Alcoholism

While reading King Leary it is blatantly obvious what the central theme of the novel is. The author used several different characters to display the main theme concerning the negative aspects of alcoholism. Nearly every major character in the novel is affected by their excessive drinking and the reader sees them ruin their lives through the sober eyes of King Leary. The three most important characters whose lives are affected by alcohol abuse are Clay Clinton, Manny Oz, and Iain. Clay Clinton was adversely affected by his alcoholism because he became abusive. While under the influence of alcohol, Clay became abusive and cold toward people, especially Janey. Clay also abused his power when he was drunk, most notably when he traded Manny to the New York Amerks so he could have Janey to himself. Manny also became abusive to Janey when he was drinking, and often beat her. He also became irresponsible and was often drunk for his games until he died in his bed with a bottle of whisky. Iain used alcohol to escape reality and often pretended that he was a famous actor or musician when he was intoxicated. Eventually, his drinking got so bad, Leary finally said to Iain what he could not say to Manny and told to stop drinking the alcohol that hurt him so bad. This was an important part in the book because I showed that Leary had learned that alcoholism affects the people who are close to the alcoholic as well as the alcoholic.