Wednesday, October 28, 2009

“Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” 68

Why is “accident” in quotes? Explain.
This is a largely narrative piece. How does it qualify as exposition?
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18 comments:

  1. tenserNovember 16, 2009 at 3:50 PM

    I ended up enjoying this piece, but I didn't know what to expect from reading the title. It seemed like it would be directed more toward a feminine audience, but that doesn't seem to be the case after reading it. The thing that I liked the most about this essay was that it full of surprises and I couldn't tell what was going to happen next. My favorite part of the piece was when she grabbed the kid who called her "one-eyed bitch" by his coat and beat him until she was "satisfied". It added some humor to the piece, which I really think it needed.
    When Walker mentions the "accident", she places the words in quotes because although her brother probably didn't mean to shoot his sister in the eye, it still happened. Another theory could be that Walker feels that her brother shot her on purpose, but I really don't see enough evidence in the piece that could support that.
    One of the major points that I noticed in the piece was the repetition of people telling her that she did not change after the "accident". It's tough to figure out what she was thinking when she wrote this essay, but I think she keeps mentioning this because she felt as if her whole life had changed, while everyone else kept telling her that she was the same as she had always been. I get the feeling that she is saying that people were afraid to tell her that she had changed because they didn't want to remind her that she had lost sight in her one eye. I really like her reply (in thought) on page 71 after "You did not change," they say. She says (to herself), Did I imagine the anguish of never looking up? The scar on her eye devoured her and made her so self conscious that she couldn't even hold her head up. This reminded me a lot of the girl from "The Glass Menagerie" who said she could hear the "clumping" as she walked up the bleachers, but the man from her class that he never heard it.
    This piece definitely has a lot of narrative in it, but it qualifies as an exposition because it illuminates a burden that Walker had to deal with while growing up. From reading this piece I have gained an understanding of her experience on a personal level, which is the main objective of an exposition piece.

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  2. swulffNovember 16, 2009 at 6:08 PM

    The "accident" was supposed to happen to me. That's why it wasn't an accident, but an "accident." It helped her to overcome so much personally, emotionally, mentally...It is much easier to be happy with yourself when you like the way you look, as this is what everyone sees. It is much harder to be content when you don't like how you see yourself. This experience (the "accident") really made her find who she was, accept herself for more than her physical appearance. One would think that she would be upset because she was blind in one eye, but she is because she doesn't find herself beautiful. "I do not pray for sight. I pray for beauty."

    While this piece is largely narrative, it is expository due to the fact that is expresses her point of view and it gives us insight to her, through a specific idea. (Her dealing with beauty) It shows us something in a way we haven't known before.

    I really enjoyed reading this piece. I think everyone has to come to terms with how they look at themselves, and see themselves as beautiful people (not really physically). I loved how Walker goes about it, and the last paragraph was amazing. I had a clear mental image of her and her other self, coming together to be finally truely happy with theirselves.

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  3. christynNovember 17, 2009 at 5:10 AM

    I really enjoyed this piece even though I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it. It was largely a narrative, written in a different style than any of the other expository pieces we have read thus far. I likekd how the author conveyed a message to the reader, not through philosophy but from personal experiences and realizations she had about beauty throughout her life. It had aspects dealing with race, sibling relationships, youthful confidence, motherhood, and physical imperfection. I love how by the end the author finds strength and peace by coming to terms with her own unique beauty. This essay proves that beauty truely is in the eye of the beholder...
    The word accident was consistently put in quotes for a couple different reasons in my opinion. As a child, the author may have mistakenly thought that her brothers had shot her on purpose since competing for attention in her family was important to her and she usually got the most of it. However, later on the author came to the realization that what had happened to her had not been an accident at all-it was the wakeup call she needed to begin appreciating life and how she was different than others. Having a physical imperfection did not change the fact that her husband and daughter loved her or that she was and is still a fantastic writer.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 17, 2009 at 1:41 PM

    I really liked this piece! I've heard only good things about Alice Walker and so I was pretty excited about reading this. No disappointments here. :) I found this piece extremely easy to relate to, despite the kind of confusing jumpiness. It's really easy to relate to being wronged and then being affected for years afterwards. Walker really allows her personality to come through without any restraint. She does not put on a mask of moral strength, she revels in the fact that she beat the shit out of a bully. That's really refreshing! She also talks about how she lied about her insecurities. (When she went to get her picture done.) Which is mad easy to relate to. She allows herself to shine through. She calls what happened to her an "accident" because it wasn't really an accident, her brother shot her with a bb gun and she covered it up for them by saying that it was an accident. This piece is exposition because she "teaches" us about growing up with a disformity. (If that's the right word for it.) She talks about how she got through each problem that was a result of her "accident." From her family, her school mates, the public, and her own child.

