Lucy McElroy - The Role of Family in Crank

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Family dynamics play a huge part in the likelihood of substance abuse in adolescents. In Crank, Kristina falls into a paralyzing methamphetamine addiction before her seventeenth birthday, a product of risk factors inherited from her family. Her mother contributes to her rapid decline by lack of concern with her daughter, and her father expedites Kristina’s decline with his own addictions and lack of discretion with his daughter.
It is made clear in Ellen Hopkins's note at the end of the novel that her decision to send her daughter to visit her estranged father was by no means an easy one. Hopkins repeats the phrase “it started with a court-ordered visit” twice in the novel – once at the beginning, and again in the author’s note, blatantly expressing that she did not have the final say in whether Kristina visited her father, and that she regrets letting her go (10, 546). Hopkins was pressured by her young daughter, anxious to see her “daddy” after eight years without him. “The judge had a God complex,” Hopkins writes, furthering the point that the decision was ultimately out of her hands (10). She was nervous because she was aware of her ex-husband's risqué behavior and admits that the course of events would have been much different if not for the court-ordered visit. However, it is possible the addiction would have surfaced without the trip to Albuquerque.
Kristina’s battle with family and addiction in Crank mirrors so many adolescents’ experiences in growing up in a home destroyed by hard drugs. Lack of parental attention and the presence of parental drug use are two precursors to adolescent drug use. Her steep decline into addiction may have been prevented if not for the court-ordered visit, but other factors would have ultimately influenced Kristina’s fate. Kristina’s is not the first story to be told and unfortunately, it will not be the last.


Crystal Meth Photo
Wikimedia Commons
Licensed for noncommercial reuse (Creative Commons)

Sad Photo
Pixabay
Licensed for noncommercial reuse (Creative Commons)

Smoking Photo
Pixabay
Licensed for noncommercial reuse (Creative Commons)

Graphic created by Lucy McElroy

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 7, 2016 at 9:17 AM

    I agree that family dynamics play a huge role in adolescents abuse of drugs, but I also think that the final decision depends on the adolescents. I think that authors note was also very powerful. I like the picture that you included with your post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 2:30 PM

    I like how you pointed out Hopkins regrets. I think she definitely blamed herself for her daughters drug use; but I also agree with you that "other factors would have influenced her fate," because of family dynamics.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 9, 2016 at 8:02 PM

    Great thoughts! I like how you connected the book's events with the real life events that inspired them and what we can take away from that.

    ReplyDelete

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