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Cecelia Character Analysis

Decent Essays

“Cecelia” In her story “Cecelia”, the author Laura Loomis develops character to prove that it is not mankind’s place to decide if another should live or die. To begin, she demonstrates this theme through the development of Cecelia as a character. After Cecelia discovers that she has the ability to heal others when they touch her, she is very frustrated with her gift. She hates the idea that she is able to help others heal, while not being able to heal herself. However, after reflecting on her ability, her character evolves into a more selfless one. After her struggle with Carlos, she explains that “I might never be healed, but healing would come for him, finally, no matter how hard he fought it.” (Loomis 5). After this event, she realizes that it is not under her control to decide who should or shouldn’t be healed, and that she should at least be selfless enough for everyone to attempt to receive her gift. In addition to Cecelia, Laura Loomis also develops Carlos’ character to demonstrate the idea that it is not mankind’s place to decide if another should live or die. This theme is especially prominent when Carlos attempts to suffocate Cecelia. Earlier in the story, Carlos had always been against the notion of treating Cecelia like a regular person, given that she was in a coma. He didn’t believe that she was aware of what was going on around her, comparing her to an empty shell.He became even more frustrated when Mama began letting other people come to Cecelia to get healed. He believed that he was doing everybody a favor when he attempted to kill Cecelia. “The pillow fell away. My eyes opened again. The light hurt, but I could see Carlos fall to his knees,” (Loomis 5). Carlos dropped the pillow that he was using to strange Cecelia because he was unable to find the strength to continue. He recognized the fact that it wasn’t his place to decide whether or not Cecelia lived or died, and grew to realize that he should be helping her and caring for her instead.

In “Cecelia”, Laura Loomis also uses character development to prove a second theme: altruistic actions can be rewarding for an individual. She first demonstrates this through Cecelia’s development as a character. When she first discovered that she had

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