Analysis Of Beauty When The Dancer Is The Self

When Alice Walker was eight years old, her brother accidentally shot her with a BB gun in her right eye. She lost the use of that eye and was left with scar tissue that was noticeable. Other kids would ridicule and laugh at her. This caused her to become very withdrawn. She became more of an observer and she started composing poetry in her head. She was afraid to put them on paper because she thought that her siblings would find her writings and tear them up.

The emotional focus of Alice Walker 's story is rage, red-hot and isolating. As I read this piece, I became livid, not only at the thought of her devastating injury and her family 's apparent disassociation, but also at Ms. Walker herself. It appeared to me that she never let go of it. Instead, she seemed to embrace her anger.

Throughout Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye, she captures, with vivid insight, the plight of a young African American girl and what she would be subjected to in a media contrived society that places its ideal of beauty on the e quintessential blue-eyed, blonde woman. The idea of what is beautiful has been stereotyped in the mass media since the beginning and creates a mental and emotional damage to self and soul. This oppression to the soul creates a socio-economic displacement causing a cycle of dysfunction and abuses. Morrison takes us through the agonizing story of just such a young girl, Pecola Breedlove, and her aching desire to have what is considered beautiful - blue eyes. Racial stereotypes of beauty contrived and nourished by

Alice Walker and Maya Angelou are both African American females whose literate has influenced both many African Americans .Beauty When The Other Dancer Is The Self by Alice Walker is a narrative that highlights the key events from the life of the author. These events had a great impact on her. She transitioned from a proud young girl to a girl with low self-esteem person and how she coped with life. Graduation by Maya Angelou is an essay which the authors share with the audience about her eighth-grade graduation. She shares the steps and preparations that were taken for the ceremony. Unfortunately for Maya, her day went on a festive occasion to a sad day because of a speech presented by a guest speaker. Much like Alice Walkers Beauty When The Other Dancer Is the Self and Maya Angelou's Graduation the main characters are both young African American female living in the Southern States during the Segregation era. A time when African American and other people of color were oppressed by Caucasians.While the two essay is about two separate people who experience different challenges and experiences in their life both essays are very similar.

The societal expectations for beauty are an ingrained concept amongst the minds of almost every individual, who in turn project these standards on each other and their own children. Throughout her adolescence, Walker seeks for validation of her beauty through others. “When I rise to give my speech I do so on a great wave of love and pride and expectation.” (Walker 2). Walker was seeking a reaction from her audience as she read her Easter speech to her church; a reaction of approval and admiration, which then confirmed her “cuteness”. The emotional toil brought upon by the accident caused Walker to go into a dark place of unacceptance of herself. She did poorly in school, was bullied in school, and kept her head down for several years of her life because of the shame she felt from the appearance of her eye. “I tell it I hate and despise it. I do not pray for sight. I pray for beauty.” (Walker 5). At twelve years-old, Walker talks about the eye that has gone blind and development of her self-unacceptance can be seen here. The lack of concern she had about the function of her eye, but rather the aesthetics, shows how dependent Walker was on in achieving societal standards.

The short story/essay “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self” written by Alice Walker demonstrates the story of Alice accepting herself despite her flaws. As a child, Alice is a pretty, outgoing, and messy girl; but that all changes in a matter of seconds. Alice loses sight in one of her eyes, changing her perspective on life for a majority of her life. She went from the outgoing girl whom everybody seems to love, to the girl that doesn’t look up anymore in fear people will see her messed up eye. Growing up in 1947 with her family, she is not a rich child, in fact, almost dirt poor, so her parents can’t afford a car to take her to the hospital, contributing to her losing sight in her eye. Although she tells her parents a reason causing her to injure her eye, it is a lie, so that she is able to protect her siblings from becoming in trouble. Alice Walker demonstrates a theme of lying to protect siblings in her life which I can relate to because I oftenly as a child had to lie to protect my siblings as well.

Almost everyone in the world feels a need to belong. When searching for one’s own identity, the questions of where power lies and who disperses it derive. The choices to separate, conform and individualize play the most significant role in identity because those choices refer individuals to the people they associate with. Deirdre N. McCloskey’s “Yes, Ma’am” and Alice Walker’s “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” relate in finding an identity and self-accepting oneself.

