Essay on The Fat Girl - 945 Words

â€Å"The Fat Girl† In American culture, the obese body is represented very negatively. One factor that contributes to this negative representation is the abundance of negative reactions that people display towards overweight people. It is a stigma that often taints and belittles the person, leading others to judge the individual negatively, rejecting, hating, or ridiculing him or her. That can often lead the obese person to develop sever psychological problems. In the story The Fat Girl† by Andre Dubus, we meet Louise who has been struggling with her weight since the age of nine. Her mother is extremely outspoken and tells her that she has a problem. She would say â€Å"You must watch what you eat†(Dubus 158).Her mother was†¦show more content†¦Carrie hugged her and Louise said â€Å"The candy are in the top drawer, help yourself whenever you want†(Dubus 163). Louise finally felt free and accepted. Later, Carrie encouraged Louise to lose weight. Louise agreed. During her weight-loss diet, Louise felt miserable and wished she could be herself again as she was happier then. Louise lost weight and is treated differently because of her weight loss. When Louise returned home after her weight loss, she is received much more positively. Her father no longer looked at her with pity and her mother and relatives reacted approvingly towards her.:...at the airport her mother cried and hugged her and said again and ag ain: Youre so beautiful...For days her relatives and acquaintances congratulated her, and the applause in their eyes lasted the entire summer...(DuBus166-169). Louise started to see a young man named Richard who worked in her father’s firm. Eventually they got married and Louise became pregnant and started to gain weight during her pregnancy; and continued to gain weight after she gives birth. Her mother and husband begin to disapprove of her. Louises husband, Richard, begins to draw away from her emotionally and argued with her about her weight gain. He would say things like â€Å"You’re gaining weight, it’s not all water either is fat†(Dubas 170).Louis, begins to remember the satisfaction she got while eating in secret. She felt in her heart that her husband only loved her for her appearance but she didn’t careShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Film The Novel Fat Girl 1405 Words   |  6 PagesClà ©o aligns in the first half of the film with Bea uvoir’s claims that â€Å"the average Western male’s ideal is a woman who freely submits to his domination† (Beauvoir 201). Similarly, in Fat Girl, Elena represents another type of ideal woman that men seek, which is one that will give herself to him, therefore relinquishing a part of her and her control. Elena like Clà ©o in the first part of the film has virtually no control. Elena cannot control what happens after giving her virginity to Fernando becauseRead MoreThe Fat Girl By Dubus1896 Words   |  8 Pagesprevalent in society, and it makes it difficult for females to achieve any level of contentment with their physical appearance†(Serdar, Female Body Image and the Mass Media: Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard).‘‘The Fat Girl’’ was published in 1977 as part of Dubus’s short story collection Adultery, and Other Choices. It has now become one of his best-known works. Throughout Dubusâ€⠄¢s career, many has praised his writing for their eloquent treatment of sensitive topicsRead MoreThe Fat Girl By Andre Dubus Essay1926 Words   |  8 Pages â€Å"I Am Spirit being 1st Human being 2nd Man / Woman 3rd Black /White 4th Christian/ Muslim 5th Fat/ Pretty/Bald 6th ...When I see...I can only see YOU. Why can t you see me?† -Erykah Badu I believe Louise wanted to be viewed like this her whole life. Sadly the only time she ever noticed that she was â€Å"loved† was when she was starving and 150 pounds lighter. The views of Society man and reality standards of beauty have conflicted over a vast period of time, there s always a certain stigma that Read MoreAndre Dubus And The Fat Girl1785 Words   |  8 Pagesa very big role in his life. They took care of him and helped him get through college, and college is where his writing career had begun. He had two sisters growing up as well that supported him. He had a lot of great works in his life, and â€Å"The Fat Girl† was one of his most famous works he had ever written. He had a lot of awards throughout his writing career and had many influences on a lot of d ifferent people. Andre’s early life affected how he became a famous writer. Andre Dubus grew up in aRead MoreThe Fat Girl by Andre Dubus6416 Words   |  26 PagesThe Fat Girl Her name was Louise. Once when she was sixteen a boy kissed her at a barbacue; he was drunk and he jammed his tongue into her mouth and ran his hands up and down her hips. Her father kissed her often. He was thin and kind and she could see in his eyes when he looked at her the lights of love and pity. It started when Louise was nine. You must start watching what you eat, her mother would say. I can see you have my metabolism. Louise also had her mother’s pale blond hairRead MoreThe Fat Girl By Andre Dubus2040 Words   |  9 Pagesmeaning than the surface that brings importance to the story. â€Å"The Fat Girl† by Andre Dubus, â€Å"The Red Convertible† by Louise Erdrich, and â€Å"An Ounce of Cure† by Alice Munro are stories that contain most of the components of analyzing short stories. The short story â€Å"The Fat Girl† by Andre Dubus teaches readers about a real life struggle that is commonly faced by others. The main character of the story is Louise, a young teenage girl who deals with the issues of being overweight. Her mother worriesRead MoreThe Fat Girl A Short Story by Andre Dubis1175 Words   |  5 PagesIn the short story â€Å"The Fat Girl† by Andre Dubis, the main character Louise is followed from the time she is nine years old up until she has her own child. Her mother ruins her self-confidence at a young age saying to her â€Å"you must start watching what you eat† (Dubus 320) when she was only nine years old. Her father is just about the only character in the story who accepts Louise for herself. â€Å"She’s a growing girl† (Dubus 321) he would say to her mother when she would limit Louise on what she couldRead MoreEssay about Fat Is a Feminism Issue870 Words   |  4 PagesIs Fat a Feminist Issue: Imagine you are walking down the street; you are a ten years old skinny, beautiful girl. You pass some people walking down the street and you vibrantly say â€Å"hi!† You are neither scared nor embarrassed; instead you are excited and outgoing. You are not worried about what they are thinking about you, you are just being friendly. Now imagine you are walking down the street. Your ten years old, you are not obese but you are not billboard skinny. You pass some people walkingRead MoreEssay on Comparison of Hills like White Elephants and FAT1601 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of Hills like White Elephants and FAT Both Hill like White Elephants and FAT are short stories about current issues that have to be resolved. The issue in FAT regards obesity in America and is shown as a conversation between the narrator and ‘Rudy’. Hills like White Elephants, however, the issue is abortion and the author uses direct speech creating the effect that we are near the couple, eavesdropping on the conversation. In FAT, the author uses indirect speech because the personRead MoreBody Image By Andrea M. Bradbury s The Lit Class 1476 Words   |  6 PagesPoretsky The media needs to stop being the judge of what beauty is because everyone is pressured to look like the photoshopped version of the people the media portrays. Bad body imaging can lead to mental and eating disorders, and â€Å"fear of becoming fat† has become a common phenomenon. Body image by definition is an individual s concept of his or her own body. It’s how they see themselves and think others see them as well. Everyone has a body image where it is good or bad but more and more we are