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THE JUNKIE PHILOSOPHY.   Term Paper ID:30457 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analysis of the main characters in the book DRUGSTORE COWBOY by James Fogle.... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 4 sources, 8 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Analysis of the main characters in the book DRUGSTORE COWBOY by James Fogle. Contends additction of characters is not limited to taking drugs, but also to the excitement of the lifestyle, including criminal aspects. Special world view, attitudes and behaviors of characters who adhere to the junkie philosophy. Junkie system of values. Paper Introduction: The main characters in James Fogle's Drugstore Cowboy subscribe, to various degrees, to what might be called "The Junkie Philosophy." For the bulk of the book, the characters, especially ringleaders Bob and Diane, live their lives with one object in mind--acquiring and taking drugs, especially the high quality drugs located in pharmacies, which they rob. All other activity is insignificant in comparison. They live for drugs. Within that fixation on drugs, however, there is indeed a philosophy of sorts which includes a world view, a set of attitudes and behaviors that the characters adopt as expressions of that world view, and a sense of higher purpose which is achieved through the exercise of that philosophy. For the characters in Fogle's book, it is clear that the simple addiction to and ingestion of drugs itself are hardly the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. his morals, his value systems, his ethics, drop to a lowest common denominator. Even the dreaded enemy--cops--can be seen in this philosophy asa part of the divine plan whereby Bob and his cronies acquire drugs (Fogle53). The "content" addict's philosophy is that he is the one whoknows the deepest truths in life--that life is suffering and that drugsrelieve that suffering and transport the addict to another realm wherethere is no pain, only great pleasure. . . Such portrayals have contributed to the "ghettoization" of drug users and the construction of a false separation between "thus and us" (Sora 133). This philosophy gives a purpose and meaning to life, even if thepurpose is destructive. Each addict finds what gives him or her the most pleasure,but for each of them the heart and soul of the junkie philosophy is theexperience of becoming and being high. . He becomes as compromised as the average criminal in jail. . As Wills and Carona write: [The junkie] becomes part of an underworld of other users, taking on standards of behavior and codes of morality that once may have been utterly foreign to him. Save My Son. Bob is at the top of this hierarchy, followedclosely by Diane, then Rick, who is a fairly long-time partner of Bob andDiane, and finally Nadine far down on the ladder. The main characters in James Fogle's Drugstore Cowboy subscribe, tovarious degrees, to what might be called "The Junkie Philosophy." For thebulk of the book, the characters, especially ringleaders Bob and Diane,live their lives with one object in mind--acquiring and taking drugs,especially the high quality drugs located in pharmacies, which they rob.All other activity is insignificant in comparison. After all, he lives hislife to acquire and take drugs. As Jonnes writes of famed junkie-authorWilliam Burroughs, "Using junk made him part of the group, it was sort of arite of passage" (Jonnes 21 ). Of course, this littlegang is composed not merely of people who use drugs illegally, but ofpeople who rob drugstores. The junkie philosophy simply took thisrejection by society and turned it into positive aspects--nonconformity,freedom, individuality, etc. Just as the straight world sees the junkie as the despisedoutsider, the junkie sees the straight as the despised insider. As the major personification of the junkie philosophy in Fogle'sbook, Bob expresses himself as if he sees himself as an artist not only ofdrug-taking but of robbing pharmacies. Substance Abuse. For the characters in Fogle's book, it is clear that the simpleaddiction to and ingestion of drugs itself are hardly the end of theirobsession. To the contrary, it is indeed a way of life. This philosophy is not a crude one with respect to drugs, butincludes a connoisseur's refined appreciation for individual drugs and forthe interrelationships of different drugs as they react in the junkie'sbody and brain. Nadine is the "innocent"of the group, a relative novice in the drug world who has not yet come tounderstand or adhere to the junkie philosophy. . New York: Scribner,1996.Sora, Joseph, ed. Without that high, there would be nojunkie philosophy. Center City, MN: 2 .