A Million Little Pieces is a memoir written by James Frey. It is about his life and journey through rehab. He portrays himself in an unusual way thought the book.“I am an Alcoholic and a Drug Addict and a Criminal”(73). This is not the only time we see this quote, as it reoccurs several times. There are multiple techniques used by James Frey to add meaning to this quote. Frey uses no commas to soften the sentence, and capitalizes letters to draw attention to each term. This is a sentence which strikes us hard. This sentence is so important because whether Frey realizes it or not, he has taken a huge step. The first step in AA’s program is to admit you have a problem. Here Frey admits that he has a problem with drinking and drugs. At no point in the book does James Frey deny this. When his parents come to get him and take him to a clinic after he has been placed on a plane and flown home he does not object. He is passive and unreceptive, but he puts up no fight.
Another quote that is filled with great meaning is shown when he is in the car with his mother and father.”She leans over and she tries to hug me. I push her away. Let’s just get out of here, Mom”(3).His carelessness about his mothers feelings show how much he has been hardened by his experiences as a drug addict and alcoholic. It shows that he does not have sympathy for anyone, not himself, and not his mother. We see that his feeling is no one should have sympathy on him either. This is powerful because it takes place right after James Frey has been found with his teeth knocked out and a hole in his cheek. They have no clue what he was on or what happened, yet through it all his mother loves him and cares about him. The memoir is complex and provides us with a fascinating view into life as a an “Alcoholic and a Drug Addict and a Criminal.”
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