The Destructive Nature of Societal Expectations

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The expectations of one’s surroundings shape who he or she is. Whether it is requirements from parents, society, or oneself, these pressures determine a person’s decisions and their behaviour. The plots of Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood and The Shape of a Girl by Joan MacLeod both focus on the bullying of a girl and the effects of these actions on those involved. The victims in both pieces of literature are singled out because they do not fit into societal norms. In The Shape of a Girl and Cat’s Eye, the stress caused by attempting to conform to society’s expectations causes the characters mental distress and keeps them in a subordinate position. The negative effects on one’s psyche are caused a variety of reasons. First, the expectations placed by society are constantly changing, thus they are impossible to achieve. Next, these expectations are enforced through dehumanizing methods. Finally, victims are forced to create a persona to fit into society,
Firstly, what is defined as socially acceptable is unstable and unachievable. In The Shape of a Girl, the protagonist Braidie describes the reasoning by which the bullies pick their targets: “Because she is big, because she likes that boy. Because she is brown and she lost their book; because she doesn’t fit and she lies” (Macleod, 50). The victim in this quote is singled out because she differs from societal norms; not only is she a minority in her environment, she also does not fit into the idealized body image. Parallelism is used to describe the variety of reasons others use to bully the victim, emphasizing how different she is from other students. However, the students are constantly pointing out new flaws, as they are trying to find new excuses to bully her. The oppressors make ...

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...timized, one must create a persona.
Victims face mental distress and are placed into a subordinate position when they attempt to conform to society’s expectations. They struggle because the expectations are impossible to achieve, yet are enforced through dehumanizing methods, to the point where the victims are forced to create a persona, masking their true self, to fit into society. Unfortunately, neither Elaine nor Suzie is able to come to terms with their abuse, severely hampering their psychological development. However, what is important is that they are able to survive these traumatizing events. Perhaps that is the strength of humanity; not the ability to destroy obstacles, but the ability to brave through them.

Works Cited

Atwood, Margaret. Cat’s Eye. New York: Seal Books, 1988. Print.
MacLeod, Jean. The Shape of a Girl. Toronto: Talonbooks, 2009. Print.

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