----------------------- 7 Wilson, 1997.Wills, Maralys, and Mike Carona. Hep-Cats, Narcs and Pipe Dreams. Drugstore Cowboy. . . At the bottom of this hierarchy is David, a"street kid" and an outsider among outsiders. As Sorawrites: . Shortly, her inexperiencewill cost her her life and she will be simply another casualty to drugs.The generally cold-blooded responses of the others to her death areexpressions of the junkie philosophy, which ignore all standards of humanebehavior and focus on the self, drugs, and avoidance of the police who canend their desired way of life. The junkie believes that the world without drugsis a place of suffering, meaninglessness, and boredom, and also believesthat that world can be instantly transformed by the acquisition andingestion of drugs. . It includes a system of values to which theindividual aspires, a system of "right and wrong," although, again, that"right and wrong" may be radically non-traditional, as it is in the junkiephilosophy. New York: Delta, 199 .Jonnes, Jill. They live for drugs.Within that fixation on drugs, however, there is indeed a philosophy ofsorts which includes a world view, a set of attitudes and behaviors thatthe characters adopt as expressions of that world view, and a sense ofhigher purpose which is achieved through the exercise of that philosophy. Drugs to the junkiecan be fairly said to be gods, worthy of worship. Drugs are paramount, more importantthan sex to his pleasure-seeking, which causes rifts in his relationshipwith Diane. He scorns normal society and rails against unfair rules and the police and what he deems as a gestapo government (Wills and Carona 65-66). . I loveto watch Bob work, I like the lifestyle" (Fogle 47). Everything is twisted to make sense, to fit into the junkiephilosophy. A world view should effectively connect one's knowledgeand experience in a context which shows how the individual fits into theworld, and, within the narrow confines of the junkie's reality, such aworld view meets this requirements. . New York: H.W. Rick saysto the neophyte Nadine: "To tell the truth, I like the excitement. The drama attendant on any addict's life ismultiplied by these people's criminal activities, and adds to its allure intheir eyes, few addicts rob pharmacies on a regular basis. He steals, he lies, he cheats, he manipulates. In other words, the addict who is not ready to try to stopusing drugs (as Bob becomes at the end of the book) sees himself as anoutsider out of choice, not because society or sociologists deem him to bean outsider. Of course, as an addict declared in1915, society's attitudes do play a part in the junkie philosophy, buteventually serve as a means to differentiate themselves from non-addicts:"Now I was one of a band set apart by the will of society, too, and harriedfor our nonconformity" (Jonnes 49). The world view of the junkie is a simple one and focuses on therequisites of addiction. . This acquisition of drugs through illegal activity, with all itsattendant danger and drama, and the taking and enjoying of said drugs, arethe heart and soul of the junkie philosophy. Works CitedFogle, James. Once an individual uses drugs for any length of time, . The junkie lives for drugs,which become his God and his higher purpose rolled into one. Of course, this ignores the kind of romantic image such addicts asBob and his gang have of themselves, an image at the center of the junkiephilosophy. . . This experience is a special one at the core of the junkiephilosophy, and one whose specialness separates the junkie from thestraight world. Here are Bob's thoughts of Dilaudid, a high-qualitypharmaceutical equivalent of heroin: Upon entering his vein the drug would start a warm itch that would surge along until it hit the brain in a gentle explosion that began in the back of the neck and rose rapidly, until he felt such pleasure that the whole world took on a soft, lofty appeal (Fogle 11). One mustremember that this judgment of David and his ilk comes from Bob, a man whomakes his living breaking into drugstores. Within the world view of the junkie philosophy are the rituals ofbehavior and the hierarchy of prestige and power which mark other worldviews, including religions. Rick believes he isnot addicted and could live without the drugs, and despite his denial abouthis addiction and the likely difficulty of becoming clean, he is honestabout the fact that the fixation extends beyond the mere drugs. The junkie philosophy can even be seen as a kind of pervertedreligion, for the junkie is as dedicated to his world view and way of lifeas dedicated as a believer is to his religious path. The social deviance literature has played a role in classifying addicts as "other" thereby contributing to the production of an outside status. These street kid/junkies "hadno honor at all,; they were capable of anything" (Fogle 18). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.