Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self
“Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” Topic #2
I believe that Alice Walker chose those specific incidents from her childhood to show how she thought of herself and her beauty before the incident with the BB gun. It gives the reader a better understanding of how the incident would negatively affect Walker because of how much she valued being pretty. It also helps to show how much her personality dramatically changed after she had her beauty stripped away by the BB gun.
When Walker was Two-and-a-half years old and she was trying to persuade her dad about going to the fair, she refers to herself as “the prettiest”. Also, when she was Six years old and she was giving the speech on Easter Sunday, she admired the praise from the crowd about how cute she was. She really enjoyed the feeling of being cute as a child. These incidents in her childhood show her personality and her feelings toward her beauty and how she valued it before the accident.
After the incident, when Walker sees the doctor, the doctor talks about how the eyes are sympathetic. The doctor tells her that if one eye goes blind, the other might as well. After hearing this grave news, Walker states that she was terrified about not being able to see out of her other eye either. However, she also states that the way she looks after the incident is what bothered her the most. One of the things she valued most about herself was taken away by this “glob” on her right eye, and she then realizes this after seeing it. A few years later her personality completely changes and she isn’t as perky as she used to be. She tries to avoid eye contact so people won’t stare at her eye. She curses her eye and wishes for it heal soon, but to no avail. It’s only after the glob is removed that Walker starts to return to her old self.
In the story, Walker went from the cute, uppity child, to being self-conscious and gloomy. In conclusion, I believe Walker had to show those childhood incidents to show how much her beauty
I believe that Alice Walker chose those specific incidents from her childhood to show how she thought of herself and her beauty before the incident with the BB gun. It gives the reader a better understanding of how the incident would negatively affect Walker because of how much she valued being pretty. It also helps to show how much her personality dramatically changed after she had her beauty stripped away by the BB gun.
When Walker was Two-and-a-half years old and she was trying to persuade her dad about going to the fair, she refers to herself as “the prettiest”. Also, when she was Six years old and she was giving the speech on Easter Sunday, she admired the praise from the crowd about how cute she was. She really enjoyed the feeling of being cute as a child. These incidents in her childhood show her personality and her feelings toward her beauty and how she valued it before the accident.
After the incident, when Walker sees the doctor, the doctor talks about how the eyes are sympathetic. The doctor tells her that if one eye goes blind, the other might as well. After hearing this grave news, Walker states that she was terrified about not being able to see out of her other eye either. However, she also states that the way she looks after the incident is what bothered her the most. One of the things she valued most about herself was taken away by this “glob” on her right eye, and she then realizes this after seeing it. A few years later her personality completely changes and she isn’t as perky as she used to be. She tries to avoid eye contact so people won’t stare at her eye. She curses her eye and wishes for it heal soon, but to no avail. It’s only after the glob is removed that Walker starts to return to her old self.
In the story, Walker went from the cute, uppity child, to being self-conscious and gloomy. In conclusion, I believe Walker had to show those childhood incidents to show how much her beauty