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  5. lizNovember 17, 2009 at 4:07 PM

    I really liked this piece just ask sam and emma lol . There were many emotions in me when I read this piece first I was like aww she is a cute easter girl then she turned tomboy and I can relate to this because I shoot bee bee guns with my cousins all the time but I am always careful to not get in the way and get myself hurt. I really didn't see that this "accident" was going to happen, it came to a shock to me. I was really mad at her brother for doing this just as she probably was. It shocked me to see how drastically her social status changed after the accident. She went from a cheerful girl to a dark and depressed girl. I felt really bad for her, a simple little thing as a bb gun can change a persons life in an altering way. I agree with travis that the best part of this piece was when she beat the kid that called her a one eyed bitch, i knew she was going to do that i jus had to wait for it to happen.

    I think that "accident" is in quotes because to her it wasn't an accident and she expected to happen to her someday somehow someway. She knew her perfect life had to end some time. She couldn't be a little girl in an easter dress forever. I think that she also knew that when you play with the boys someone ends up getting hurt. I know their are risks to using a gun, and that when you are involved with guns you need to know how to use them safely and properly even if its only a bb gun, so no one gets hurt.

    I think that this piece is narrative and exposition . It is considered more of an exposition because it teaches you a lesson about guns and what happens if someone makes a mistake with them. You have to be a strong willed person in order to have a gun , in other words you can't be a tree hugging wimp lol.I really liked when she got her eye fixed and suddenly society and friends looked at her in a different way, which they should of accepted her as she was but many people in society do not do this. I was so happy for her when she got the "glob" as she called it get removed. It was amazing how so instanly she gained confidence, and more importanty got her dignity back. I also liked the part when her daughter was born and she said her eye had a world inside it and I think she finally accepted her imperfection and became stronger and more confident from it. It's amazing how one little imperfection can change someone as a person but it is even more amazing when they grow and learn from "accidents" that occur in their lifes.

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  6. christynNovember 17, 2009 at 4:53 PM

    I love how Travis compared the author to Laura from "The Glass Menagerie" when she felt as if the whole world has changed just because she had. She let her difference become a barrier to living the life she wanted for a long time. Fortunately, she did not end up like Laura (like Emma said, Alice Walker doesn't disappoint!). I think it was inspiring for us to journey with the author during her realization that a physical defect did not have to totally alter her life. I also like the light hearted comments that Emma and Liz made about this piece, especially Liz mentioning the guns and gun safety so much. (and by the way I am proud to be a "tree hugging wimp" thank you very much ;) ) I am glad to see that everyone enjoyed this piece across the board...

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  7. swulffNovember 17, 2009 at 6:23 PM

    I could tell everyone enjoyed this piece, probably because everyone can relate to it in some way. Everybody at some point has insecurities that they feel separate them from others. As in the piece, when she repeatedly asks if the "accident" changed her...and the reply would always be no... People don't always see how drastically something affects you, most of the time we internalize insecurites like this.

    I love how her daughter says there is a world in her eye, it's so innocent and naive. Walker expected her daughter to be cruel, without meaning to be, as children usually are, but gets an unexpected suprise.

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  8. KingIrby23November 17, 2009 at 7:11 PM

    I liked this piece but not alot. I thought it was a well written piece and the author did a good job with it. The use of the poem and the spech for church added a nice touch of the author to the piece. This piece also gives a good glimse into how society was back in the 40's and 50's and how things have changed in the fact that the things avaliable to the common person have greatly surpassed that of the common people of the 40's and 50's all due to technology advances. But in the aspect about young boys having guns it has only got worse because now their is young people playing with real guns and not just bb guns.
    The word accident is in quotes i believe for two reasons. One is that the author is still unsure about wether or not her getting shot in the eye actually was an accident or if her brother actually shot at her. The other reason accident is in quotes is because the author is being sarcastic about it being an accident because of her uncertainty about it and because of the way it was handdled.
    This piece qualifies a an exposition piece because it teaches a main theme and that is that no matter what physical disability somebody recieves they still always remain the same person that they were. For example if somebody were to lose their leg they would feel different and act different but that is mostly due to the fact that they believe they are different and that people view them as different. When in reality all that has happened is part of their apperence has changed but they still are the same person just choosing to act different due to what they think other people think of them.

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  9. JonAthanNovember 17, 2009 at 7:13 PM

    I enjoyed the writer's tone and voice in this piece a lot. It made me smile when she talked about beating up the kid who called her "one-eyed bitch." I like the way she brings poems to memory when thinking about her eye, it adds a layer of deapth to the piece that I had expected in a different way. Her daughter is absolutely adorable about the "world in her eye," and I echo her sentiment of expecting kids to be vicious little ankle-biters. I like her message that you can be beautiful to yourself, and that it matters more than anyone else's opinion. I also liked her nonlinearlity in that she skips around so often. I think she calls it an "accident" partially because her brother meant to shoot her at the moment, they just didn't intend the consequences.

