Plastic vs. Reality
Lucy Grealy compares her interactions with her family and with animals in Autobiography of a Face. Throughout this passage Grealy’s connection with her plastic animals mirrors her relationship with her family. Leaving the toys alone every night, Grealy is testing the toys to see if they can survive without her. While Grealy was in the hospital, her family had to continue their lives as they casually visited her. Comparing her situation with her plastic animals, “How could I explain why it was crucial for me, safe inside my bed at night, to think of them out there, living their continuous lives regardless of my presence” (89). Grealy felt comfortable around animals. Unlike with her family, Grealy felt no judgement. Grealy’s confidence was based on how people saw her. Acceptance and approval from her family is what Grealy wanted. Grealy did not want to be treated as if she was different than everyone else. With no control over her circumstance, Grealy still blamed her illness for her being an outcast. However, with her plastic animals, Grealy got to dictate and play God. With the mindset that beauty means power and strength, her favorite plastic animal was the lion. Grealy felt as if she could not be as strong as her mother expected her to be. The lion’s home was closest to the main house, which means it was closest to Grealy. She wanted to be shown as much attention and support from her family as she gave her plastic lion. Grealy’s behavior towards her plastic animals suggests that beauty signifies superiority and control, which Grealy gained only when playing with her toy kingdom. The toys were given designated homes and roles determined by Grealy. The self-made hierarchy was based on appearance. The classification between the toys established the amount of attention received from Grealy. Grealy stated, “The lion, my favorite, had muscles permanently ripped into his hard plastic body” (88).Lions symbolize power, beauty, strength, and courage. These are many characteristics that Grealy believed that she did not possess. Amongst the other animals that were singled out in the text, there was a snake that was isolated. Grealy clarifies, “Manufactured by a different company, the snake was slightly incompatible with the other animals in size and coloring, and as a result he never received my complete care” (89). The snake was neglected because it was different, by Grealy’s standards, different was considered inferior or ugly. From the text, one can infer that Grealy suggests the amount of attention given is equivalent to the amount of love one has for another. Latching emotionally to her animals, Grealy desperately yearns for real support from her family. Constantly she blamed her illness for the distance between her and her family. Lucy was often depressed, however she was afraid to talk to her mother about it. According to her mother, crying was a sign of weakness. Thinking it would be better to deal with despair herself, Grealy stated, “If I couldn’t overcome my growing depressions, I deserved it, and how unfair of me to inflict it …show more content…
When playing with the plastic animals, she was able to play God. Grealy had complete control over her toy kingdom, however she was living through them. Subconsciously, Grealy knew that she was the plastic snake in her family; manufactured differently. She believed that if only she was as beautiful as her lion, she would not be overlooked. Grealy always caught the stares from strangers because of her face. She stated that, “I could count on some sort of attention, and I discovered that people were embarrassed when I caught them looking at me” (101). This is not the attention that Grealy longed for; they stared because she was different. Grealy clarified this by saying, “If this type of attention wasn’t always comfortable for me, it nonetheless further defined me” (101). For as long as she believed she was the snake she would be just that. Grealy had to eventually accept herself as different and use it as an advantage. In chapter five Grealy said,” When I was younger, before I’d gotten sick, I’d wanted to be special, to be different. Did this then make me the creator of my own
Lucy Grealy compares her interactions with her family and with animals in Autobiography of a Face. Throughout this passage Grealy’s connection with her plastic animals mirrors her relationship with her family. Leaving the toys alone every night, Grealy is testing the toys to see if they can survive without her. While Grealy was in the hospital, her family had to continue their lives as they casually visited her. Comparing her situation with her plastic animals, “How could I explain why it was crucial for me, safe inside my bed at night, to think of them out there, living their continuous lives regardless of my presence” (89). Grealy felt comfortable around animals. Unlike with her family, Grealy felt no judgement. Grealy’s confidence was based on how people saw her. Acceptance and approval from her family is what Grealy wanted. Grealy did not want to be treated as if she was different than everyone else. With no control over her circumstance, Grealy still blamed her illness for her being an outcast. However, with her plastic animals, Grealy got to dictate and play God. With the mindset that beauty means power and strength, her favorite plastic animal was the lion. Grealy felt as if she could not be as strong as her mother expected her to be. The lion’s home was closest to the main house, which means it was closest to Grealy. She wanted to be shown as much attention and support from her family as she gave her plastic lion. Grealy’s behavior towards her plastic animals suggests that beauty signifies superiority and control, which Grealy gained only when playing with her toy kingdom. The toys were given designated homes and roles determined by Grealy. The self-made hierarchy was based on appearance. The classification between the toys established the amount of attention received from Grealy. Grealy stated, “The lion, my favorite, had muscles permanently ripped into his hard plastic body” (88).Lions symbolize power, beauty, strength, and courage. These are many characteristics that Grealy believed that she did not possess. Amongst the other animals that were singled out in the text, there was a snake that was isolated. Grealy clarifies, “Manufactured by a different company, the snake was slightly incompatible with the other animals in size and coloring, and as a result he never received my complete care” (89). The snake was neglected because it was different, by Grealy’s standards, different was considered inferior or ugly. From the text, one can infer that Grealy suggests the amount of attention given is equivalent to the amount of love one has for another. Latching emotionally to her animals, Grealy desperately yearns for real support from her family. Constantly she blamed her illness for the distance between her and her family. Lucy was often depressed, however she was afraid to talk to her mother about it. According to her mother, crying was a sign of weakness. Thinking it would be better to deal with despair herself, Grealy stated, “If I couldn’t overcome my growing depressions, I deserved it, and how unfair of me to inflict it …show more content…
When playing with the plastic animals, she was able to play God. Grealy had complete control over her toy kingdom, however she was living through them. Subconsciously, Grealy knew that she was the plastic snake in her family; manufactured differently. She believed that if only she was as beautiful as her lion, she would not be overlooked. Grealy always caught the stares from strangers because of her face. She stated that, “I could count on some sort of attention, and I discovered that people were embarrassed when I caught them looking at me” (101). This is not the attention that Grealy longed for; they stared because she was different. Grealy clarified this by saying, “If this type of attention wasn’t always comfortable for me, it nonetheless further defined me” (101). For as long as she believed she was the snake she would be just that. Grealy had to eventually accept herself as different and use it as an advantage. In chapter five Grealy said,” When I was younger, before I’d gotten sick, I’d wanted to be special, to be different. Did this then make me the creator of my own