Christa Kurkjian explains in her paper, Is “Fat” the New “F” Word?, that Carver transforms the social norm of being fat—and ugly—to something of a “saving grace” (Kurkjian 3). However, I have to disagree with Kurkjian on her thesis. I truly do not feel Carver’s intent for Fat is to transform the word “fat,” but to elaborate on how people perceive fat. In the beginning of her paper, Kurkjian states that being fat is being unattractive and that Carver intends to portray that as the fat man is ridiculed in the restaurant. This is something I agree with. When Carver mentions the rude comments of Rudy and even the narrator’s description of him to Rita, the audience learns that fat is being perceived as a bad characteristic. This can refer …show more content…
to psychoanalytic theory because Carver is using the Freudian idea of id, which is how people perceive things “instinctively” (Abrams 5). People instinctively think that fat is ugly. As a side note, this and many other details relating to psychoanalytic theory would have been a good thing for Kurkjian to mention to strengthen her paper. Kurkjian goes on to explain that fat is no longer being ridiculed, but rather pitied for (by the waitress).
However, with this transition, some questions come up: What is the difference between being ridiculed and being pitied for? Is it really that much better to be pitied for? Answers to these questions would have made the transformation process of the term “fat” clearer. Though there is no doubt that Carver is making a statement here with the waitress’s pity, it is more than just pity for the fat man and more than just the presence of “the grotesque” (Kurkjian 2). It is seeing the fat man beyond his fat, someone who is mannerly and also shameful of his weight. When the waitress interacts with him, he thanks her for the food, forgives her for spilling his water, and frequently says that “they” (himself) do not eat so much all the time (Carver 67). The waitress realizes the kind-hearted and self-critical man he truly is and stands up for him when her fellow employees mock him. Carver does not change the term “fat.” In reality, he emphasizes the perception of what is beyond being fat, that there is more under the surface of what he or she looks like. Here, Carver is, in fact, using the Freudian idea of superego, which “concentrates on the mind of morals and ethics” (Abrams …show more content…
5). Finally, Kurkjian states that the final transformation of the term “fat” becomes “saving grace.” When the narrator is being raped by her boyfriend Rudy, Kurkjian explains how the narrator sees her fat as a way to protect herself against Rudy and his “intimacy” (Kurkjian 3).
However, is that really what Carver intended? Kurkjian uses the quote by the narrator: “When he gets on me, I suddenly feel I am fat. I feel I am terrifically fat, so fat that Rudy is a tiny thing and hardly there at all” (Carver 69). However, after this quote, the narrator says, “I feel depressed” (Carver 69). The narrator truly feels fat and is ashamed of her appearance. She is not liberated from Rudy at all, but rather saddened that she is, in fact, overweight (just like how the fat man felt about
himself). Carver’s message in this scene is not that fat is a saving grace, but that being fat is something relatable. After her experience with the fat man, the narrator has another perception of fat: everyone is fat, and she is one of them. When the narrator comes home from her shift, she begins to question what it is like being so overweight. “[She] put [her] hand on [her] middle and wonder[s] what would happen if [she] had children and one of them turned out to look like that, so fat” (Carver 69). Then, shortly after, as she is being raped, she realizes that she is just like the fat man, “terrifically fat” (Carver 69) and critical of herself. Carver uses the Freudian idea of ego, which relates to the “conscious perception of oneself” (Abrams 5). Carver is commenting on the many perceptions of fat rather than the transformation of the term “fat.” He guides us on a journey of people’s perceptions from the beginning of the story to the end: 1) physically ugly 2) there is more to him/her than just appearance 3) relatable. By the ending line, “My life is going to change. I feel it,” (Carver 69), Carver strategically states that all of our perceptions of being fat is short-minded. There is more to see than just the physical characteristic of fat. There is a personal aspect and a relatable aspect. And, our perceptions should change to realize this, as with the narrator. We should see what fat really is and how it is seen.
In “Cruelty, Civility, and Other Weighty Matters” by Ann Marie Paulin, she was trying to get across a very important message: skinny doesn’t mean happy. The main idea was about how our culture in America encourages obesity because of the food choices they offer, how expensive weight loss pills and exercise bikes is, and etc., yet the culture also is prejudice against these same fat people that they encourage. It’s a constant back and forth in America between what is convenient with the little time we have in between everything we have to do each day and working out to be skinny enough for everyone to not judge you. Ms. Paulin wrote this article for literally everyone, this article was for skinny people to show them like hey, you’re not all
The article “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” is written by Mary Ray Worley, a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. She writes of her firsthand experience as a “fat person” in society. Throughout the article, Worley explains what it is like to be obese and describes the way society treats those who have a weight problem. She attacks the idea of dieting, criticizes medical professionals for displaying an obscured view of health risks, and defends the idea of exercising to feel good rather than exercising to lose weight. Unfortunately, her article seems to reflect only own opinions and emotions rather than actual facts and statistics.
For instance, one night Vaca looked for Martin’s home to return a gun, assuming they were the richer homes from his preconceived belief he was wealthy because of his belly. “I walked into the night and crept by the wooden houses examining each one trying to figure which one contained Martin and his enormous belly.” Vaca’s naive belief that someone can be wealthy based on the size of a person’s belly was shown when Vaca discovered that Martin actually lived in an old, run down, rusty trailer at the far end of the road. Although he discovered that Martin lived in a trailer, he still assumed he had lots of food due to his enormous belly. Furthermore, Vaca entered the trailer anxious to see the food that made Martin so fat. “There lay the food that had made Martin so enviable in our eyes — a small stack of corn tortillas and a glass of water.” This explains how ignorant Vaca was, realizing he had more than Martin did. He came to the conclusion that you can’t make assumptions about people based off their appearance, and he immediately regretted the hatred directed towards
The argument she gives is something that is very empowering following the first read. In reality, this being a magazine means that the article would often not be read more than once and the viewpoint rarely questioned. “Fat Acceptance” is well suited for this magazine as it is from a left wing feminist perspective and really pushed the ideology of this viewpoint, catering to the demographic this magazine is intended for. The essay goes as far as subtly attacking the functionalist perspective of manufacturing, business, and capitalism at the end, saying “[the] capitalism diet culture is the business of manufacturing failure” (Geissler). Following this point it is quite apparent that Giessler is intending to push her social beliefs on the reader in a very clever way.