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  10. KingIrby23November 17, 2009 at 7:18 PM

    i agree with travis in the point he made about the part where she beat the snot out of the kid that called her a "one eyed bitch" as being funny because it was and it was definetly needed to lighten the mood which for most of the story was overly sad i thought. Sam is right when she says it is easier to be happy with your self if you like the way you see yourself that is completely true. And to agree with pretty much everybody this piece was very easy to relate to because of the topic and how almost everybody has at one time been wronged and had it affect them for more than a short while.

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  11. RgreenNovember 17, 2009 at 7:33 PM

    I think that accident was put in quotes because something had to go wrong in her life sometime and this was the "accident" that affected her. It really shaped her life and helped her become who she is. At first she thought it was the worst thing that could happen to her, but in the end she got everything that she could ask for. A husband and a daughter that love her. Plus she talks about how she was queen in high school, and chosen as the prettiest or most beautiful girl. (I dont remember which one it was) This piece was largely narrative but it does qualify as an expostition piece because the author gives us her point of view on growing up with an imperfection and how it affected her life. Like Travis said you can gain an understanding of her experience on a personal level.

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  12. aenserNovember 17, 2009 at 8:00 PM

    She put "accident" in quotes because it wasnt exactly an accident. She just made it sound a bit better or sarcastic by saying accident and putting it in quotes. This piece is largely narrative but it is definitely an expository piece as well. It shows how she grew up with her imperfection. It definitely shaped who she became and who she was so it made a good expository piece. OVerall I enjoyed this piece and the humor like the "one-eyed bitch" made the piece even better.

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  13. Bus DudeNovember 17, 2009 at 9:06 PM

    The reason Alice Walker puts the accident in quotes is because the people around her such as her family somewhat saw it as an accident, however Walker knows that he brother didn't mean for it to miss her so it wasn't an accident for the BB to make contact with her. The accident was that it hit her in the eye, one of the most vulnerable parts of the body to a BB. There are many possibilities to why she called it an accident, it depends largely on how the reader wants to interpret the essay such as religious or logically such as I have.
    Expository writing by definition is a type of writing in which the purpose is to inform, explain, describe, or define the author's subject to the reader. Certain aspects of this essay are narrative such as the story of how she got shot in the eye and at the beginning when she was selected to go to the fair. What defines this piece as an expository piece is simply the author's intention. Walker did not want the main purpose of this piece to be that it tells a story but how she has come to the realization that her disability and insecurity don't have to be a disability and insecurity. She can use her condition and experiences as a foundation and a backbone to her character and who she is.
    I found this piece to flow easily and it seemed almost easier for me to read than some of the other pieces. I wouldn't say I particularly liked this piece but it did offer me valuable insight to how certain people can overcome insecurities in themselves and how they are no longer self conscience.

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  14. jstanbroNovember 18, 2009 at 4:20 AM

    I think that accident is in quotes to show that even though she calls it an accident, there is some doubt as to whether or not it could have been prevented. She almost seems to think that it was predestined that she would get shot in the eye with the BB gun. Even though there are a lot of narrative elements in this piece, I think that this was written to show the readers the psyche of someone who has to deal with an “accident.” Without really experiencing something like what the author’s “accident,” we really can’t understand the emotions of someone who has. Pieces like this are really the only way we can help to gain some insight and empathy for these people. I personally didn’t like this piece. It was more of a taste thing for me. I realize that this was a very deep and well-written piece, I just didn’t like it that much. It kind of dragged on for me and maybe it was because of the repetition of the question of whether or not she changed, that I found a little irksome. Also this was a really predictable piece for me. There really wasn’t much surprise and the “journey” through the piece was a lot like any other.
    Background before accident
    Accident
    Self-contempt and turning inward
    Result of accident is fixed
    Epiphany
    Coming to grips with source of self-contempt
    A basic formula for any type of piece dealing with this kind of topic, almost like a Disney movie.

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  15. jstanbroNovember 18, 2009 at 4:28 AM

    I think that Travis had the right idea comparing the author to Laura from The Glass Menagerie like other people pointed out. I noticed that a lot of people enjoyed the beating of a little kid and I think that Irby put it best when he said that it was to lighten the mood of the piece. This probably wouldn't have as many people who like the piece if it had stuck with the depressing mood throughout the whole thing. I personally enjoyed Jon's comment on how children are "vicious little ankle-biters" and I think that to be very true.

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  16. tenserNovember 18, 2009 at 4:34 AM

    christyn said that the author may have thought that her brother had shot her because he was jealous that she so often got the attention from their father. This idea ran through my mind as I thought about it as well, but it is hard to support since there really isn't any "physical evidence".

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  17. christynNovember 18, 2009 at 5:04 AM

    Right Travis I agree with you...just a passing thought, a look at what it could mean beyond the obvious one...I'm glad all of us can see this essay in different ways and appreciate it.

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