734). He uses the “I” pronoun to emphasize that he is guilty that his father turned into a drunk. Phrases such as “I have failed him” and “if only I were perfect” (734) showcase that he believes it is his responsibility. The self-blame is a way for Sanders to at least find answers into the reasons for his father’s behaviours, providing self-comfort. RELATE TO THESIS. On page 735, Sanders writes that his father was “dissolving in alcohol before our very eyes,” indicating that the whole family witnessed the father, but in that paragraph Sanders only refers to the father as “my father.” The “I” pronoun implies at the fact that only Sanders saw his father as a father figure, and especially in adulthood, he was the only one two took care of him by doing his chores. The self-blame continues into adulthood when Sanders’ daughter gives him the “WORKAHOLIC” placard (743). Sanders refers to her as “my daughter” and not as “she” which puts emphasis on the “my.” He is seeing himself as the central reason why his life is in ruins.

First, there is a frequent use of commas to create a slow pace. For example, Sanders writes about his father, “he climbs out, grinning dangerously, unsteady on this legs,” (733). The commas create breaks in between each two to four words, mirroring the father’s behaviour. It is easy to imagine young Sanders watching his drunk father taking one unbalanced step after the other, slowly, which is the effect that the commas offer here. The slow pace created illustrates Sanders’ small young voice, because he notices every detail like a child’s curiosity. The commas also represent digging into evidence – “the secret bores under the skin, gets in the blood, into the bone, and stays there” (735). With each comma, Sanders digs deeper both figuratively underneath the skin, and literally with the evidence, adding to the childhood voice. Due to the lack of conjunctions, these sentences are written like a natural childish conversation. They tend to be long and circuitous, carefully brought together. Usually children take time to think about thoughts, and use many adjectives to describe things, which is what the language is doing