The vice has a different name, but the struggle is all the same is what Andrus Dubus is articulating in his short story The Fat Girl. His portrayal of Louise reinforces that daily over-exercising, binge drinking, or sexual addiction is no different than closet or compulsive over- eating. The characters in the story are so complex and diverse, but share a common dysfunctional trait that controls them, some subtle and some obvious from appearance. President Bill Clinton, or comedian Bill Cosby appeared to have everything any person would want, but everyone has a soft underbelly that looks horrific in the light of day. Louise cannot comprehend who she is, and constantly battles with her own identity while sometimes successfully resisting her natural urges to pack as much unwanted food into …show more content…
Instead of Louise finding intimacy, she is drawn back to her true fat self. Louise is now well traveled and with child, but she fears that child she carries will allow her to again over indulge. Still smoking during her pregnancy, she eventually concedes to her husband’s request to stop, but replaces the phallic nasty cigarette with other objects; carrots and celery. Socializing and cocktail parties were her meal ticket to curds and whey. Richard tries helplessly to detour his child bearing wife from snacks, and in frustration says, “You’re gaining weight. It’s not all water, either. It’s fat. “Richards’s cruelty grows as she balloons up in weight. He catches her pounding lasagna into her mouth hole and it disgusts him enough to say “I can feel it when you get into bed. Pretty soon you’ll weigh more than I do and I’ll be sleeping on a trampoline”. He is not receptive to her advances and refutes any physical contact, and her solution to the problem is to shove a Milky Way bar into her mouth while hiding in the
However, with this transition, some questions come up: What is the difference between being ridiculed and being pitied for? Is it really that much better to be pitied for? Answers to these questions would have made the transformation process of the term “fat” clearer. Though there is no doubt that Carver is making a statement here with the waitress’s pity, it is more than just pity for the fat man and more than just the presence of “the grotesque” (Kurkjian 2). It is seeing the fat man beyond his fat, someone who is mannerly and also shameful of his weight. When the waitress interacts with him, he thanks her for the food, forgives her for spilling his water, and frequently says that “they” (himself) do not eat so much all the time (Carver 67). The waitress realizes the kind-hearted and self-critical man he truly is and stands up for him when her fellow employees mock him. Carver does not change the term “fat.” In reality, he emphasizes the perception of what is beyond being fat, that there is more under the surface of what he or she looks like. Here, Carver is, in fact, using the Freudian idea of superego, which “concentrates on the mind of morals and ethics” (Abrams
MacClancy states, “Wrenched out of normal routines by the continuing assault on their mouths, they concentrate on the sensation and ignore almost everything else” (287-288). On the topic of body art, Ruggia states, “The skinny obsession is spiraling out of control as more people risk death to be thin through diet pills and gastric bypass surgery” (318). These statements support that the essays both unveil an underlying message of the endless human search for self-gratification. Using diferent writing styles, the authors similarly impress their person opinion on the
The author brings in the mental health aspect and talks about the ridicule that is a part of a heavy person’s life regularly. She notes that people will make rude comments, or comment about what they have in their grocery cart at the store. She states that people are not that into getting medical help by reason of a doctor almost always attributing health issues to the fact a person is fat. She talks about how she has tried so many times to lose weight, but she realized that she needed to just make peace with her body. Spake and Worley disagree on how people should handle their addiction.
Described within the vignette is a nineteen year old teenager named Brandy. Similar to girls her age, Brandy has difficulties dealing with her body image and self-esteem. For instance, she experiences hopelessness, isolation, sadness, and anxiety that all contribute to Brandy’s acknowledgement of her physical appearance. She completely overestimates her body size to the point of taking dieting pills then defaulting to purging. During the typical day, the meals are scarce but healthy compared to a bad day full of unhealthy snacking. Lastly, her family predicament is not a supportive one at that. Her mother was obese so she constantly dieted while Brandy’s father illustrated signs of sexual interest although he never physically touched her.
Nell is an older woman who during her whole life has had to help her autistic daughter Louise, however, by doing this she believes that she is the only one can really help Louise. This is seen whenever the flashbacks happen, and Billie is trying to put makeup on Billie. Seeing this Nell gets angry and states, “ For the final time, do not take it upon yourself to teach her. You leave that to me, or you can leave this house!”(page 28-29) this could be seen as Nell being overprotective about Louise, and only sees herself as the rightful person to take care of Louise. I would describe Nell as being well kept, with possibly a few messy strands of hair and minimal makeup. I think this because, for the last few years she has been losing her eyesight and with the amount of work she has to put in to keep Louise from hurting her and herself, Nell would not have the time to take care of herself as much as should. Nell also seems to have a large bruise on her wrist, stated in the intro before the script starts (page 7). This bruise is presumably from an episode from Louise (page 16). Now Louise, on the other hand, I would describe as a blank template. Looking from the flashbacks, I wouldn’t put Louise in any type of heavy makeup (page 28-29), since she has a disability and is constantly taken care of I do not think that she would have any type of makeup other than a basic foundation
The irony is the fact that a majority of Americans are fat by national standards. Over 90 percent of women don't conform to the diet standards developed by insurance companies in the 60s. The media create a need to lose weight because they realize most Americans aren't statistically thin. By creating a standard of what is "normal" and then creating a need to achieve this normality, an industry of dependence is born - dependence upon diet pr...
