reading through students' vignettes and finding a symbol

        According to the American Century Dictionary, alcohol is a colorless volatile flammable liquid. Whenever I hear about alcohol, I think about beer, wine and drunk people. However, Alex, Meriam and Tony use alcohol in a different context. Nonetheless, all four of us (including me) cast alcohol in a negative light although the vignettes themselves do not necessarily have a sad ending.

        Alex writes a vignette about the time he had to save money for his trip to Washington D.C. He recalls of a particularly interesting can donor who gives Alex trouble by handing him recyclables as well as trash to recycle. He did manage to save enough money through this recycling work and in the process made a new friend in an alcoholic. "I would always wonder if he was ok when I heard him on the phone because he seemed to always be impaired due to alcohol." Alex is obviously worried about this man. Alcohol has taken a toll on the man as he seems to be a bit mental as he can't tell the difference between what can and can't be recycled. At this point, it is too early to tell what exactly alcohol is supposed to symbolize. Some possibilities are that alcohol is an obstacle, insanity, etc.

        This next vignette by Meriam is a little more intense (complete understatement). The main character tries to help Owen break his alcohol addiction. The last part gets confusing when some people named Witch and Troll fight the main character and Owen. "One night he gave me a black eye when I tried to help him because he had alcohol poisoning." Alcohol can make someone do crazy stuff when they are drunk. Violence can be an obvious side effect of drinking. By now, readers of this response should establish that alcohol can't be a good symbol. Possible answers for what alcohol might mean include insanity and chaos.

        The last vignette is from Tony. On a more lighthearted note, it talks about how playing with fire is fun (don't really do this at home). "I used alcohol and a little Boric Acid to make green fire. I’ve burned myself many times too. One time I burned a piece of skin about a big as a penny off one of my fingers." This quote is different from the previous two in that it does not involve drinking it. However it still does damage. After reviewing the three quotes, I conclude that alcohol represents chaos. The problem arising from the chaos may range from tiny to large such as the recyclables being mixed with trash to someone receiving a punch in the eye.