In Alice Walker's "Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, her view of beauty changes through different stages of her life. In her childhood Walker has a misunderstanding of beauty. She is concerned with superficial signs of beauty and fails to appreciate her inner beauty. A tragic mishap as a young child leaves her right eye blind and deformed. She enters a period of depression her life, living her life in shame and disappointment because she believes her beauty to be lost. Even getting surgery as an adult doesn’t help defeat her demons. She continues to struggle until she finds her inner beauty through her daughter’s love. As a child, Alice Walker got her definition of beauty from her family, in her teens she turned to her peers to define beauty, her perception finally changed again in adulthood when she discovered an inner beauty.

In the essay, “Beauty: When the Other Dance is the Self “, Alice Walker describes how her identity is affected when a traumatic accident occurs that mangled her eye and took her eye sight. One been confidence in her looks she felt exalted by those around her. After her accident occurred she struggled with accepting her new appearance and the consequences that came along with it. Walker became insecure which cause she to feel disregarded, and misunderstood. After years of pain, she got her “glob” removed which helped her gain her self-confidence but still felt overlooked and unnoticed by the people around her. Walker’s journey is proof that accidents can cause changes that you must accept. Although she felt overlooked by adults in her life, she finally embraced her scar, “imperfection”, when a child saw the real beauty in her eye.

A person’s perception of anything is always influenced by their experiences. Alice Walker, the writer of “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self”, is no different in regards to her perception of beauty. Walker uses various stylistic elements throughout her writing to convey her shifting outlook toward her own beauty. She also employs various rhetorical strategies in order to deliver a clear and luring story that keeps the reader engaged as she describes her life as a flashback. Walker uses the accident that happens during her childhood to prove that one’s mindset can be altered because of a profound experience and how her attitude completely transforms from a conceited and arrogant child into a newly reborn woman who sees a new kind of

A form of adversity is in Alice Walker’s essay, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, it shows how a person’s perception of everything is always greatly influenced by their past experiences. Walker uses various elements throughout her writing to show her outlook towards her appearance. Walker uses the incident that happened in her childhood to show that a persons mindset can be changed by a experience and how her attitudes changes from a sassy, conceited kid to a matured and powerful women who finally sees beauty in her life. Alice Walker’s essay is a great example of a person whose fear of adversity allowed themselves to be worn down by it. She begins the story with a cocky outlook on life where she knows she is beautiful. “I’m the prettiest!” (Alice Walker), as a young child she would use her

What would you do if you suddenly become blind in one eye? Would you still act like yourself? Or would you become self-conscious of your imperfection? This situation occurred in Alice Walker’s life. She wrote the short story “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” to describe events that impacted her life. Walker first illustrates her personality when she was younger; she was a cheerful, outgoing girl who wanted to be “the prettiest” in town. However, when Walker’s brother shoots a pellet at her, she goes blind and a scar forms over her eye. She becomes self-conscious of her appearance and changes into a different person. Her personality goes from being social and friendly to being depressed and reserved. This is more than

My personal aesthetic in the terms of dance extends far beyond mentioning what I like and what I dislike. It unfolds the layers of my personality, my style, and my past experiences. I tend to think of aesthetics in the form of a jigsaw puzzle. Within a puzzle there are hundreds of important pieces that fit together to make a grand image and each puzzle piece requires a process of development and self-discovery. My aesthetic puzzle pieces include confidence, vulnerability, dynamic, high energy, illusion, and emotional connection. Most of my aesthetic is initiated by personal preference or a significant event in my life, but I will start with the foundation of my dance training first. I was raised in the dance studio where I regularly practiced ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, and contemporary. I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore multiple genres of dance at a young age and as a result of this, I began my aesthetic development with a very versatile palette of movements and interpretations.

The emotional focus of Alice Walker's story is rage, red-hot and isolating.  As I read this piece, I became livid, not only at the thought of her devastating

The importance of maintaining the self-love throughout the essay goes beyond the simple explanations; it fulfills the author’s intended meaning through strong figurative language. Alice Walker captures the meaning of self love perfectly in the essay, “Beauty, When the Other Dancer is the Self.” As a young girl, she was shot in the eye by her brother’s BB gun which left lasting affects on her physically and emotionally. Walker’s ability to frame the central idea of self love by her use of tone and one concluding metaphor.