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Essay on The Fat Girl

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“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 “You must watch what you eat”(Dubus 158).Her mother was …show more content…

Carrie hugged her and Louise said “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 again: You're 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. Louise's husband, Richard, begins to draw away from her emotionally and argued with her about her weight gain. He would say things like “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 care

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