Alcoholism: The Role Of Prohibition In The United States

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Alcohol has always been part of the society in the United States. People have been drinking for different reasons for a long time. Wether it be to drink away their sorrows, or even just to bond with friends, or anything in between. Everyone has a different reason why they drink. With the instatement of the eighteenth amendment to the United States Constitution that established prohibition of all alcoholic beverages, there started a new movement in the United States. Basically, since alcohol was illegal, crime seemed to take off. The jails were packed with people who were partaking in alcoholic beverages, and organized crime was starting to be more prominent. There needed to be providers of alcohol to the public, and so people started to take…show more content…
They spend some time working, but what they really do for most of the book is drink, party, and argue. Jake is never able to be with the woman he loves, because the crazy lifestyle of the time gets the best of both of them. Is this really the life that someone wants to live? They are essentially taking advantage of the self-indulgent culture that is sponsored at this time. It is attractive. They get to party and do what they want. They meet others who love to do the same as well such as Mike, who seems to be the most unstable of them all. But in the end, you always have to face your…show more content…
Jake and his friends are at a week long party in Spain. They are getting very little sleep, and drinking a lot of alcohol. It is similar to the life of a college student. The “things” that were happening, such as rockets exploding during the middle of the night and waking everyone up, and men who do not know their names screaming at them to drink because they are foreigners, could only happen at a party. Things that happen at parties are often random, and alcohol fueled. And this is attractive to people. The fact that it seems like nothing could have any consequences is also attractive. In the lives of those who have just gone to war, and witnessed the atrocities of war, and the new inventions that went along with WWI such as machine guns, bombs being dropped from airplanes, the use of gas, and flamethrowers, it would be nice to do something that didn't seem to have any consequences after being in a place that had nothing but consequences. It was out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta. keep in mind that the fiesta is a week long. That is a long time to not be thinking about having consequences for your

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