Junkie, the first novel by the 'addict artist of the twentieth century', William S Burroughs, acts as a documentation of a specific cultural minority which had been often overlooked or generalised prior to its publication, that of the drug addict. This clear, blunt read has heavily autobiographical content, Burroughs himself having spent much of his life either in the midst of a habit, or attempting to get rid of one. However, as Burroughs long-term correspondent Allen Ginsberg notes, Junkie is merely an 'autobiography of one aspect of the author's career, and obviously cannot be taken as an account of the whole man', this sense being rather evident in the work itself. For instance, the two-dimensional, barely-present character that acts as a representation of Burroughs' then-wife is a mere shadow of the individual of reality...clearly the domestic side of his life was one strain that was emitted from the publication. Junkie, regardless of one's opinion on its literary merit, is certainly useful as a learning tool, giving an honest, neutral presentation of the real effects of junk, Burroughs himself at frequent intervals using phrases such as 'here are the facts', with a clarified, factual writing style reminiscent of non-fiction. Evidently the first question in reading such a documentarian novel is what Burroughs aimed at achieving.
The literary critic Harris seems to suggest that one such aim might be to challenge the moral authority of the reader. Thanks to the in depth, honest style of the work, the reader gets a real sense of the 'underworld linguistics' and whims and practices of 'Junk culture', making the reader rather complicit in the 'immoral' events described. Furthermore, despite the honest, not-always-positive depiction of the Junk world, there is certainly a sense of allure for the danger and action that it encompasses, leading the reader to really question their own moral stance and whether indeed, if in a different world with different circumstances, they would follow a similar course of life as the junky protagonist William Lee. Junkie like Burroughs' later work Naked Lunch also deeply criticises American culture, American bureaucracy and the general American moral mind-set. Primarily, starkly mirroring to Naked Lunch, the frequent images of corruption in high circles (in the Junk world indeed there has been a term invented ('croakers) to describe doctors who will willingly write prescriptions to patients they know to be addicts, it occurs so often), duplicity and hypocrisy are incredibly undermining to any sense of honesty in American society and further enforces the need for one to always question the world around them, the convention, those in power and never to be a slave to the norm and merely accept the corruption 'because that's the way things are'. This sense of corruption, which reaches such an extent that Harris was forced to conclude that 'with the odd exception, the economics of the junk trade are more rather than less ethical than those of the above-ground business world', also undermines the American xenophobic stance towards Junk culture, many of those who are the most obliquely critical being addicts themselves. The need for a change in views is perhaps best summed up by the following image:
'clean-cut, American boy face, a face that had aged but could not mature'
This revealing picture clearly conveys the sense of America as a country, despite maturing in terms of her years of existence, is failing to mature to reach a more assertive stance on a whole variety of subjects...one such area being its position towards drug addiction. This leads onto another one of Burroughs' aims in writing such a work, the wish to challenge mass misconceptions over the stuff he finds so close to his heart. This is done most powerfully, in my opinion, through the stark contrast between the mostly calm and cool-headed character the reader witnesses taking junk, and the violent, uncontrollable monster who we find as an alcoholic. Clearly the thesis is posed that society has been chasing the wrong drug, with the real enemy under their noses all this time. A final purpose for the work that came to mind was more personal for Burroughs himself. He chose to end the former introduction with:
'I am using the known facts as a starting point in an attempt to reach facts that are not known'
This seems to suggest that Junkie might have acted as a means for Burroughs to put all the trauma and drama of the past years of his life on paper, in order for him to reach his own conclusion on the merits of the stuff, whether it be a friend or a foe...
