The Short Story 'The Girl With Bangs'

I mean, I am smart and funny, and I know I’m a good person. But this is high school, and nobody seems to care about that. Why couldn’t I be tall and elegant like Diondra, or have Judianne’s perfect complexion, all smooth, super-rich fudge? Better yet, why couldn’t I look like Tanisha, or Gloria?” (Grimes 46). This showcases inner conflict as Janelle’s character is shown insecure about her physical appearance. Even though Janelle is aware of her good qualities, she makes her physical appearance overshadow them. Janelle compares herself to others which make it hard for her to embrace herself and realize her self worth. This tells the reader how society is so attentive to the outer beauty of a person, that one isn’t giving importance to the inner qualities of themselves. On the other hand this is evident in Freedom Writers when Andre Bryant who is characterized as a tough and aggressive guy, agrees to a failing mark in Mrs. Erin Gruwell’s class. When asked why he did not try he says “It's what I feel I deserve, that's all” (LaGravenese). This made Mrs. Gruwell question this behaviour and tried to consult him by insuring that he can do it. This

There is a fine distinction in the fabric of DNA that separates men and women- one has the opportunity to give life and one does not. Although beneath skin and flesh is the foundation of a body, the bones. What every human being also shares with each other is the ability to cast emotions. However throughout history, men have been brought up to be seen as if they have little to no feelings at all and women are to be too emotional. Everyone has the potential to feel pain at some point in their lives. Objectification is the central concept dear to feminist thinkers. Many think that objectification is something that remains in history, but it continues to be a problem in modern society. F. Scott Fitzgerald applies this to the characters in his book: The Great Gatsby. The underlying theme of the podcast: Relationship Radio dealt with the objectification of human beings. Aidan Buckner, Olivia Lujan, and Penelope Tucker’s three podcasts: You Can Buy Me Love, Daisy, Money and Usage, and Puppy Love tie the notion of objectification through the relationships: Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, George and Myrtle Wilson, and Tom and Myrtle Wilson through the book The Great Gatsby.

This low self-esteem and her fractured relationships with her mother and father could be a cause of what appears to be all of her distant relationships with all the people she meets, from the boys she goes out with in the alley who she shows no actual interest in and doesn’t appear to be with them for more than one night to the friends she goes out with that the

The appearance of the main character plays probably the most crucial role in the foundation of her personality. From the description given by the author, it is seen that she is a good-looking young girl with long blond hair. She liked spending time in front of the mirror, examining herself from head to toes. She knew that she was beautiful and this knowledge also provided her with a sense of superiority over her

She wants the audience to feel as innocent as she did in the beginning, as shameful and disgusted in the middle, and as nostalgic in the end of her article. In the beginning, she creates the image of what she looks like, “… [b]ell bottom jeans and blue peasant blouses and striped knit shirts that clung to my breasts, ” (Wilkinson). By doing so, readers can vividly imagine what she looks like and feel more attached and involved in the story she is creating. In the middle she takes us through all the times she was sexually abused and by using imagery, she makes the reader feel as beaten down and scared as she was. For example, she creates an image of the church where her first sexual assault occurred, “At the entrance to the church was a small vestibule with two white doors. Behind the doors was a dangling rope attached to the church bell,” (Wilkinson). She goes on to build the tension with her words like “groped,” “accident,” “hiding,” and “secret,” (Wilkinson). These make the reader more and more uncomfortable as she describes her experiences, which was the point, to make the reader feel some semblance of what she did. In the end, she describes her older and present self, looking through old pictures: “ Sometimes in old photographs, I see glimpses of that young woman. Corners of my mouth turned down. Staring into the camera with empty eyes where joy should

The men stereotyped Rose-Johnny for the way she is and created a bad image of her without them knowing her actual personality. We can also take in for account the setting of the main characters, a traditional small town where Rose-Johnny has been stereotyped into something she

In the beginning of the essay, Walker shares childhood event that help shape her character. She describes how when she was two, she got chosen to go to the fair by her father because of her beauty, “Take me, Daddy, I’m the prettiest” She reveals that she thought people admired and glorified her because “she is the cutest thing”. She felt that everyone “seem to hold their breath” in her presence. “I can tell they admire my dress, but it is my spirt, bordering my sassiness (womanishness), they secretly applaud.” She illistartes that she was also adored because of her personality, which was confident and self-assured until it all changed. “it was great fun being cute. But then, one day, it ended.” After her accident the doctor said “ Eyes are sympathetic, If one is blind, the other will likely become blind too” which “terrified’ her. Although this was a professional opinion, but it never became true physically but symbolically it showed that she was blind that she didn’t see the positive and beauty in life, which she felt people didn’t see that In herself.

