The Fat Girl Analysis

Sociocultural standards of feminine beauty are presented in almost all forms of popular media, revealing women with images that portray for what is considered to be the "ideal body." Such beauty standards for most women are completely unattainable; what is seen on TV Is another story, majority of models are considered to be well below what is known as a healthy weight. Media conveys a practical message using models that are not considered to be healthy and stating that in order for a woman to be considered beautiful, she must be unhealthy, or “thin.” The mindset in today’s society for many women is that you need to be thin, which is all too predominant and for females it makes it more difficult to achieve any level of serenity of their physical appearance. In the American culture, the “ideal body” for a female is represented very negatively, as it has dramatically changed. The number of people who are thin is starting to be the minority, while the people who are overweight/obese is going to other way and is the majority. Andre Dubus, the author of the short story "The Fat Girl," demonstrates each of these traditional behaviors towards the overweight main character, Louise.
In “The Fat Girl,” Louise is overweight/obese in which she experiences indirect rejection, from her friends and family. Everywhere Louise was, she saw someone who was either skinny or skinny models pictured on magazine covers. Her father demonstrates his support and love towards Louise a lot more than any of her family members and friends; however, he still does not solely accept her and her body (Dubus, 159). In the story, Louise describes her father’s eyes filled with pity, but he does not display disapproval of her, while Louise’s mother portrays disappointm...

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...a world and society which influences the members to change the way they live like, just to fit into the rest of the society, making them to be better suited. It is clear that the author has a view on that society has an immense impact on members and their actions. Like stated earlier, Louise has to deal with both external and internal problems; Louise’s personal conflicts within her are changed by a few other individual’s minds. This is relevant because it is true that the society that an individual belongs to portrays a major role in shaping another person’s behaviors and thoughts, as with what Louise has dealt with in this story. People sometimes take in what others think of them and on the most hand, most teens take that to the head and want to change whatever it was they said, just because it will satisfy the other person, but sometimes that person themselves.