The Moth And Beauty: When The Other Dancer Is The

The online definition of self-realization is, “the fulfillment of one’s own potential”. Two different characters in the short stories, “The Moth” by Helen Viramontes, and “Beauty: When the other Dancer is The Self,” by Alice Walker, experience self- realization. These two different characters are able to find they belong on this Earth, and get rid of any doubt they had in themselves towards the end of the stories. Once they both find this self-realization, they become more appreciative towards life, and all the surprises it has to offer. From the beginning to the end of both stories, each character was able to see that family members can help you overcome a doubt you may have.

“The Moths” follows the life of a young girl, who is able to find

shelter and safety, while caring for her grandmother.

After moving in with her grandma, or Abuelita, as she calls her, she finds a purpose in life. At her parents’ house, she often got in trouble, and her sisters made her feel ugly. Both sisters, were more feminine than her, and they often called her, “bull hands with their cute water like voices (Viramontes, 27).” Due to her sister cracking jokes about her, she doesn’t think of herself as being pretty like her sisters. In fact, calling people names is a common scheme people use in order to hurt else’s feelings. She is receiving the message that her sisters think less of her, and possibly don’t like her. She lashes out, and gets whippings from hitting her sisters with bricks. Once she is removed from her home, and placed in her Abuelita house, she starts to transform. Her grandma gave her the feeling of being wanted and needed. Abuelita had requested the young girl’s help, and she often planted plants for Abuelita. Unlike crocheting, or embroidery, her hands were valuable for planting. This is evident

because planting became her job. Therefore, she could have felt wanted by grandma. When her Abuelita dies, she changes her attitude, and it seems she has found her place. The encounter where it is shown she has found a sense of self-realization, happens when the moths come out of her grandmother’s mouth. It’s significant because the moths come from her Abuelita’s soul, “small grey ones that came from her soul (Viramontes, 32).” She has found a place where she belongs, and has found love, and comfort with her grandmother. She doesn’t want to leave her Abuelita, and says, “I wanted to return to the waters of the womb with her so that we would never be alone again (Viramontes, 31).”
In contrast, it took Alice Walker’s daughter to eliminate the negative views she had about herself.

Walker did not always have anti feelings about herself, and it took an accident to shift her self-esteem. Growing up, Walker had a lot of confidence in herself, and her appearance. This is illustrated when her father had to pick what kids would get to attend the fair. Walker told her dad, “Take me, Daddy, I’m the prettiest (Walker, 70)!” She was confident, and wasn’t afraid to show it. She once again reiterates this by later saying on her way to the fair, “It does not surprise me to find myself in Miss May’s shiny black car, sharing the back seat with the other lucky ones (Walker, 70).” However, around the age of eight, she found herself going through some changes. Walker went from being the cute girl to a tomboy. This is around the time she was shot in the eye with a BB gun, by her brother. Her eye was left with a white scar tissue, a cataract. She no longer was bubbly, and confident about herself. Her self-esteem took a toll, and it is shown by how poorly she starts to perform in school, something she had excelled at before. It’s not until her daughter notices her eye that Walker finds self-realization. When her daughter asks her, “Mommy, where did you get that world in your eye (Walker, 75)?” She instantly realizes that the eye had taught her so much about shame and anger, so it served as a learning tool. For many years she was embarrassed to look at other people, and was

missing out on happiness. Once she embraced her eye, she had a dream with a dancer that turns out to be her. This also shows her self-realization. Walker and the dancer in her dreams, hold each other through the night, which could be a symbol that she is finally loving herself again.
The difference between the two characters is, one started off with a great deal of confidence and the other character was always made to feel unwanted, and not pretty enough. The character in Viramontes’ story never showed signs of confidence. In contrast, Walker is able to find acceptance in herself, and feels beautiful again. They both are able to see they have great potential in themselves. It took the death of her Abuelita, for Viramontes’ character to see life come and go so it’s best to cherish moments. Before the death, she found a place of belonging, without needing to have the feminine qualities her sisters had. For Walker, having it all then losing it helped her realize how strong she could be. Her daughter asking a about her eye, helped Walker become aware that there was a few good things that came with her accident. In the end, both characters developed a sense of self-realization with the help of loved ones.