The Junk Culture is portrayed in the novel as being an entirely separate, distinct one, as seen in the line 'junk has marked them all with its indelible brand', seeming to suggest that Junkies are a cultural group on their own. This culture is also a cutthroat one, a deep sense of mistrust and violence underlying relationships between addicts in the work, there being various cases of Junkies leaving their friends in stances near-death following a misplaced injection, in order to disassosciate themselves and prevent any trouble from occuring on their part. This culture is also constantly evolving and developing, Burroughs noting how it is 'subject to rapid changes', and indeed this is obviously seen in the arisal in the latter half of the novel, of the 'hipster' Junkies. The Junk Culture is equally seen as a culture that overrides all pre-existing factions whether they be racial, religious or otherwise, Lee taking part in many conversations with 'negro' Junks, in an otherwise racist society. Junk itself is presented as a physical force in its own right, 'a kind of spectral vampire preying on its users' according to Harris, though despite this it is maintained throughout that one can only become an addict through WILLING, consistent exposure to a substance, indeed with some substances such as marijuana there's no addiction at all. Junk to an addict becomes a biological necessity as seen in the phrase 'junk-hungry cells' which acts as a frequent motif throughout the work, blatantly foreshadowing the latter concept of a 'metabolic depedence' on the stuff, this being a phrase excerpted from Naked Lunch. Burroughs uses extreme imagery throughout the work to illuminate the depth of this dependance, whether it be using the vile atrocity that was the Holocaust to outline his point as seen in '[the Junk oppression] was like anti-Semitism under the Nazis', the extreme, somewhat inapproprioate likening emphasing the desperate stance of the addict to use such poor taste. Equally the image of Junkies, 'whining and clinging [to the] sleeves' of the drug-dealers when they are turned down has echoings of the biblical passage where the old woman touches the tip of Jesus' rogue in an attempt to be saved. This use of religious imagery further enforces the importance of Junk to an addict, it taking an almost deistic position. This gripping addiction however is perhaps best exposed through the monster that Lee becomes in its absence, '[licking his] lips and [starting] towards the chest' with a baton in an attempt to whack a cat, 'alert to block any escape route'. The second half of the phrase has particular resonance for Lee is perhaps trying to inforce his trapped nature, being stuck in the clasps of addiction, upon another living thing.
In terms of a casual read, I preferred Junky starkly compared to the other Burroughs' book I have read, Naked Lunch. I found the two to be starkly different, bar the topic of drugs that is commomplace for the two, one would not naturally guess that both were the work of the same author, the writing style contrasting so much between them. Junky being straightforward and factual whereas Naked Lunch was disconnected and chaos-filled. However, this is too simple for me to cast my decision, over which had the easier writing style, in the critical light the disconnect and confusion worked for Naked Lunch further adding to the riotous nature of the society Burroughs wished to portray and accentuating his morals, primarily the need to question and clarify the confusion that surrounds ones-self. Junky also had milder imagery than Naked Lunch, at no such period was I pushed to the extent of retching by it. I found that the salacious and frankly pungent nature of the imagery throughout Naked Lunch somewhat overtook from the purpose of the work itself, that is to outline the need to question all that surrounds us. Even though Junky was not completely absent of disturbing scenes, the factual and honest style made the equally upsetting images more palatable as it acted as a verifying element almost. Equally, in terms of presenting the world of the addict as a distinct culture, an aim that ran through both works, Junkie seemed far more successful in reaching such an aim, starkly contrasting to the chaos and confusion of its sister work. Equally the relatable scenery, emotions and characters made the whole Junk culture seem far more feasible in Junky, the surreal elements to Naked Lunch making it somewhat unbelievable and distant from the human condition. However, as Harris outlines, the two works may not be so far apart as first thought. He outlines the gross difficulty Burroughs found as a writer in sticking to one specific writing style (something he would learn to turn to one of his great literary strengths), accepting this as being a source for difference between the two works, but also insists that both novels share a certain characteristic, their exploratory label. This is outlined in his statement that:
'Junky is in embryonic form an explanatory novel, and experimental text, like all those Burroughs would write after it'
The very fact that the works differ so much thus highlights Burroughs insatiable appetite for experimenting and morphing into different styles and techniques, something that many would say is the main thing that separates him from his contemporaries as a shining emblem of literary greatness.
To conclude, I found Junky to be a relatively easy read, especially when compared with the other Burroughs works I have read, successful in really outlining and describing a separate, alien culture in a factual and concise nature. I would recommend it to anyone looking for any easy entering to the world of Burroughs or anyone who would wish to broaden their horizons, both literally and factually.
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