“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” Essay

The narrator is always trying to fit into ‘coats’ that are “too big” and “too long” that Rebecca has left. Everyone around her is subconsciously comparing her to Rebecca and the narrator feels very uncomfortable around most people. In some way it is almost like Daphne du Maurier takes the conventions of a romance-genre and twists them so although Maxim apparently ‘saves’ the narrator from Mrs Van Hopper in fact he destroys her life. His world is full of pain and torture and now she has to go through that too. Another way in which Rebecca subverts the conventions of the romance-genre is by incorporating a murder into the plot. The narrator thinks Maxim to be dark and mysterious, which he is, because he has been hiding the fact that he killed his first wife and apparently his child. Daphne du Maurier has written a romance novel that actually subverts the conventions of a romance in many ways.

In Zadie Smith’s The Girl with Bangs, we follow an unnamed female narrator as she chronicles her whirlwind relationship with the titular Charlotte Greaves. Though we do not get a glimpse into Charlotte’s point of view, Smith makes it obvious what type of girl Charlotte is, not only in the way she treats the narrator, but how she treats everyone around her. Their torrid affair begins shortly after Charlotte’s boyfriend, Maurice, has been called away for a dream job in Thailand. He left her with a flimsy promise asked of Charlotte to ‘wait for him’. This proves an impossibility for the mercurial Charlotte and her insatiable lover, who would let Charlotte get away with murder for one more touch of her bangs. This relationship does not last for

One of the biggest conflicts between Bernice and Marjorie is one over a boy named Warren. Warren grew up across the street from Marjorie, he was “crazy about her” since the beginning; however, the feelings were not reciprocated on Marjorie’s behalf. As the story progresses, Marjorie takes on the task to transform Bernice into a new woman. Bernice’s new appeal is soon taken into consideration when Warren gains an interest in the new Bernice. Even though Marjorie didn’t have feelings for Warren, she still became jealous. Marjorie’s new goal was to destroy the relationship between Bernice and Warren. Marjorie becomes successful in accomplishing her goals by putting Bernice’s reputation at risk.

In Cornelius Eady’s poem “The Supremes” , he depicts the mundane lives of youths in a modern-day middle class. As children grow into adults, the popular belief is that they will be able to choose their own path and live a happy life. However, the realities of life for a particular set of children are grim and entrapping.

Society is known for creating unattainable stereotypes which can result in feelings of self loath or self negation. This is exactly what Zailckas and many young girls suffer from. At the age of fourteen and entering high school, trying to fit in is a teenage girl everyday problem. Having

Another example of her shy persona was when Warren and Bernice sat down on the veranda. It was apparent she was very nervous about the situation; her knees were pressed together so tightly one could have cracked a nut between them. Bernice is also very naïve and Marjorie took full advantage of that. Her innocence led her to believe that Marjorie could make all her dreams come true, question nothing, and following all orders from her. This is apparent at the dinner table when she announced that she was going to bob her hair in the near

They have a hard time finding who they are as a person. Adolescence is a period of time where kids are putting into circumstance that are hard to understand until they go through them hardship themselves. In “Saplings in the Storm” girls were analyzed to give better understanding of girl’s emotion when they are going through adolescence. Stated in the article, “In early adolescence, studies show that girls’ IQ scores drop and their resiliency and optimism and become less curious and inclined to take risks. They lose their assertive, energetic and “tomboyish” personalities and come more deferential, self- critical and depressed” (19). Girls try to fit the social stands of being a “girl” and in the end they bring themselves down mentally. Adults don’t understand the social stand because they aren’t completely the same anymore. In today’s society girls have to grow up so fast. Girls start wearing makeup at a young age, start wearing scandalize clothes, and have sexual encounters early. Having to go through all these mild stones may make it hard to be themselves and have

At home her divorced parents get into many conflicts and she is the center of conflict forced to frequently choose sides. Feeling taken advantage of by parents at home, Clarisse tries to gain additional attention and approval from her peers. She tries to fit in with other popular girls by acting a certain way to reassure herself that she belongs and is supported. She flaunts her father's wealthy to prove her hierarchy over others, proving she is superior to others and that she is entitled to be popular due to her socioeconomic background. After opening up and suggesting how her parents don’t pay much attention to her unless it involves her parents personal benefits, she begins to realize searching for approval through conformity isn’t justifiable.

In the coming of age short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is negatively influenced by her society’s social norms. As a fifteen year old girl, Connie is very insecure and constantly worried about her appearance and how others will think of her. The narrator writes, “...she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates 1). Fitting in is what Connie strives for the most because she wants to be like the cool girls, the girls who boys fall in love with. Connie’s constant fear of not fitting in separates her from her family because she does not care about having a connection with them, she

For example, Alex goes to Tipton Rosemark Academy in Tipton County. She joined the golf team and the art club in order to interact with more people; However, she does not score as well as the other girls on the team, and has a different art style than the other art club members. This makes Alex feel self-conscious and she becomes more reclusive as a result, because she fears what her colleagues and teammates will say about her. The team and her schoolmates do not dislike Alex for these reasons as she assumes. Presuming she is conceited as a result of her withdrawn tendencies, they decide it is best to not include her. Moreover, the popular group sees her as a good target because of it. As a result, Alex typically gets stuck going out with her parents or invited to do things when she overhears the planning conversations. Being the type of person she is, Alex never said a word and has been dealing with this since the sixth grade. This affects Alex’s parents because they hurt for their child, wishing that it could be different for her. Alex is aware if she does not at least try to do something, she is not going to be involved or ever make more friends, and remains fully aware that the situation has an indefinite chance of continuing in the case she does not do anything about it; and thus, resolves to make a change.

African American hair is the most complex hair in the world to style because of texture. Most Caucasian, Hispanic or Asian salons don’t have the education or experience to style African American hair. Because of that, African American salon professionals will survive any economy due to demand. The creativity of African American hair styling has erupted into a forever changing and growing industry.

The historical context of this story is set back in the 1960’s. Using the historical approach we can see that the main character Connie was an average teen-ager of the time, with an overbearing mother, a workaholic father, and a sister who everyone wants her to be like instead of being herself. This story takes us on a tour of 1960s suburban neighborhood, from the viewpoint of a teenager: drive-ins, dating, restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, and "ranch"-type homes.

Bernice believes in being well-mannered, intimate and poised. “...Longed to exchange these confidences...indispensable factor of all feminine intercourse...” (361) It seems as if her views on how a woman should be were closer to Mrs. Harvey's than Marjories. For example, she quotes Little Woman to Marjorie, and that Mrs. Harvey's generation. Even though she seems to believe in being poised, she does not seem to show this in the beginning of the story, as she seemed dull and was not a good conversationalist.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair was a very complex and descriptive short story. It included in depth descriptions of how the main character Bernice felt, which helped me form a coherent thought about the story. I felt that the story although was written by a man had a way of really incorporating the pressure of being a young girl and how easy it is to lose yourself, while trying to fit into society.

She was walking at her normal walking rate: very fast like she was in a hurry (she always is). She loved walking except when it was raining. She was pissed off because she hates when a little bit of water falls to her head. Every time the rain got to her hair, it became like an afro. I know this because when she had to wait some time she would tell me stories about her hair. When she got to the dry cleaning and with her normal voice, which is the loudest voice I´ve ever heard, she began talking. Because she was in a hurry she wanted things to be ready at the precise moment because she remembered she had to deliver some papers at the other side of town. Maybe Mrs. Ana thinks that she is talking just to herself, the truth is that she talks alone