Alice Walker Beauty When The Other Dancer Analysis
Cheyenne Keene
Sarah Dwyer
English 1101-SS
September 3, 2013
Discovering a Persons Inner Beauty: Falling in Love In the world today we have everything from magazines to billboards that
portray a specific type of beauty; the beauty of ones face, hair and body.
However, that wasn’t the case in Alice Walker’s story, Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the
Self. Alice had no influence of such things as a child. What influenced her most was the love and
support of her close knit family. The nurture that Walker received as a child built her confidence
so high that no one could bring it down! (At least that is what she thought.)
Alice Walker was tormented as a child from the age of …show more content…
She graduated high school as Valedictorian, most popular and
Prom Queen. Ironically, the girl that was voted most beautiful was pregnant and had been shot
twice in the chest by her companion. (Walker 98). Beauty didn’t take her anywhere but her
grave.
Alice, now 38 years old, was being interviewed on her most recent book at
the time. The journalist wanted to do a photo-shoot of her but Alice was worried about how her
eye would look “Will it be tired and wonder” (Walker 98). Alice came up with every possible
reason to avoid doing the photo-shoot for the cover story. “Haven’t you already made peace with
that?” her lover asked her (Walker 98). Then Alice realized she had.
Throughout Alice Walker’s life, she repeatedly asked people, “had she ever
changed?” Although every answer she ever got was no, Alice was still blinded to her true beauty.
She may have physically changed, but she was still the same Alice; until she allowed little
children and the crudes of the world to tear away her confidence. She allowed others to change
her view of herself.
It is now that she realizes what the not so literal meaning of the statement
Sarah Dwyer
English 1101-SS
September 3, 2013
Discovering a Persons Inner Beauty: Falling in Love In the world today we have everything from magazines to billboards that
portray a specific type of beauty; the beauty of ones face, hair and body.
However, that wasn’t the case in Alice Walker’s story, Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the
Self. Alice had no influence of such things as a child. What influenced her most was the love and
support of her close knit family. The nurture that Walker received as a child built her confidence
so high that no one could bring it down! (At least that is what she thought.)
Alice Walker was tormented as a child from the age of …show more content…
She graduated high school as Valedictorian, most popular and
Prom Queen. Ironically, the girl that was voted most beautiful was pregnant and had been shot
twice in the chest by her companion. (Walker 98). Beauty didn’t take her anywhere but her
grave.
Alice, now 38 years old, was being interviewed on her most recent book at
the time. The journalist wanted to do a photo-shoot of her but Alice was worried about how her
eye would look “Will it be tired and wonder” (Walker 98). Alice came up with every possible
reason to avoid doing the photo-shoot for the cover story. “Haven’t you already made peace with
that?” her lover asked her (Walker 98). Then Alice realized she had.
Throughout Alice Walker’s life, she repeatedly asked people, “had she ever
changed?” Although every answer she ever got was no, Alice was still blinded to her true beauty.
She may have physically changed, but she was still the same Alice; until she allowed little
children and the crudes of the world to tear away her confidence. She allowed others to change
her view of herself.
It is now that she realizes what the not so literal meaning of the statement