In the novel, Butter, by Erin Jade Lange, a 423-pound junior miserable with his current lifestyle creates a website, declaring a suicide by overeating live on New Year’s Eve. In this analysis the novel, Butter, the literary device of characterization is identified throughout Lange’s novel in addition to connecting to the theme of tolerance.
The author brings in the mental health aspect and talks about the ridicule that is a part of a heavy person’s life regularly. She notes that people will make rude comments, or comment about what they have in their grocery cart at the store. She states that people are not that into getting medical help by reason of a doctor almost always attributing health issues to the fact a person is fat. She talks about how she has tried so many times to lose weight, but she realized that she needed to just make peace with her body. Spake and Worley disagree on how people should handle their addiction.
What comes to your mind when you hear someone is overweight. In most american’s eyes, it is someone who anyone who is not a model. This creates a huge predicadment counting that America is known to be fat. In the past few decades, lifestyle has changed our habits, but we did not think about the consequences. If we eat more then we must be doing some kind of exercise to counteract what we put inside of us. In the article “America’s War on the Overnight” by Kate Dailey and Abby Ellin, they successfully persuade the reader to tackle obesity, we need to focus more on the subject of obesity and not attack the obese using the rhetorical triangle.
However, one day Tony Robbins, understanding Hal’s situation, hypnotizes him into seeing people’s inner beauty and not their external selves. And after that incident, he fell in love with Rosemary, woman who appears to him to look beautiful due to her kind, generous nature, but is, in actuality, morbidly obese. This proved people should not be judged by their looks because every person is unique and everyone possesses special qualities. Furthermore, obese people aren’t always happy and they remain melancholic to feel normal and this can also be related to what Jennifer A. Coleman said in her article Discrimination at Large “Fat people aren’t jolly. Sometimes we act that way so you will leave us alone.” Everyone can be changed through consistency so there is no point in mocking a fat person. A strict regimen of exercise can change the shape of a person and he can become the next model. However, Americans think fat people will always remain fat despite their hard work. Neil Steinberg stated in the article O.K., So I’m Fat “Others assume that thinness is forever beyond my grasp.” Maybe, it will be hard for the obese people to get into the right shape but with time he/she can get the body he
I do believe that the media really depicts what beauty is “supposed to look like,” which is being thin or muscular, but to some people being “fat,” as Smith would put it, is just as beautiful. Personally, I really do not like the word "fat," I prefer the term overweight or the politically correct term “people of size.” Throughout Smith’s article, she refers to “people of size” as “big,” “heavy,” or “fat” people (86-88). She uses all of these snarl words to bring a negative connotation and generalize that people view overweight people this way.
Sobal, Jeffery (2004), ‘Sociological Analysis of the Stigmatisation of Obesity”, in John Germov and Lauren Williams (Editors), A Sociology of Food and Nutrition. The Social Appetite, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Orbach, Susie. “Fat as a Feminist Issue.” They Say I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. New York. W.W. Norton, 2009. 200-205. Print.
“Don’t Blame the Eater” is an article by David Zinczenko that explains to Americans, specifically overweight young Americans, about the risks eating at fast food restaurants and its cause of affecting one’s health. In his article, he tries to address the issue about America’s food industries by using literal devices such as tone, logos, ethos, diction, and organization in order to spread his message. He begins his article by addressing the topic and as he continues writing, he supports his topic by writing about personal experience and moves onto the reasons why his topic in a serious issue. Although he shows an overall clear progress, he does tend to have a few problems with his writing that could be improved.
A good author is always conscious of being too sarcastic. In the short story “That Lean and Hungry Look” written by Suzanne Britt; the author point of views are drowned out by sarcasm. Suzanne Britt probably wrote this comical literary story while sitting in a coffee shop, drinking a fat-free cappuccino as she watched “thin and fat” people walk by. She may have wondered to herself what her life would have been like if she was thin. At some point, envy caused her point of views to be too sarcastic. Also, the sarcasm had inadvertently affected the mechanics of her story. The story was well written and has some unique pointers. However, the author message is muddled by her usage literary allusions, exaggerated usage of figurative language, and over usage of alliterations.
Physical beauty is constructed by the society that we live in. We are socialized from a very young age to aspire to become what our culture deems ideal. Living in the United States, as in many other Western cultures, we are expected to be well-educated, maintain middle-class or upper-class status, be employed as well as maintain a physical standard of beauty. Although beauty is relative to each culture, it is obvious that we as Americans, especially women, are expected to be maintain a youthful appearance, wear cosmetics and fashionable clothes, but most importantly: not to be overweight. Our society is socially constructed to expect certain physical features to be the norm, anything outside this is considered deviant. Obesity is defined as outside the norms of our culture's aesthetic norms (Gros). “People who do not match idealized or normative expectations of the body are subjected to stigmatization” (Heckert 32). Obesity is a physical deviance; it is one that is an overwhelming problem in our society as we are always judged daily, by our appearance. Those who do not conform to the standards of beauty, especially when it comes to weight, are stigmatized and suffer at the hands of a society that labels them as deviants.
Schwartz heavily relies on the emotional aspect of obesity by stating information like the following; When constructing her article, Schwartz