Throughout the story, Louisa is shown as a woman who is loyal to her commitments no matter how long she has to wait for something. Louisa is not only loyal, she is also a loner and perfectionist. The perfectionist side of her is shown multiple times. For example, when the narrator talks about Louisa growing her lettuce, the narrator says, “which she raised to perfection” (). The whole story shows how Louisa needs everything neat and
She sorts out how the knowledge of reality takes away one 's innocence and how staying unaware retains that innocence. The incognizant do not make up the evils of the world, as they do not instigate things they do not know of. Lucynell knows of nothing other than how to function, and she stays perfectly innocent throughout the story despite what happens to her. Innocence is taken away by knowledge, but nothing can bring it
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
Through Lou's loss of The Little Seamstress, the novel shows that you can't change people to be what you want.
She insults the article by telling her audience, “Gossip magazines keep us constantly abreast of what 's happening to the bodies of famous women.” She even talks about disciplining herself to lose weight to let audience know that she is over weighted. Some of the text that the authors use, people can relate too, and understand that the author has been through the same situation. Gay uses the word denial to explain the outraged of how people deny themselves to maintain their ideal bodies. The article is convincing, and the appealing of the author tone sets the mood of this article. Roxane Gay contrast on how these television shows are not the shows you want to watch. She also gave the audience other examples on a positive effect of losing
One’s identity is the most important lesson to be learned. It is vital part of life knowing who you are in order to live a fulfilled life. Without knowing your identity, and the way you perceive life, it is difficult for others to understand you, along with a struggle to live a happy life. In Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” Esther Greenwood struggles to find her own identity, and in the process, she develops a mental illness which helps her discover the person she is on the inside.
Louise has turned into a little girl that must depend on man to take care of her. Louise pleads with Brently to go to the gardens of Paris. She begs like a child begging for something that is impossible to give. Brently must lock her up in their home to protect her from her curiosity and need to see the world. The filmmakers do not give her the commonsense to realize the dangers she would face in seeing Paris and all the other places she would like to visit. Louise remains the little girl in the flashbacks and Brently has replaced her dead father as the soul keeper of her world. Brently must protect her from the world and herself. She is made to be completely dependent on him from her everyday needs to being her only window into the outside world. There are no female positions of authority in her life. Aunt Joe is left in the background and Marjorie must ultimately answer to Brently. Louise is left to see men as the only authority in her life. She herself as a woman must feel powerless to the will of men. Brently even chooses the destinations of their daily visits to far off and exotic places. These excursions are Louise's only escape. Brently is made to be her captor and savior at the same time. Her fate is completely dependent in his yet she is given no control of either.
For centuries women have fought to obtain basic civil rights and today, they are still fighting to obtain equal rights. From the right to vote to their right to birth control, women have always been trying to assert their own independence in order to expand their freedom. While much progress has been made, there is still room for improvement. However, the evolution of women’s rights and the role of women is mirrored in literature and can be used to illustrate the progression throughout history. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is no different. Through the character Jocasta, Sophocles creates a counterpart to Oedipus and uses her to reveal the oppression of women by contrasting her and Oedipus’ relationships and reactions to the prophecy. Throughout the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles illustrates Jocasta’s vulnerability and supportive nature in order to women as fragile, doting, and obedient wives and mothers to facilitate the necessity of self-assertion.
Since the beginning of her life, Louisa isn't allowed to express herself because her father continually stresses the facts. Mr. Gradgrind suppresses Louisa's imagination and all she can do is wonder. One example of Louisa attempting to view the unknown occurs when she and Tom peep through a loophole in order to see a circus (8). This is the first time both Louisa and Tom have seen such a sight. When asked why they were there, Louisa curiously answers, "Wanted to see what it was like" (8), a response any normal child would have. Her "starved imagination" (8) is curious and needs some sort of avenue for release. As Louisa blossoms into a young lady, the young Miss Gradgrind enchants one particular suitor. Her father thought that it was time for Louisa to marry and had a suitable companion in mind. When Mr. Gradgrind asks Louisa if she would like to be Mrs. Bounderby, all Louisa can utter is, "You have been so careful of me, that I never had a child's dream. You have dealt so wisely with me, father, from my cradle to this hour, that I never had a child's belief or a child's fear" (63). Mr. Gradgrind interprets his daughter's words as a compliment to him and his strict belief in teaching only the facts. But Louisa means she has not experienced life and has never been given the chance. Her childhood has been murdered by her father's strict insistence on the perpetuation of facts only. Although Louisa realizes she has been enslaved by the theories of fact, she willingly enters yet another bondage to Mr. Bounderby allowing the process of her suppression to continue.