Autobiography of a Face: Lucy Grealy The psychology of beauty is complex not just because the concept of beauty is as yet undefined, but also because it is largely true that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder or how individuals perceive other people or things. The importance of beauty has been taught since the first civilizations. It is known that the cave people of the Mesolithic period (around 10,000 B.C.) softened their skin with castor oil and grease, and also used plant dyes to tattoo their skin. Lipsticks first appeared in the ancient city off Ur, near Babylon, 5000 years ago. Ancient Greek women painted their cheeks with herbal pastes made from crushed berries and seeds. A dangerous development of beauty …show more content…
She states “Being different was my cross to bear, but being aware of it was my compensation. When I was younger, before I’d gotten sick, I’d wanted to be special, to be different. Did this the make me t he creator of my own situation” (pg101)? It is her appearance, not her illness that changes her view of herself. Her entire identity becomes her face, and she tells herself over and over, when my face is fixed, I’ll start living. She found happiness and acceptance through her love of horses, working at a stable and spending time with the animals and the people there, who treated her like anybody else. But throughout adolescence and into young adulthood Lucy pinned her hopes on each new surgery as the one that would fix her face and make her beautiful and thus worthy of love.
Anyone who ever felt different or had any kind of physical characteristic or flaw that they were self conscious about while growing up will relate to Lucy and what she went through. If you were too tall or too small, had a facial birthmark or a big nose, crooked teeth or frizzy hair or acne, if you were not beautiful in the traditional sense or were different in any way- you will understand Lucy. Her profound insight into beauty, and what is beautiful, will hit home with you. It did with me. At 18 she accepted a scholarship at Sarah Lawrence College where Lucy feels she finally develops true
Lucy has been made fun of for her new looks after surgery, and has been getting some peer influences to help her. In the book Aautobiography of a Fface, by Lucy Grealy, Lucy gets cancer suddenly. The book In the book it is about a nine year old girl that has cancer in her jaw. She must go to places to get chemo treatment to try and get rid of the cancer. Lucy Grealy develops the theme to be more self confident using tone, symbolism, and characterization.
Lucy continually mentions her altered physical appearance and how that affects her standing with popularity. At a young age she secretly desired all the attention she got due to her sickness. Lucy’s mother describes her as “rather happy about [her illness]” (43) when she explains what happened to the class demonstrating her excitement for attention. She continues to rely on the attention from others through the hospital by allowing the nurses to completely take care of her. As Lucy grows older a new issue occurs, she fears she will never find a boyfriend due to her unattractive physical appearance. This fear seems to control much of her college life young adulthood until she is presented with a surgery that can fix much of the damage done to her face. Ultimately, after she finally receives the face she has waited so long for, Lucy learns “that we can most be ourselves by acting and looking like someone else” implying that the only way to find yourself is to first find who you are not. In conclusion, Lucy discovered that it did not really matter what her physical appearance was as long as she acted like herself on the
Therefore, she would usually put herself first, not caring how it might affect the other person. However, she learns from her childhood and undergoes a transformation to becoming a better person and thinking about someone other than herself. Lucy is a thirty-eight year old woman, who may seem a bit pessimistic and selfish at times with low self-esteem, but she is also a strong willed person who will not let anyone
Lucy was born August 13, 1818 in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. She had 8 siblings and her parents were farmers. Lucy’s father taught her to have anti-slavery beliefs, but she was angered that her father thought that men were dominant over women. She had a passion for public speaking and women’s rights. At sixteen she became a teacher and was furious when her brother told her that women had a lower income than men. To try to solve that
It is difficult to portray a story of illness without incorporating a sense of melancholia; however, Lucy Grealy does exactly that in her personal memoir, Autobiography of a Face. Diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma at the age of nine, Lucy undergoes horrendous chemotherapy treatment, a surgery that removes one-third of her jaw, more than two years of radiation, and fifteen years of reconstructive surgery. Devoid of self-pity, this memoir is as innocent as it is candid and wise while Lucy recounts her struggle with cancer, disfigurement, and self-identity.
