Further along James Frey's journey to recovery we see how much he has changed, and learn about his values, as he has to make a tough decision. Frey is faced with the decision of whether to leave the clinic and chase after Lilly, or stay there and focus on his own needs. Lilly has run away after hearing that she and Frey cannot see each other anymore. Frey remembers Lilly and his conversation about suicide and decides it is more important to run after her. He states "I stand at my door hoping she'll come back, hoping this is all a nightmare, hoping for the sake of hoping"(339). These words show Frey’s strong desire to help Lilly, and how much he has grown to love her. It seems now as if Frey needs Lilly in his life above everything else. Frey again states: “I love her and love is more important than Rules and Regulations” (340). These words are what empower Frey to go after Lilly. These words show that he finally has something in his life worth living for and someone he can love. By placing Lilly above all else we see that Frey has learned to accept others needs ahead of his own. Frey is faced with a tough ethical decision, to take care of his own needs, or another’s. We will all be faced with a similar decision at one point or another and we will have to make a choice just as Frey did.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Outside Reading Post 5 (Q2)
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4 comments:
I really liked Frey's quote about addiction being a decision because it is very true. We hear of all sorts of abusive behaviors in today's culture and its interesting hearing about someone who has fought their addiction with the knowledge that it is a personal choice. I would like to see how Frey's idea of addiction being a choice stands up to another argument of someone who believes the opposite, that someone does not choose their addiction, because this topic sometimes becomes controversial.
I also liked the quote about addiction being a decision. The only way for someone to give up a harmful lifestyle (like addiction) is to admit it's a problem and that they are responsible. If a person only puts the blame on someone else, they will never try to fix the problem.
Although alcoholism is technically an illness, I really like the idea that people decide to be addicted. However, I think that to some degree people are manipulated by their addiction. With nicotine in cigarettes and positive emotions from food, the addicted person has to overcome a physical/chemical barrier. I just don't think that it is a yes/no decision with guaranteed success.
I think it is really neat how he put love before following the rules because it shows that it is the first time in a long time that he has cared enough about something to make a major decision based off of it. I think that Lilly will help him because it will give him something to live for.
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