Alcoholism and temperance in William Henry Smith’s The Drunkard or the Fallen Saved

2022/10/29 by Ebony Kpalambo AGBOH
#FOS: Languages and literature

paper · doi:10.48734/akofena.s09v2.08.2022

Abstract

Abstract: In the 1840s in the U.S., excessive consumption of alcohol became a rampant practice and a social norm which had severe effects on the individuals, family units, and the well-being of the society. Physicians, clergymen, literary scholars, many of whom, joined the Temperance Movement initiated to end this dreadful practice. The American playwright William H. Smith, author of The Drunkard, also spelled to partake in the fight. In contrast to the antagonists’ vindictive behaviors, many affected characters, undertook lovely strategies to save the fallen Edward. This article aims to analyze the impact of alcoholism on the morals in the American society by highpointing the disaster alcoholism on the lives of people and the influence of the temperance culture in the process of fighting alcoholism. Keywords: alcoholism, disaster, temperance, love, resilience

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