Addiction, and characters dealing with it

I'm sure we all have had contact with addiction, either someone we know or ourselves. It's a powerful thing, especially if it is actively being battled. There is a television show I guiltily enjoy, "House." It's about a genius doctor, who has very little concern for the cares of others, who deals with the pain in his leg through pain medicine addiction (well, at least that was in the first few seasons, I'm not current sadly). That addiction nearly defined his character, even more so than his brilliant medical mind.

Giving a character an addiction isn't taken lightly. It's so powerful, such a rampaging monster, that if not handled carefully it can dominate the story and run away from the plot. I'd guess that any writer placing this motivator inside a story does so with a quivering hand. Amazingly, nearly anything can become addictive behavior (or at least overly needy behavior), so there is virtually no limit what you can include. Naturally, the most common are drugs of some sort.

If the story goes along far enough, there is one thing the audience will anticipate: that the character will face the addiction full force. It's a form of resolution. What will the character do? Will Jekyll win, or Hyde? Will the addict give in entirely, or put up a fight? Or, will they simply turn away and ignore it again? In the show, "House," that subject is the subject of several episodes, and even ends up with him in an institution--locked away until he's conquered it.

Anytime I see a show, or read a book, with addiction, I do perk up. I think we can all empathize, and we want to see what happens. Should it always end in victory? Maybe not, but my guess in this arena is that people prefer to see heroes.

- M