Alcohol

"Tight, Jake. I was tight." Gorton
"That's strange. Better have a drink." Barnes
"Remarkable thing. Don't know how it happened. Suddenly it happened." Gorton
"Last long?" Barnes
"Four days, Jake. Lasted four days." Gorton
(pg 76)

I have noticed that most of the characters in this novel drink at most times and hardly pay any attention to that fact. It seems as though being drunk is just as normal as being sober to them. I find it odd. I feel that adults should have the opportunity to drink when they want, but should not take advantage of that privilege. In chapter 8, Bill Gorton, for example, speaks of being "tight" for four days while traveling in Vienna; I've come to understand that term as under the influence of some sort. The way that he remembers things that happened during that duration is by drinking, so that leads me to believe that he was drunk then too. I'm not sure if it was only in Paris that this sort of tolerance was so apparent, or in all of Europe, or in every place that could afford it. It just comes shocking to me, because this time in age, being intoxicated most of the time comes off as highly inappropriate and foolish.