Throughout the story she is portrayed as this woman who wants to show off and is a flirt, and I

“Hair” by Hilma Contreras and “Park Cinema” by Elena Poniatowska are short stories rich in their context as depicted through their characters. Both authors depict similar male protagonists with specific differences. The resemblance amongst these two characters is made prevalent through the portrayal of male weakness. The primary character flaw possessed by both male protagonists is obsession. Aside from obsession, there are comparable themes carried throughout both short stories. “Hair” and “Park Cinema” both incorporate motifs including, destruction of beauty, hate, lust, and most prevalently, obsession.

He describes the girls’ bodies in terms of the physical features most notable by first glances, including a reference of one girl being overweight with a large, but attractive rear end (Updike 561). I was thoroughly disgusted when he compared a woman’s empty mind with a buzzing bee in a glass jar (Updike 561). The girl referred to as “the queen” is the object most attracted by his affection and his roving eyes. “There was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except her…it was more than pretty” (Updike 561). At the end of the story, the narrator refers to the “Big Tall Goony-Goony” as “not bad for raw material” (Updike 564) and while taking the money, compares Queenie’s breasts to raw scoops of vanilla ice cream (Updike 563). When he loudly announces his intentions to quit his job, the narrator is upset that the girls don’t seem to notice or appreciate him and he seems disappointed to find “his girls” gone from the parking lot and his life without noticing his martyrdom (Updike 564). I was offended as I imagined this was a stand easily taken by many man for pretty girls. I wanted to run home and smack my boyfriend on the head with a rolled up copy of Vogue.

Unfortunately, such a quality is present in many young girls of this generation as they may not receive any attention from individuals in their lives, which leaves them to be fascinated by people, even strangers, who give them such desired attention. Arnold Friend also gets Connie to notice him through his flamboyant gold convertible and his mysterious yet stylish physical appearance. However, with a closer look, Connie realizes that Arnold Friend’s flashy car is just a “convertible jalopy painted gold”, his shabby black hair is likely a wig, his tall stature likely simulated by stilts or heels, and his fashionable clothing articles unlikely his as nothing fitted him properly. Nevertheless, this attribute from the piece demonstrates how not everything is as it seems from its first glance. Such a literary text also highlights how beauty impacts an individual’s impression and actions as Connie notices Arnold Friend’s “beauty”, at first, and Connie’s youthful beauty compels Arnold Friend to want to pursue

The author shows us that despite her attractiveness and exquisiteness, she may merely be deemed a shallow, secretive and opportunistic person.

From this moment on, every acceptable quality she has will mean absolutely nothing to her. As long as she has her big nose and her two thick legs, that is all she will see herself as wholly. This leads her to thinking about permanently removing her unwanted flaws. She believes that if she removes her flaws, she will finally be accepted by society. In both stories, the reader interprets that both the woman and the young girl have specific qualities that someone in their lives has pointed out as flaws. The opinions of these certain people obviously matter to both of them, so they eventually decide that they want their flaws removed for good.

At 11.26pm a girl with sleek straight hair walked along the middle of a deserted street, the sharp heels of her shoes making a muted click every time they hit the damp cobblestone road beneath them. As she walked her hair swayed only slightly, as if not even the most powerful of winds could cause it to be anything less than beautiful. The girl took beauty very seriously, her outfit was always creaseless, her nails were always without chips and her shoes were always polished to the point of immaculateness. But it was her hair that was the most beautiful thing about her; it was long and as black as the night sky way above her, and shone as if it too had stars though out it. Never was a single hair out of place; never was her hair anything less

Characters Claudia and Frieda MacTeer show envious disapproval towards Maureen Peal, a wealthy and stylish lighter-skinned African American girl who the girls refer to as a “disrupter of seasons” (62). Maureen’s character introduces the disruptive and wealthy society within the novel making the division between classes in black culture more apparent. The girls—clearly representing separate societal classes—do not relate to one another despite their shared race. Verifying that Maureen defines perfection in a black society, Claudia and Frieda had to “[look] hard to find [Maureen’s] flaws to restore [their] equilibrium” (63). The self-conscious girls literally search for any apparent faults middle-class Maureen may have in order to make themselves feel better about their “less beautiful” appearance and lower rank in society.