Elasticity and Hegemony: A Brief History of Addiction Narrative in the Postwar United States

The 20th century has demonstrated a great diversity of thought when it comes to defining addiction: a phenomenon that has been supposed to be everything from a chronic brain disease to a moral failing. Given that range, literary studies of addiction are often led to define addiction in narrow ways rather than examine the dynamic character of addiction over time. While previous works offer insight into specific forms of addiction at specific times, there is currently no study in literary and cultural studies that addresses the ongoing history of addictions meaning(s) in detail.

Building on the work of scholars from diverse fieldsincluding cultural studies, literary theory, Marxism, psychoanalysis, the social sciences, medical science and public policythe following dissertation proposes a novel methodology for examining addiction literature that is not limited to any single perspective. Its analysis proceeds by way of what I call addictive realism: a combination of social, historical, chemical, and aesthetic forces that work in tandem to produce plausible, compelling and engaging versions of addiction. Every narrative renders addiction according to certain conventionsplot, character, conflict, climax, conclusion, etc.and in so doing creates a stylized, edited, selected version of something real. Broadly, the work of this dissertation attempts to understand those styles historically, as they adapt and mutate given new ideological and aesthetic paradigms.

Put simply, this dissertation attempts to understand the why of how America has told the story of addiction. It examines cultural works dating from roughly 1950, focusing largely on heroin memoirs and novels. Each chapter sets up a dynamic analysis between at least two literary texts, examining them in light of key political, social, and scientific paradigms relevant to their publication and reception. Ultimately, it elucidates several key dynamics that are common to literary productions of addiction in America, finding that literature has had a unique influence on the ongoing history of addictive thought. Due to narratives ability to capture and transmit the first-hand experience of users in a meaningful way, it has been, and continues to be, a valuable compliment and counterpoint to political, philosophical, and empirical theories of addiction.