Strong Women in Literature Eleanor Roosevelt, Lucy Stone, and Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. Do you recognize these women's names or what they have in common? Strength, resilience, and courageousness. Women used to be thought of as less than men, but these women changed that. Eleanor overcame a rough childhood to make a difference in the world.
However, Lucy did not see it this way. She was excited and wanted to share about her new adventure. Later in the passage, she mentions that as an adolescent she finally realized that she had cancer. This is baffling to think of as an adult, who stresses about every term and ailment that they have.
At first, Lucy felt unsympathetic because she saw a breast more hidden than a face. Lucy eventually realizes the woman's suffering and says, "Her feelings of ugliness consumed her as much as mine consumed me but there was no doubt she was beautiful. Her problems lay in her perception". At 10, she began to mature emotionally at a rate uncommon to children facing a catastrophic loss. She tells of receiving solace and understanding more from a seriously ill asthmatic boy from a troubled family than from her own family. The years of cruel school taunting and reconstructive surgeries finally took their toll. Brilliantly explaining the pain of being rejected by her classmates and the secret desire to feel special, Lucy openly captures the pain and heartache of a girl growing up wanting nothing more than for others, as well as her self, to get past her physical flaws and love her for who she is on the inside. Other patients who suffered similarly by disfigurement and handicaps play a more prominent role in Lucy's experiences. From them she gathered the courage and strength that made it possible for her to survive. Lucy wonders early on "how do we go about turning into the people we are meant to be?" For years, the answer didn't come to her because of what she saw, or what she didn't see
The cruelty of children is something we all can relate to, but under the circumstances Lucy was experiencing, it was outright inexcusable. From the boys in the lunchroom, to the drunken men in the railroad dining car, and the "how'd you get so ugly", these instances contributed directly to Lucy’s self-perception. At school her disfigurement causes her to be constantly harassed and she is forced to eat her lunch alone in the career guidance counselor’s office. "I felt safe and secure in that office, but I also felt lonely, and for the very first time I definitively identified the source of my unhappiness as being ugly.” Once after one of her many operations, she has a conversation with a woman who is having a mastectomy. At first, Lucy felt unsympathetic because she saw a breast more hidden than a face. Lucy eventually realizes the woman's
Accordingly Makeup can be used for many things. The ancient Egyptians used makeup made from oils and cream to help clean and
cope with the events in her life because she was so adapted to being told how to think and
The idea of cosmetology and beauty was commenced by ancient tribal hunters. It is believed that they would smear ash under their eyes and use animal urine to alter their smell. This is where the idea of eyeliner and perfume originated (Schurman). Around the world cosmetology is being introduced like Egypt is suggested to be one of the most ancient culture that associates with cosmetics. Make up to them was really significant especially to the royal egyptians. Their idea of eyeliner was made up of lead, ash and mercury. The use of this eyeliner helped reduce glare, prevent any type of infection, and mostly to make their eyes beautiful (Schurman). Now the Chinese ancient culture had mixtures of natural ingredients to produce stimulating nail polish. The nail polish to these people were sign of wealth (Murphy). In ancient Rome and Greece those who could afford it would receive baths in lotions. They wore perfume, face powder, blush, eyeliner, and lipstick. During this period it was discovered that oils, lotions, and animal fat have beautification properties (Schurman).
Cosmetics, first used in Ancient Rome for ritual purposes, were part of daily life for women, especially prostitutes and the wealthy. Cosmetics were applied in private, usually in a small room where men did not enter. Cosmetae, female slaves that adorned their mistresses, were especially praised for their skills. They would beautify their mistresses with cultus, the Latin word encompassing makeup, perfume and jewelry.
Have you ever thought about who created makeup? Or how it was created? When, where and how? Why was it created? How has it changed over time? Has it affected anyone? Well I’m going to tell you some of it. Make up wasn’t just created by powder or anything small and simple like that, no. Makeup actually has a lot of its own differences. In 180 BCE was when makeup had first had started but it wasn’t commonly used as much as then. People would limit the use of makeup because it was so expensive and hard to get and or find. The women who actually had it or used it were the prostitutes and the wealthier women. The “Cheap Knockoff’s” were the ones who were sold to the poorer women. The people didn’t really care if the slaves used makeup but