Bob – Definition Essay, Research Paper

To celebrate Bob’s nineteenth birthday, his friends decide to drag him to a bar and fill him with beer. Bob reluctantly agrees. The group gathers at a table and orders a pitcher of beer. Bob, the birthday boy, is designated to have the first drink. Bob watches nervously as his friends fill his glass with beer. “Drink up Bob!” Bob’s friends say with enthusiasm. All eyes are gaze keenly upon Bob. Bob takes a deep breath, picks up the glass, and chugs it as if he is dying of thirst. Bob proudly puts down the glass and wipes his mouth with his sleeve; his friends cheer frantically. Alcohol has now entered Bob’s body. To determine how alcohol affects the body, let’s observe Bob’s night at the bar.

Shortly after the first beer, Bob becomes more pleasant, relaxed and sociable. He inhales a second beer, picks up a third, and walks over to an attractive looking girl. Bob introduces himself and initiates a conversation. Bob’s friends watch from a distance as he continues drinking. The attractive girl appears to be interested. Bob and the girl continue to talk. Suddenly, the attractive girl’s facial expression sours, and she slaps Bob on the face; she storms out of the bar. Bob walks unsteadily back to his friends and continues drinking. Apparently, Bob had unconsciously offended the poor girl. The four beers Bob had impaired his judgement, slowed his reaction time, slurred his speech, and decreased his coordination skills, which resulted in Bob’s swollen cheek. Shortly after six beers, Bob unwillingly vomits under the table. Sadly, Bob can no longer walk without falling; his friends acknowledge this and decide to pick him up and carry him back home.

Ethanol is the ingredient that is responsible Bob’s change in behaviour. After ingestion of beer, ethanol is rapidly absorbed through the stomach and the small intestine walls, into the millions of small blood capillaries. Within minutes, ethanol is evenly distributed throughout the bloodstream and diffuses into every cell of Bob’s body. This small molecule affects all organ functions, particularly the brain. When Bob’s brain functions is affected by ethanol , his normal behaviour can no longer be sustained.

The brain essentially is the control centre of the human body. It sends electrical or chemical signals through long strains of nerve cells, initiating proper body movements and thoughts. These nerve cells form a network throughout the entire body, similar to blood vessels and capillaries forming a network for the circulatory system. When ethanol is ingested, nerve cells’ capability of transmitting rapid and accurate signals to all body parts is lost. This phenomenon is the main cause for behavioural changes in humans after alcohol consumption, and the reason why Bob was not his usual self.

When the body’s vital functions are threatened by an abnormally high concentration of ethanol, the body’s safety mechanisms will be initiated. These mechanisms include vomiting, falling into a coma, and metabolizing of alcohol. After approximately six beers, Bob’s brain says, “that’s it, no more! You’re killing me! Bob, I command you to vomit.” If Bob ignores what his brain says to him, and continues to drink, he will fall into a coma. The brain will not tolerate Bob’s excessive drinking, and will force him into a coma in order to stop him from drinking and to protect him from potential harms. These features are safety mechanisms which disallow Bob to drink himself to death. Furthermore, Bob has a properly functioning liver, which contains an enzyme capable of breaking down alcohol into harmless components of carbon dioxide and water, which will enable him to recover from his drunken state.

The next morning, Bob wakes up with a bad headache. However, Bob is proud of his headache; it symbolizes of manhood. He is now a nineteen year old man who is able to consume alcohol, get drunk, and have a hangover.